Customer Reviews

Foreigner: Alive & Rockin

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Mick Jones and company -- you rock!!! This is just a fabulous Foreigner performance!!! (Sorry about Lou Gramm -- loved him!!) Kelly Hansen is just great! He pours tons of energy and his soul into this concert. His voice is strong and he is an entertainer!! Mick Jones is one of the the most amazing guitarists in the world!! Thom Gimbal on sax, flute, rhythm guitar; bassist Jeff Pilson (Dokken); Michael Blumenthal keyboards and Jason Bonham are all on top of their games. No ballads here as the venue is the "Bang Your Head" festival in Germany -- they only have an hour alotted. There is an even harder edge to the songs. The guitar prelude to "Urgent" rocks; Thom Gimbal just rips on the sax part and "Juke Box Hero/Whole Lotta Love" brings down the house -- Jason is amazing. We were fortunate to see Foreigner live two weeks ago and they are truly better than ever!!! Kelly leapt from the stage into the audience and was hopping on the chair backs which delighted the audience!! I was two feet away from Mick and if anyone doubts his guitar greatness -- I assure you he is the best he's ever been. The band came to a nearby restaurant for dinner and graciously autographed my DVD! This is a must buy DVD! (Kelly does use a bit of profanity on the DVD -- no problem -- that was a tough looking crowd!!) He did not do that at our concert -- they were truly a classy show. If you want to hear great renditions of the ballads and a longer program, do buy "Live at Deer Creek" (1993). Lou Gramm is with them on this DVD and sings "That Was Yesterday," with Mick on keyboard -- outside -- beautiful photograpy. "Until the End of Time," "Waiting for A Girl..", "I Wanna Know What Love Is," -- all there and beautifully performed. If you have both of these DVDs, you'll have the best of rock and ballad; Lou and Kelly and of course, Mick and the band.

Lots of folks have a soft spot for Foreigner, few of us, however, would admit to be card carrying fans hoping for a Foreigner come back. Fact is Foreigner had some killer guitar riffs and great hooks yet were, all these years later, remembered for a couple of ballads that came to define the worst in radio overplay. That Foreigner was done was pretty much a given since more than one reunion attempt between Mick Jones and Lou Gramm never really got much traction. Only one thing...No one told Mick Jones this. So now, a good 25 years past Foreigner's prime Mick is back with a new Foreigner in which he's the only original member. This could be a pathetic attempt at a shameless money grab...Or, could it?

Against all odds, the new Foreigner is really the best sounding Foreinger...ever! This really is a shocker! Mick Jones proves he is the real heart and soul of the band, that he can not just carry the torch, but build a better band around veteran journeymen who can replicate that original Foreigner sound and propel it further. You may think bogus...No one can replace Lou Gramm. Obviously you haven't seen this DVD with Kelly Hansen who not only can sound like Gramm, but looks like Steven Tyler and has both a range and stage presence that Gramm, at least of late, just couldn't match. Foreigner is baaaack!

Alive & Rockin' lives up to it's title and then some. It's not the heavily produced live concert tightly controlled in both lighting and sound for DVD, but rather a document of a set turned in at a German heavy metal fest. This actually seems to work in it's favor as it's "all killer and no filler". While not reference in sight or sound it is quite good and it documents a performance in which a possibly hostile audience turns to putty as Foreigner proves there is new life in an old brand. All in all, this is a great testament that Foreigner has a great catalog and is better than ever. If you are at all interested do not hesitate. Yes it's a bit raw, but it rocks hard and makes no excuses in doing so. I would never have thought I'd be recommending anything by a band I thought was done, but, "that was yesterday"!

As a long time fan of Foreigner, I must say I was very disappointed with their 25th anniversary DVD. So, when I heard about this new release, I was a bit leary. While waiting for it to arrive I dug out my Hurricane CD, and while listening, I could hear similiarities in the vocals. Kelly has a tremendous voice and does indeed deliver a great performance in this concert. Again it was just great to see Mick Jones and the rest of the band having just a great time performing. I think the DVD, was well produced, I would have like more close-ups, but the sound is great and kept that live feel to it. While no one can replace Lou Gramm, this concert provides a refuse to those who miss that energy that Foreigner bought to the stage.

I bought this DVD after seeing Foreigner on Private Sessions. That show reminded me how many great hits they had and how I wanted to see them again. The concert was very good and they had all the people in the audience up on their feet. I left off one star because they only played their most loud, heavy metal songs. This was understandable because they were playing at a head-banger concert in Germany in front of thousands of teenagers who never heard of them. But from my standpoint, I was hoping to get a more rounded view of their work without all the long heavy metal guitar riffs. Missing were "Waiting for a Girl Like You" and "I Want to Know What Love Is", for instance. Picky, picky. They did sound very good though.

"Alive & Rockin" is EXACTLY what FOREIGNER is, and this DVD is just one example of the band's musical range, steller performances and songs that are always "in" because they are true rock classics.

I was very lucky to be able to see them live and meet them on thier New Years Eve 2007 tour. They were AWESOME!

If you love classic rock, you'll really love JASON BONHAM on drums. He humbly carries the torch and his Dad (Led Zeppelin's legendary drummer John Bonham) is right in Jason's heart.

Mick Jones never lost his touch - he jams with fantastic guitar & keyboard talent. This DVD will bring back memories and the band today will definitely make it easy to create new ones.

OUTSTANDING ROCK - 10 STARS!

This isn't a full set show...and there are LOTS of great songs missing...but it IS the full performance they gave on this day as part of a heavy metal festival in Germany so I can't dock them for the length. The price is pretty cheap and there are bonus interviews worth watching. The filming is pretty good on the fly editing for a rock show not staged for DVD like we are often used to now. This version of FOREIGNER consists of some pretty weathered hard core Rock warriors and they do the music proud. Its obvious that Mick Jones protects the legacy of the band that is one of the most popular of all time and wouldn't put a tribute band type act together. The best thing I can always say about a Live DVD is...I will see them the next time they come within a reasonable amount of miles from me!

Foreigner is one of those 70's/80's hard rock groups who are often remembered more for the 1 or 2 ballads that got radio airplay than the multitude of rockers that filled their albums. Finally, their hard rocking roots and musicianship are properly documented on this 2007 DVD. I've seen the new band 3 times now personally, and I can honestly say that they are more energized and working harder than most other bands of their era. It's like they have a new lease on life. Where some bands go out each summer and kinda go through the motions...and don't get me wrong I'm not saying they don't enjoy themselves...Foreigner is playing like a brand new band honestly wanting to prove themselves to the world. They succeed on this DVD.

Recorded in Germany in 2007 as part of the annual Bang Your Head festival, Foreigner might seem an odd choice to play a set alongside numerous heavy metal and thrash bands. But as you'll see in this DVD, they win the crowd over with no problem. That in itself says a lot about this DVD. Their entire 60 minute set is included, which is the amount of time they were given since several other bands played that day too. Being a shorter show than usual, and being a metal fest, their ballads have been eliminated from this show. The songs overall have had a much heavier sound over the past 3 years, mainly with the additions of Jason Bonham...recently of Led Zep fame...on drums and Jeff Pilson of Dokken on bass. The newer arrangements of their older songs are sung by ex-Hurricane singer Kelly Hansen, who is one of the most animated front men out there these days. He really works the crowd. The group is rounded out by long time keyboardist Jeff Jacobs and multi-instrumentalist Tom Gimbel.

Foreigner is currently working on a new album for release hopefully this fall, but this DVD will give you an excellent introduction to the current band. Highly recommended if you're a Foreigner fan or like melodic hard rock in general.

Foreigner has been let down by past music DVDs (particularly the awful All Access Concert w/ a terrible sounding Lou Gramm; the Deer Park concert was good with Lou Gramm at his peak, but the camera work was very annoying). No longer. Here is an absolutely great, hard-rockin', kick-butt concert by Foreigner. Never have they sounded so good! They are a completely revamped Foreigner, headed by a terrific singer in Kelly Hansen (formerly from Hurricane). Hansen did just as great a job as Lou Gramm in his prime -- he was able to hit all the notes and what's more -- he's got great presence on-stage. Never has Mick Jones played so great --he was really jammin' on the solos and he played with renewed fire and vigor. The band is terrific, especially with Jason Bonham on drums. The bass player is great as well. The mere fact that they're able to rouse the head-bangin' crowd in Germany with Foreigner songs indicates how special their performance is. Foreigner is not exactly head-bangin' music -- but they play it like it is. Some of the signature rock songs never sounded so great (e.g Double-Vision, Dirty White Boy, Feels Like the First Time, Urgent, Juke Box Hero, Hot Blooded).

I wished they could have played a longer set but they were only given 60 minutes on stage. (Besides, the head-bangin' crowd wouldn't respond well to songs like "Waiting for a Girl Like You" or "I Want to Know What Love Is"). Well, if this is the new Foreigner, I'm excited about what they will do next. This is the Foreigner we've all longed for -- singing and playing with new energy and passion.

The Special Features offer candid and insightful interviews with Mick Jones, Kelly Hansen, and Jason Bonham. They give their insights on how this all came together and how they feel playing on the road.

If you're a Foreigner fan, run out and buy this DVD! It is even better than the Foreigner -- Live at Deer Creek. It is truly Hot-Blooded -- Check it and see!

"Alive & Rockin'" is the new DVD by the revamped band Foreigner. On it, this band rocks harder than they have in years. Their new lead singer takes these songs by the throat, nails the notes, leads the crowd and proceeds to convince you that not only can he do justice to Lou Gramm in his heyday but that he, along with every other band member, can make this music vital again. They all make the music come alive like you would not have expected. Even with Mick Jones being the sole original member this is no cover band. There is every justification for these guys to call themselves Foreigner. There is fresh magic here. Foreigner is now refined and tough. They step up to the plate and have "heavyweights" written all over them again.

Mick Jones (lead guitar), Jason Bonham (drums), Jeff Pilson (bass), Kelly Hansen (lead vocals), Tom Gimbel (rhythm guitar/winds), and Jeff Jacobs (keys) will prove to you that each of them together are what Foreigner should be considered as...legendary.

This in-concert DVD features NO sappy pop ballads. They play hard rock for a German metal festival crowd who obviously were just as blown away as I was. The new Foreigner was an odd choice for this festival and it's likely nobody expected them to be impressive. They were. Read the reviews. Buy the DVD. Watch how the crowd becomes totally into it.

If you want a classic rock band that is reaching for more than their county fair or retro tour paycheck and actually plays from the gut then you owe it to yourself to discover this line-up now. Forget what Foreigner became in the mid 80's and forward. Imagine if they kept doing pure rock. This is what their new DVD represents. Foreigner is out to prove something and I for one am sold. If they record any new music with this rediscovered rock and roll blood then I will be first in line to buy. This band is again hot blooded. Check it and see!

The video was a good capture of the band in concert, but the group didn't seem to have a lot of positive energy working together on the show. The video is average with weird camera angles...sorry not into that; but the music is great!