Customer Reviews

Inside Information

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There seems to be a misconception about Foreigner's 1987 album, "Inside Information," the misconception being that the album was a commercial disappointment. Granted, it didn't sell *as* well as the band's first five albums, but it still sold well enough, and it still gave the band a pair of Top 10 hit singles, "Say You Will" and "I Don't Want To Live Without You." A commercial disappointment? Hardly. While not the band's masterpiece, "Inside Information" is a fine Foreigner album with many great tunes to spare. Being recorded in the late 80's, it was only natural for Foreigner to give this album a more keyboard-heavy, polished feel, but they certainly didn't forget about their knack for rockin', or for writing good hooks. Led by the fiery guitar of Mick Jones and the powerful pipes of Lou Gramm, Foreigner came through with another great record. "Heart Turns To Stone," "Can't Wait," the catchy hit "Say You Will," the take-no-prisoners "Counting Every Minute," the title song, "The Beat Of My Heart" (with it's surprising flamenco guitar intro before giving way to the band's thunder), "Face To Face" and "A Night To Remember" are all great rockers. "I Don't Want To Live Without You," the other hit single from the album, is a very beautiful song, and "Out Of The Blue" is an excellent power ballad. Though not as revered as their earlier albums--and, strangely, never given a much-deserved remaster treatment like their earlier albums--"Inside Information" is a very exceptional Foreigner disc. So pick it up and enjoy this high-powered buried treasure from Mick, Lou & the boys.

Inside Information(1987). Foreigner's sixth studio album.

When it comes to Foreigner's 80s output, most people generally think of the many contemporary pop/rock ballads such as 'Waiting For A Girl Like You' or 'I want To Know What Love Is'. While this album showcases more songs of that style in the form of the hits 'Say You Will' and 'I Don't Want To Live Without You', we forget that Foreigner can still rock hard like they did in the 70s. Well, maybe not as hard, but their heavier material in the 80s is too often overlooked.

The album kicks off with 'Heart Turns To Stone' and 'Can't Wait', two great hard rockers. Then we get to the two aformentioned balladic hits off the album. Very good songs, though they had their fair share of radio airplay. Next we get to another good rocker, 'Counting Every Minute'. The title track is undeniably pop, but also undeniably catchy. Following it is yet another rocker, 'The Beat Of My Heart'. 'Face To Face' is my favorite of the underrated tracks off the album, combining the hard rock sense of 'Heart Turns To Stone' with the melodic stylings of 'Say You Will' to a good effect. Closing the album is the touching ballad 'Out Of The Blue' and mid tempo rocker 'A Night To Remember'.

Overall, this is a great Foreigner album. But why not five stars? Redundancy among the song types. With the exception of the last song, all of the hard rocker tracks on here sound very similar to one another. Likewise, the ballads carry this same trait. Still, Inside Information is definitely one of the better albums to come out that year. As another reviewer put, this album showed songs full of emotion and conviction in a time when other bands were singing about partying & girls. This may not be Foreigner in their 70s prime, but if you are interested in what they did in the 80s, Inside Information is probably the best bet to go with.

Foreigner's 6th studio album, Inside Information is better than their previous album but not up to the standards of the first 4 albums, Heart Turns to Stone is a good song, Can't Wait is alright but not the album's best, Say You Will is Foreigner's best song during the Post-4 era and it became a Top 10 hit but it didn't have much staying power on the radio, I Don't Want to Live Without You is a good ballad even though Lou Gramm was half-hearted about it, a very good song but not quite a classic as I Want to Know What Love Is and Waiting For a Girl Like You,
unfortunately, Without You became Foreigner's last Top 40 hit,
Counting Every Minute is actually a good song, Inside Information is the album's title track but it's pretty forgettable, The Beat of My Heart is another good song off this album but the rest of the songs go downhill.
This album sadly became Foreigner's last Top 100 selling album and they were one of the most successful bands during the late 1970's/early 1980's and things started to go downhill.
This album also seems to be more focus than its predecessor.

As a strong Foreigner fan, I have tried hard to like Inside Information. I have owned the CD for some 20 years and have played it rarely because I was disappointed when I first heard it. After reading some of the reviews proclaiming this the best Foreigner album, I decided I needed to reconsider and give it another try. I have listened to it again, only to find my original impression confirmed. It's not the "studio polish" sound that bothers me; no I like the effects of good mixing, etc. Certainly the Foreigner sound is there, and thank goodness Lou Gramm's voice, which no one can ever replace. At first I had trouble pinpointing what bothered me. Now I realize now that it is the lack of passion in the songs that leaves me feeling cold. The hooks are generally weak and missing is the excitement of great songs like "I Want to Know What Love Is" or the raw emotion of "Hot Blooded." Out of all the songs "Say You Will" is certainly a stand out, and I do like both "Can't Wait" and "Out of the Blue," with "A Night to Remember" a distant fourth. If you are looking for more recent strong Foreigner songs, I recommend the album "The Very Best and Beyond" which not only has their best hits, but three 1992 collaborations between Mick Jones and Lou Gramm, "Soul Doctor," "Prisoner of Love," and "With Heaven on Our Side." These three recapture the passion of the Foreigner I know and love.

To my ears, Lou Gramm sounds like he is simply going through the motions on much of this album. He's never sounded uninspired like this before or since. I can only surmise that he was completing a contractual obligation to make this record, as Foreigner DID have a different singer on their following album 'Unusual Heat'. That being said, Gramm is such an excellent singer that he still sounds great anyway. The songs venture a bit more into 80's radio poprock than hard rock. Mick Jones' writing is as strong as ever and is the guitar playing. Sonically, this album is a step back from the previous one - 'Agent Provocateur', as the production isn't as elaborate or complex. In fact, it sounds more like the '4' album to me.

Inspiration must have hit BIG time here. Following Lou Gramm's solo READY OR NOT, itself better than half of Foreigner's group efforts, INSIDE INFORMATION is an album that became my favorite of everything they ever did. Emotions rushing out of control, turmoil in the mind & heart, desperation over unrequited love, pleas for communication and finally, unrestrained nights of wild passion. It's all here in the best set of songs from this band to hit my ears and work their way into my soul. EVERY song is a GREAT one this time. From "Heart Turns To Stone" (about a mistreated woman who's taken her last abuse), "Say You Will" (a man practically begging a confused woman he loves to make up her mind!) "Inside Information" (what does it take to figure out what's really going on?) "Out Of The Blue" (sometimes lightning really DOES strike in your love life) to "A Night To Remember" (the onrushing, epic climax-- which, NO, is NOT about the Titanic!). What can I say? A PERFECT album!!

I am sorry but I really think that "Inside information" is better than 4 or other earlier LP. I think that people criticize this LP because it didn't fit with what rock should look like at this time(pre grunge time). Great AOR with a good mix of keyboard and rock guitars. And the Gramm's voice.....

When will this be remastered? All of the previous Foreigner CD's have been remastered from the original master tapes but not this one.

I had read some review about this album, it said that this album is not good. I didn't believe that and buy it. This album is GREAT, the same style of Foreigner, excelent songs and lyrics. I think that you will enjoy it. Note: "I don't want to live without you" is the original version (4:53 minutes). Great song too: "Say You wil, Say you won't", "Inside Information", "Out of The Blue".

This being Lou Gramm's last album with Foreigner, it was the most unforgettable album they ever did. With good power songs like "Say you will" and the ballad "Don't want to live without you" plus "Out of the blue" which did get airtime, but not as much as "Say you will". This is one of those rare albums that can actually bring back 87' every time you hear "Say you will". I highly reccomend this album to anyone, it is by far the best album of the year 1987!