For those of us arena-rock lovers of the late '70s and early '80s, it didn't get any better than those first four Foreigner albums.
Formed in 1976 by veteran British guitarist Mick Jones, Foreigner went on to sell more than 50 million albums worldwide, had five top ten albums in a row plus a slew of top ten singles. This was due in part to the instant songwriting chemistry between Jones and Foreigner's original leather-lunged lead vocalist Lou Gramm who wrote some of the catchiest hooks, riffs and melodies ever laid down to vinyl.
By 2003 Gramm had quit Foreigner for second time, and Jones was now the sole original member left to carry on the band.
In 2005, Jones decided to reform Foreigner once again hiring veteran rockers Kelly Hansen (vocals), Jason Bonham (drums), Jeff Jacobs (keyboards), Tom Gimbel (guitars, saxophone, flute) and Jeff Pilson (bass). So as you can see, this lineup is about as much the original Foreigner, as the current versions of Journey and Styx are those original bands. But who the hell cares? They are each still churning out some pretty kick ass live shows for us fans who may not have had the opportunity to see them in their heyday.
I had recently heard that Foreigner was throwing down some pretty amazing performances on its most recent tour, and this video proves those rumors to be true.
This year Foreigner celebrates its 30th anniversary. I find that to be pretty amazing since I can clearly remember picking up their debut album the first week it came out. That was 1977, kids!
Mick Jones is in his 60s now and what little bit of hair he has left on his head is completely gray, but the guy is still stroking his Les Paul better than ever.
Alive & Rockin' was recorded live on June 23, 2006 at the "Bang Your Head!!! Festival," in Balingen, Germany. The guys in Foreigner admittedly felt a bit out of place on this predominantly heavy metal bill, considering that it featured the likes of In Flames, Stratovarious, Exodus, Armored Saint and other similarly über-heavy acts.
But Foreigners' shortened, ballad-free set eventually won over the head-banging German crowd and was a huge success. I don't think that Foreigner were completely out of place either, considering that other bands on the bill included Whitesnake, Y &T, and Rik Emmett (Triumph), whom I would consider more rock than metal.
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