Song#: 3582
Date: 07/16/1988
Debut: 89
Peak: 56
Weeks: 10
Genre: Rock
Pop Bits: By this point in time, Foreigner's sixth studio album, Inside Information, had spawned a pair of Pop Top 10 hits including the #5 "I Don't Want to Live Without You." It was a great way to get things started, but oddly it wasn't enough to drive the album into the Top 10 (#15) and it became their first studio LP to miss that mark. The label tried to keep interest in and sales of the album going by releasing this third single, but it wasn't to be. The track stalled short of the halfway mark. It probably didn't help that rock radio had already spun the tune months earlier with it getting to #7 in February on the Rock chart. It would be the last official single released from the album in the US, however the track "Can't Wait" would get airplay and make it to #18 at Rock. The LP would go platinum, but that was quite a drop since all their previous studio LPs were multi-platinum sellers.
ReduxReview: As an album opener, this was a good track for the band. It had a bit of the classic Foreigner sound with Lou Gramm's unmistakable voice leading the way. It was a good song to spin over on rock radio, but it just wasn't hooky or strong enough for pop, which had gotten used to a more soft rock sound from the band. I also thought the production was a bit muddled. It was awash in keyboards and echo effects that made the tune heavy and dense. It wasn't necessarily out of step for the time period, but it paled in comparison to the crisp production of earlier albums like 4. The LP would close out the main hit making era of Foreigner.
ReduxRating: 5/10
Trivia: Following a second solo album in 1989, lead singer Lou Gramm decided to leave Foreigner. The band would replace him with Johnny Edwards. A new lineup of Foreigner would then release the 1991 album Unusual Heat. It fared poorly only getting to #117, although the track "Lowdown and Dirty" did get to #4 at Rock. The following year, Gramm and his old bandmate Mick Jones started to work together again. Gramm rejoined Foreigner and the band recorded three new tracks for the compilation The Very Best...and Beyond. The new song "Soul Doctor" would get to #5 at Rock. In 1995, they released what was to be the band's full comeback album Mr. Moonlight. Unfortunately it failed to generate any interest and tanked at #136. The lead single, "Until the End of Time," got to #42 Pop/#8 AC. Foreigner then continued on mainly as a touring act. Gramm would once again leave in 2003. With new lead singer Kelly Hansen, the band would release Can't Slow Down in 2009. Thanks to a pair of Top 20 AC entries, the album got to #29. Foreigner continued to tour over the years, but the only original member still in the band was Mick Jones.
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