Foreigner is without a doubt one of the classic bands of rock ‘n roll. They have dominated the airwaves for dozens of years, from their initial debut in the ’70s to the classic rock stations of today. Songs such as “I Wish To Know What Love Is,” “Waiting For A Girl Like You,” “Cold As Ice,” “Feels Like The First Time,” and “Juke Box Hero,” are some of the ones that anyone who has spent time within earshot of a radio will know.
The group is regularly in the Top 15 at classic rock radio stations, and as a result of the numerous songs that get airplay, Foreigner gets more airplay than current and future Rock’n'roll Hall Of Famers such as Tom Petty, Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, Def Leppard, and U2. And their latest release, Feels Like The First Time, which came out this past fall, entered the Top fifty on the charts at the same time their previous release, Extended Versions II, re-entered the chart, so they became the first classic rock act to have 2 albums on the chart at the same time in over 20 years.
In addition, Foreigner songs have attacked the consciousness of the music world with songs in pictures and Television shows from Cheerful Feet 2, The Chipmunks, and Sex And The City 2, to Dancing With The Stars, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and the Ellen DeGeneres Show. They have also been in radio and TV commercials for Coors Light, Bosch, Stouffers, Motorola and Volkswagen, and computer console games like DJ Hero, Guitar Hero 6 and Rock Band three.
Feels Like The First Time is basically a 3 disc set, and contains a CD of acoustic versions of their biggest hits, a CD of newly recorded versions of the tunes along with one new one, and a live CD.
“What it is, is a treble disc set, one live from Chicago, one disc of the current line-up re-doing the classic tunes, and one disk doing acoustic versions of the songs,” explains Kelly Hansen, the lead vocalist. “We had some live acoustic broadcasts in Germany, and we just got this response that was surprising, and we realized this is exceedingly popular, everybody loves the idea. We probably did a few experimental shows in Canada all acoustic, and we said, ‘we really need record these shows this way.’”
The present line-up is a power house, with Mick Jones, the guitarist and tunesmith, leading the way. Bass guitar player Jeff Pilson was in Dokken, while drummer Mark Schulman has performed with Sheryl Crow, Velvet Revolver, Stevie Nicks, Billy Idol, and Cher, amongst others. He also was an affiliate of Foreigner back in the ’90s. Keyboard player Michael Bluestein was formerly with Boz Scaggs and Enrique Iglesias, and was in the house band on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Tom Gimbel plays sax and keys, and was with the band across the ’90s.
“Lou left in 2002,” Kelly recalls, about original lead vocalist Lou Gramm. “Mick took a little time off to reacquaint himself with his other half and family. Doing this takes twenty-four / seven of your life, so it was significant for him to take that time. Then he believed, ‘What am I doing?’ He wished to go out and play, and everybody told him he wanted to do that, including Jason Bonham. Jason announced, ‘you have to get out and play, the songs are timeless.’ They went and did a charity show out in California. I was in my own career crisis, and they were given in contact with me, kind of referring to a new Mick Jones project. It sounded fascinating. They had been dormant for a couple of years, and they were just getting back on track. They’d been looking all over for folks, and they were coming to L.A. To practice. What I found out later , they had a round table meeting and called some friends. And then they called and said, ‘can you start rehearsing tomorrow?’ It started off right from the gate, like out of a rocket.”
It is often a hard task to become the frontman for a legendary group, especially when it’s one that you used to listen to. “I was a fan,” says Kelly. “I was very well aware of their releases, and I mostly looked forward to their recent releases. I liked the quality of the songs and the production.”
Kelly’s influences lean toward great RB vocalists such as Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles, as well as a lot ’60s and ’70s pop radio. He principally heard whatever his mummy had on the vehicle radio, or the one stereo they had in the house. “We’re talking 100 years ago,” he laughs. “I remember one time when I was younger I called a radio station and requested a song, and they said, ‘that’s not the type of song we play.’ I reckon I was influenced by TV commercials as well in those days, because I can remember all those jingles.”
Hansen initially came to prominence in the acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful band Hurricane. But he has more than found his voice in bringing the classic Foreigner songs to the masses. “There’s never been a point when anybody has dictated how I sing,” he is saying. “To go out and do a handful of riffing on these songs would be like, ‘look how great I am,’ and that isn’t what the tunes are about. I always stick to the melody. A lot of singers go out and do not do the melody, but I like to go out and hear the tunes that I heard on the radio. When you start to make the tune unrecognizable, that is not what I like. I am lucky enough to get be in a band that has great songs, and that is what I’m about. Mick and I had a lot of dialogues right at the beginning ; I told him I wanted to sing the songs the way That I hear them on the radio.”
And he’s more than up to task, as I saw at the PNC Bank Humanities Center this past summer when the band came thru with Journey and Night Ranger. Not only will he nail the tunes vocally, but he’s also a highly dynamic figurehead, getting the gang concerned and even venturing out into the fans during the show. If you have a chance to catch Foreigner at the approaching area dates, I guarantee you, you will not be disenchanted writes tagza.
