Rock music fans around the world will be jumping out of their seats when they get their hands on the new double CD collection No End In Sight: The Very Best Of Foreigner. The main reason for such levels of jubilance is based on its being a collection of tunes that will really bring back the memory of the bands glorious rise to Arena Rock legendry and their long term dominance over the radio airwaves of the time. Growing up as a music fan during the bands heyday I can safely say that there wasn't a radio station to be found that wasn't playing a Foreigner track of some kind during regular broadcast times (of course I am speaking outside of your talk, sports and foreign language stations). The interesting thing about this was that it was during a time when the tunes played were actually DJ preferences and audience demand as opposed to the station manager following what advertisers directed him to play and having the listeners like it eventually after being spoon fed the track time and time again. To me, this "old school" approach makes the band hold a lot more relevance and value when it comes to looking back on their history in a collection such as this. Foreigner was formed by Mick Jones and fronted for many years by Lou Gramm and together the pair were an unstoppable partnership of Hard Rock power. The sound of Foreigner was big in every sense of the word and from the moment you put in the first CD you will find yourself rocking along until it ends and of course its then you realize that you have one more full CD length to travel as the collection brings you up to the latest activity in the bands book. The first CD was all I needed as all of my favorite numbers seemed to be present here and while "Feels Like The First Time" was the bands first big number, for me it was "Long, Long Way From Home" and "Dirty White Boy" that made me an instant fan. To the hard core Rock listener, defining their own favorite Foreigner track is a very personal choice and while some might have preferred "Cold As Ice" over "Hot Blooded", you would be hard pressed to find anyone who didn't like a healthy chunk of their material. The songs were all that good when it came down to it, and they didn't only have well structured melodies, but great sing along lyrics and powerful harmonies and groove. Clearly the band deserves any accolades that it gets and if you were never a fan before because of when you actually got into music then this collection will get you into the gear with the rest of us. There is a booklet included that features an extensive historical essay by Roy Trakin and he really fills you in on their formation as well as the trials and tribulations that they faced as they made their way to the top. The fascinating read also gives the listener some insight into what went into a couple of the songs that became classics and how they actually came to be. In today's music world the band finds only Mick Jones as an original member but he has assembled a quality line up of eighties Hair Metal stalwarts to complete the project and with Kelly Hansen (vocals), Jell Pilson (bass) and Jason Bonham (drums) as a part of the equation you know that the music is in fantastic hands. If you don't believe me, once you get through all of the hits make sure that you pay close attention to the recently recorded live stuff by the group.
This double CD also serves another purpose and allows those who once owned the vinyl, cassette, or original CD for the album Records a means to let go of the past. Records was the first greatest hits package from the band and only included ten songs. While good some of the omissions were staggering injustices, and thankfully No End In Sight fixes that issue straight away. Grab a copy of this album as a very high recommendation. Get "Hot Blooded" all over again for these legendary juke box heroes.
Track Listing
1. Feels Like The First Time
2. Long, Long Way From Home
3. Cold As Ice
4. Headknocker
5. Starrider
6. Double Vision
7. Blue Morning, Blue Day
8. Hot Blooded
9. Dirty White Boy
10. Head Games
11. Women
12. Night Life
13. Break It Up
14. Juke Box Hero
15. Urgent
16. Waiting For A Girl Like You
17. I Want To Know What Love Is
18. Down On Love
19. Reaction To Action
20. That Was Yesterday
21. Say You Will
22. I Don't Want To Live Without You
23. Cant Wait
24. Tooth And Nail
25. Heart Turns To Stone
26. Lowdown And Dirty
27. I'll Fight For You
28. Until The End Of Time
29. Too Late
30. Say You Will (live)
31. Starrider (live)
32. Juke Box Hero/Whole Lotta Love (live)
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
