A sample of what you'll get on this DVD
In 1977 a group of musicians came together to form the band Foreigner. Several had been in some major bands in the past including Spooky Tooth and King Crimson, making them one of the first of many “super bands” as groups with members in other bands were called. Their initial outing contained several hits and made them a staple on rock radio for years. They’ve changed line ups over the years but Mick Jones has remained a constant and he still rocks out over 30 years later.
FOREIDNER LIVE features the most current line up for the band in 2008 when this was made. Released before, the DVD is now available in blu-ray format, increasing not just the great picture quality but the sound as well. When it comes to watching AND listening to this great band perform in 5.1 DTS you’ll know that investing in the surround system is well worth doing.
The line up of the band featured here includes Jones, Tom Gimbel who toured with Aerosmith, Jeff Pilson who was one of the original members of Dokken, Michael Bluestein who played with Boz Skaggs and Stevie Nicks, Jason Bonham son of Led Zepplin drummer John Bonham and new lead singer Kelly Hansen. All of them are insanely talented individuals but it is Hansen who pulls off the most amazing thing for any member in the group. That’s because Hansen, as lead singer, sounds nearly exactly like original singer Lou Gramm. Face it, the vocals are what make most bands recognizable. To find someone who not only can perform as if he’s been there all along but to make the songs sound like they did originally is amazing.
The DVD was part of the SoundStage series that filmed in Chicago and used a standard backdrop with screens displaying the name of the featured guest. Add to that the lights the band uses and the fact that they don’t rely on the props but more on their musical ability and you have a dynamite DVD. What amazed me most was that while I thought I was a so so fan of the group, I found that there were more songs I liked by them than I realized. It made me want to dig out the greatest hits CD to listen to while driving!
The set list for the DVD is as follows, featuring all the great hits of the band and one new original song:
- Night Life
- Head Games
- Gold As Ice
- Waiting for a Girl Like You
- Too Late
- Say You Will
- Long, Long Way From Home
- Double Vision
- Blue Morning, Blue Day
- Dirty White Boy
- Starrider
- Feels Like the First Time
- Urgent
- Juke Box Hero
- I Want to Know What Love Is
- Hot Blooded
Two songs have always been special to me among the hits by Foreigner. The first was “Juke Box Hero”, a song that captured the dream of every young man who ever had the desire to be a rock star, and face it we all did at one time or another. The story of a young man who can’t see the show but listens outside and does everything he can to make it to the top is storytelling at its best from someone inside the world being sung about.
The second was “I Want to Know What Love Is”. Why? Because the day my son was born that was the number one single in the U.S. I even purchased a 45 of the song (remember those?) and enclosed it in the baby book we made for him. It remains there to this day, never played.
Fans of rock music will find this to be a completely entertaining DVD to add to their collection. Those who thought they weren’t Foreigner fans will discover that they actually liked more songs than they remembered. And for those who haven’t heard them at all, sit back and enjoy one of the great rock bands of all time.
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