Double Vision | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | June 20, 1978 | |||
Recorded | March - May, 1978 | |||
Studio | Sound City, Van Nuys | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 37:55 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Producer | ||||
Foreigner chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover art | ||||
Singles from Double Vision | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Christgau's Record Guide | C− [3] |
Rolling Stone | [4] |
Double Vision is the second studio album by the British-American rock band Foreigner,released on 20 June 1978 by Atlantic Records. Recorded between March - May 1978,it was Foreigner's only album co-produced by Keith Olsen and the last recording with bass guitarist Ed Gagliardi who would be later replaced by Rick Wills.
Double Vision was the first in the line of many other recordings in which A&R executive John Kalodner would simply have his name listed twice in liner notes,as a play on the title of this album. The phrase "John Kalodner:John Kalodner" originated when the producer Olsen was wondering just how to credit Kalodner's involvement in the band and the album. In keeping with the double vision theme,guitarist Mick Jones came up with an idea of doubling the name. [5]
"Tramontane" is the only instrumental track Foreigner have released to date on a studio album.
Mick Jones takes the lead vocals on "Back Where You Belong" and "I Have Waited So Long".
The album peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart [6] and earning platinum certification a week after its release. It has now been certified 7×platinum for sales in excess of 7 million units [7] and along with the compilation Records (1982) is counted as Foreigner's best selling album. In Europe,however,Double Vision reached the Top 40 only in the United Kingdom. [8]
The lead single,released in June 1978,was "Hot Blooded," which reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In September,it was followed by "Double Vision," which charted at number 2. This was the highest position Foreigner had attained to that time. The third and final single,"Blue Morning,Blue Day," was released in December and climbed to number 15 on the chart. [9]
Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn described Double Vision as "slickly produced,commercially powerful,but artistically vapid." [10] The Record critic Rick Atkinson said of the album that it used the same formula as Foreigner's debut album such that "Foreigner's Clone" would have been an appropriate title. [11]
According to Atkinson,"Tramontane" was the only "new and different track" on the album. [11] Atkinson describes "Tramontane" as having a "heavy keyboard line" but that all members of the group "get a quick shot at the spotlight." [11] On the other hand, The Morning News critic Gary Mullinax described "Tramontane" as "a densely textured instrumental that is pleasant enough but doesn't really go anywhere." [12] Unlike most Foreigner songs,Tramontane was written primarily by Al Greenwood. [13] Ian McDonald played a lyricon on the track. [13]
Murfreesboro Press critic Van West also recognized Double Vision as having similarities to Foreigner,but said that there are important differences;in particular,Double Vision has "more individualistic interpretations" and a "heavy metal tonal structure" instead of some of the "careful harmonies" of the debut album. [14]
New York Daily News critic Ace Adams called Double Vision "a fine collection of songs" that is "hard rock at its best." [15]
Record World said that,besides the hit singles,"'Back Where You Belong' and 'Spellbinder' shows [Foreigner's] expertise and maturity as a band." [16] PopMatters critic Evan Sawdey commented on the non-single album tracks,saying that "the gloomy 'Tramontane' and the rewrite of 'The Damage is Done' that was 'Spellbinder' did little to expand the band’s sound so much as it was a pushing of its existing abilities into more commercial shapes" but praised "the shimmering acoustic wonder that was 'Back Where You Belong.'" [17]
Jones has rated two songs from the album ("Blue Morning,Blue Day" and "Spellbinder") as among his 11 favorite Foreigner songs. [18]
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Hot Blooded" | Lou Gramm | Mick Jones | 4:28 |
2. | "Blue Morning, Blue Day" | Gramm, Jones | Jones | 3:12 |
3. | "You're All I Am" | Jones | Jones | 3:24 |
4. | "Back Where You Belong" | Jones | Jones | 3:14 |
5. | "Love Has Taken Its Toll" | Gramm | Ian McDonald | 3:29 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
6. | "Double Vision" | Gramm, Jones | Jones | 3:44 |
7. | "Tramontane" (instrumental) | Al Greenwood, McDonald, Jones | 3:56 | |
8. | "I Have Waited So Long" | Jones | Jones | 4:07 |
9. | "Lonely Children" | Jones | Jones | 3:37 |
10. | "Spellbinder" | Gramm | Jones | 4:45 |
Total length: | 37:55 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Hot Blooded" (live) | 6:58 | |
12. | "Love Maker" (live) | Betty Wright, Clarence Reid, Willie Clarke | 6:49 |
Total length: | 52:01 |
Chart (1978) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [19] | 13 |
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [20] | 3 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [21] | 61 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [22] | 32 |
UK Albums (OCC) [8] | 32 |
US Billboard 200 [23] | 3 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [24] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
Japan (RIAJ) [25] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [7] | 7× Platinum | 7,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
4, also known as Foreigner 4, is the fourth studio album by the British-American rock band Foreigner, released on July 17, 1981 on Atlantic Records. Several singles from the album were hits, including "Urgent", "Waiting for a Girl Like You" and "Juke Box Hero".
Foreigner is a British-American rock band formed in New York City in 1976 by guitarist Mick Jones, vocalist Lou Gramm, drummer Dennis Elliott, keyboardist Al Greenwood, bassist Ed Gagliardi and multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, the last of whom was also a founding member of King Crimson. Foreigner is one of the world's best-selling bands of all time, with worldwide sales of more than 80 million records, including 37.5 million in the US.
Foreigner is the debut studio album by British-American rock band Foreigner, released on 8 March 1977. It spun off three hit singles, "Feels Like the First Time", "Cold as Ice" and "Long, Long Way from Home". It also features album tracks such as "Headknocker" and "Starrider", the latter of which features a rare lead vocal from lead guitarist and co-founder Mick Jones.
Head Games is the third studio album by the British-American rock band Foreigner, released on 11 September 1979 by Atlantic Records. Recorded at Atlantic Studios in New York, with additional recording and whole mixing taking place at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles, it was the only Foreigner album co-produced by Roy Thomas Baker, best known for working on Queen's classic albums. It marked the first appearance of new bass guitarist Rick Wills who replaced Ed Gagliardi, and was the last album with founding members Ian McDonald and Al Greenwood, who would leave the band after the recording. Head Games is also the last Foreigner album to feature a lead vocal by guitarist Mick Jones.
Records is a compilation album by the British-American rock band Foreigner, released on November 29, 1982, to span the band's first four albums through 1981. Along with their second album, Double Vision, this release is the group's best-selling record. It has been certified 7× platinum by the RIAA.
Agent Provocateur is the fifth studio album by the British-American rock band Foreigner, released on December 14, 1984. The album was the band's only number-one album in the United Kingdom, and it reached the top five in the United States. Although album sales were lower than their previous work in the US, it contains the band's biggest hit single, the album’s love theme "I Want to Know What Love Is", which is their only #1 single in the UK and the US, staying at the top spot for three and two weeks, respectively. The follow-up single, "That Was Yesterday", also proved to be a sizeable hit, peaking at #12 in the US. The album was certified Platinum in the UK by the BPI, and triple Platinum in the US by the RIAA.
John David Kalodner is a retired American A&R executive.
"Juke Box Hero" is a song by British-American rock band Foreigner written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones from their 1981 album 4. It first entered the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in July 1981 and eventually reached #3 on that chart. Released as the album's third single in early 1982, it subsequently went to #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart
"Waiting for a Girl Like You" is a 1981 power ballad by the British-American rock band Foreigner released as the second single from the album 4 (1981) and was co-written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones. The opening motif was written by Ian McDonald and the distinctive synthesizer theme was performed by the then-little-known Thomas Dolby.
"Urgent" is a song by the British-American rock band Foreigner, and the first single from their album 4 in 1981.
"Hot Blooded" is a song by the British-American rock band Foreigner, from their second studio album Double Vision. It was released as a single in June 1978 and reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that September. The single was also certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. It is also the theme song to the truTV scripted series Tacoma FD.
"Cold as Ice" is a 1977 song written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones that was first released by British-American rock band Foreigner from their eponymous debut album. It became one of the best-known songs of the band in the US, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was initially the B-side of some versions of the "Feels Like the First Time" 45 rpm single.
"Feels Like the First Time" is the debut single by British-American rock band Foreigner. It was written by Mick Jones and released in 1977 from the band's eponymous debut album. It reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Double Vision" is a single by Foreigner from their second album of the same name. The song reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks in 1978, behind "MacArthur Park" by Donna Summer. It became a gold record. The song was also a top 10 hit in Canada.
Can't Slow Down is the ninth studio album by the British-American rock band Foreigner and their most recent album to date. It was the band's first studio release with lead singer Kelly Hansen and bassist Jeff Pilson and the group's first new studio album since 1994's Mr. Moonlight. In the U.S. the album was first available exclusively through Wal-Mart retailers.
"Dirty White Boy" is a song recorded by British-American rock band Foreigner, written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones, and produced by Roy Thomas Baker, Jones, and Ian McDonald. It was the first single taken from the band's third studio album, Head Games (1979). The B-side, "Rev on the Red Line" has also proven to be very popular among fans, but was never released as an A-side. Lou Gramm's trademark scream at the end of the song is missing from this abbreviated version of "Dirty White Boy". The song spent nine weeks in the Top 40.
"Blue Morning, Blue Day" is a song written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones that was first released as the third single on Foreigner's second album, Double Vision, reaching #15 on the Hot 100, the band's sixth top 40 single in two years, and #45 in the U.K. The song was backed with the Mick Jones song "I Have Waited So Long". "Blue Morning, Blue Day" is also available as downloadable content for the Rock Band series and was released on clear blue vinyl.
"Long, Long Way from Home" is a song written by Mick Jones, Lou Gramm & Ian McDonald that was initially released on Foreigner's debut album. It was the third single taken from the album.
"Head Games" is the title-cut and second single taken from the band Foreigner's third release. It was written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones, and released primarily in the U.S. in November 1979 while at the same time, "Love On The Telephone" was being released elsewhere. The song's b-side, "Do What You Like" uses multi-layered harmony vocals along the lines of their earlier single, "Cold as Ice."
40: Forty Hits From Forty Years 1977-2017 is a two-disc compilation album by British-American rock band Foreigner, released on May 19, 2017. The album includes two new recordings: a rerecording of "I Don't Want to Live Without You", and the new song "Give My Life for Love".