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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Top Quality Production Work, October 7, 2009
First of all, this album was just released last week exclusively at Walmart and sells for $12.00 there, so unless you don't have access to a Walmart, don't get gouged on the price here at Amazon. Now, as for the album, to start with, it's a CD of new material, plus a CD of remastered Foreigner hits, and finally, a DVD of Foreigner live in concert, with backstage interviews included. Three discs for $12.00 is pretty freakin' hard to beat. Say what you will about Walmart, but when these bands (like Foreigner, Kiss, Journey, the Eagles, etc.) sign these exclusive deals with Walmart, the customers REALLY benefit from it in terms of "bang for your buck".
So anyway, CD 1 is the disc of all new material. For me, it's kind of hit & miss. There are 13 tracks on the disc, and I was surprised that 5 of them are ballads. I'm not really a ballad fan, but I did like "I"ll Be Home Tonight". As to the more uptempo stuff, the musicianship is top notch all the way, and unlike a lot of CDs coming out these days, this one doesn't have the volume cranked up to 11. I think that is SOOOOOO annoying, and takes away from the music terribly (of course, I think some bands NEED to have emphasis taken off the music, and that might be why they crank it up). But the sound is clean, level, and very well done. I've only listened to the CD one time through, but I think the first 2 tracks, "Can't Slow Down" and "In Pieces" stand out the most to me so far. There's nothing revolutionary in this new material, it's just the classic Foreigner sound, and it still sounds great, I just don't think the songs themselves really stand out.
Disc 2 is 10 of Foreigner's biggest hits, including "Feels Like the First Time", "Hot Blooded", "Double Vision", "Dirty White Boy", "Head Games" & "Urgent". I was thinking these would be rerecorded versions of the originals, with Kelly Hansen on lead vocal, but they're actually Lou Gramm's original vocals. At first, this may not seem like much of an offering, but this remastering and remixing REALLY sounds great. I think it sounds better than any other remastering I've ever heard on any other album. It actually kind of caught me off guard to hear how sharp and well-defined everything sounded. It sounds so good, it really almost reinvents the song. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't heard it myself. I was blown away with how good this sounded, compliments of Marti Frederiksen.
Disc 3 is a 10 song DVD of Foreigner live in concert around Europe. Once again, the production is top-notch, and I know it's a cliche, but seriously, the band sounds better than I've ever heard them. Hansen, Tom Gimbel, Jeff Pilson, Michael Bluestein, Brian Tichy, and the always underappreciated legend Mick Jones not only sound great live, but in their backstage interviews, they're all very laid back, with no "rock & roll posing" going on. They all come off as regular guys, very candid, mature, and aware of who they are and what Foreigner is meant to be. And they're all fine with it. There's something to be said for people who are comfortable in their own skin, and these guys appear that way. The highlight of the concert DVD is the song "Say You Will". This is not a song most people think of when they think of Foreigner, but it has always been one of my favorites, and I never really thought it could be improved upon. I was wrong. For me, that performance alone makes this set worth buying. These guys don't just rock, they can strip down and harmonize, and this version of "Say You Will" proves it.
So I gave the album 4 stars, but it should probably be 4-and-a-half. The DVD and the remastered/remixed hits CD makes up for the "iffy" CD of new material. A few more listens might swing me into a 5 star rating, but if not, this set is STILL worth owning, without a second thought. Great package, great price (at Walmart), great band.
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~ Lou Gramm
~ Lynyrd Skynyrd
~ Winger
~ Creed
~ Europe
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