Head Games (song)

Last updated
"Head Games"
Head Games single cover.jpg
Single by Foreigner
from the album Head Games
B-side "Do What You Like"
ReleasedNovember 2, 1979 (US) [1]
February 1980 (UK) [2]
RecordedEarly 1979
Genre Hard rock
Length3:26 (single)
3:37 (album)
Label Atlantic
Songwriter(s) Lou Gramm, Mick Jones
Producer(s) Roy Thomas Baker, Mick Jones, Ian McDonald
Foreigner singles chronology
"Dirty White Boy"
(1979)		"Head Games"
(1979)		"Love On The Telephone"
(1979)
Music video
"Head Games" on YouTube

"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."

Contents

Background

The lyrics of "Head Games" "express anguish and disappointment over a love affair. [3] Salt Lake Tribune staff writer Terry Orme said that "the message of 'Head Games'...is identical to 'Cold as Ice' – a banal, sleazy claim of unrequited love." [4]

Reception

Billboard described "Head Games" as a "kick it out rocker" and described Gramm's vocals as "expressive" and Jones' guitar playing as "searing." [5] Cash Box called it a "rock anthem [that] builds at a steady pace" and said that "Lou Gramm's vocal is at its aggressive peak." [6] Record World said that "Gramm's snarling vocals & a relentless rhythm equal a tense, driving AOR-pop pick." [7]

Daily Republican Register critic Mike Bishop called out the song's lyrics as being "silly" and praised Al Greenwood's keyboards, although said that the riffs seem to be borrowed from Foreigner's earlier song "Double Vision." [8] Press-Enterprise critic Kim McNally described it as a "'you and me baby, I can't take it anymore' number" and found it to be "ponderous." [9] The Fort Worth Star Telegram rated it to be the 3rd best single of 1979, behind the Babys' "Every Time I Think of You" and Cheap Trick's "Voices." [10]

Ultimate Classic Rock critic Matt Wardlaw rated it as Foreigner's 8th greatest song, saying that "a soaring opening riff from Jones leads into urgent lyrical communication from Gramm, who struggles to figure out and face the true mental reality of his fractious relationship." [11]

"Head Games" reached number 14 on the charts of both the U.S. [12] [13] and Canada [14]

Personnel

Chart history

Chart (1979–80)Peak
position
Canada RPM Top Singles [14] 14
US Billboard Hot 100 [12] [13] 14
US Cash Box Top 100 [15] 12

The song was featured in the first episode of web television series Cobra Kai , when protagonist Johnny Lawrence drives whilst drunk and reminisces about his teenage years. [16]

Related Research Articles

<i>4</i> (Foreigner album) 1981 studio album by Foreigner

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreigner (band)</span> British-American rock band

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<i>Head Games</i> (album) 1979 studio album by Foreigner

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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feels Like the First Time</span> 1977 single by Foreigner

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midnight Blue (Lou Gramm song)</span> 1987 single by Lou Gramm

"Midnight Blue" is a song by American rock singer-songwriter Lou Gramm, issued as a 7" single in the United States in January 1987 by Atlantic Records. It was the lead-off single from Gramm's debut album, Ready or Not, released in February 1987. An extended remix of the song was available as a 12" single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Say You Will (Foreigner song)</span> 1987 single by Foreigner

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Double Vision (Foreigner song)</span> 1978 single by Foreigner

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dirty White Boy (song)</span> 1979 single by Foreigner

"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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long, Long Way from Home</span> 1977 single by Foreigner

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love on the Telephone</span> 1980 single by Foreigner

"Love on the Telephone" was the third single from the third album, Head Games by the band, Foreigner. The song was written by Lou Gramm & Mick Jones, and released as a single in Europe. It reached No. 34 in the Netherlands. The song's b-side, "Women" was chosen as the next single for the American market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women (Foreigner song)</span> 1980 single by Foreigner

"Women" is the fourth single taken from the third album, Head Games by the band, Foreigner. It was written by Mick Jones, and released in February 1980. The song's B-side, "The Modern Day" is also sung by its writer, Jones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luanne</span> 1982 single by Foreigner

"Luanne" was the fifth and final single taken from the album 4 by the band Foreigner, and the second to feature a B-side that was not available on one of their albums, a controversial live version of their hit, "Hot Blooded". The song was written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones and reached number 75 in the U.S. charts, but was a live staple for years to come. The live version of "Hot Blooded" was later placed on the international release of their retrospective, Records, but in subsequent re-releases has been dropped in favour of the original album version due to a couple of choice words spoken in ad lib during the song's performance by its singer, Lou Gramm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">That Was Yesterday (Foreigner song)</span> 1985 single by Foreigner

"That Was Yesterday" is the second single taken from the album Agent Provocateur by the band Foreigner. This song was available in four versions, as a remixed single, an extended remix, an orchestral version, and the original mix. The song was written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones, and the B-side "Two Different Worlds" is also of note for being the first solo-written Lou Gramm song to appear on a single.

References

  1. ↑ "Foreigner singles".
  2. ↑ "The Great Rock Discography". p. 301.
  3. ↑ McEnroe, Colin (October 26, 1979). "'Foreigner' Maniacally Effective". Hartford Courant. p. 73. Retrieved 2022-06-18– via newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Orme, Terry (January 9, 1980). "It's True, Salt Lake City Loves Rock 'n Roll". Salt Lake Tribune. p. B3. Retrieved 2022-06-18– via newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard Magazine. November 10, 1979. p. 81. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
  6. ↑ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. November 10, 1979. p. 20. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  7. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. November 10, 1979. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  8. ↑ Bishop, Mike (November 16, 1979). "Platter Chatter". Daily Republican Register. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-06-18– via newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ McNally, Kim (September 15, 1979). "Foreigner uninspired". Morning Press. p. C-6. Retrieved 2022-06-18– via newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Kaye, Roger (January 13, 1980). "The best albums, singles and concerts of 1979". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. pp. 1D, 10D. Retrieved 2022-06-18– via newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Wardlaw, Matt (May 2, 2015). "Top 10 Foreigner Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
  12. 1 2 "Foreigner Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  13. 1 2 Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN   0-89820-089-X
  14. 1 2 Canada, Library and Archives (17 July 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly".
  15. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 1/12/80". tropicalglen.com.
  16. ↑ Romano, Evan (September 10, 2020). "Here's Every Badass '80s Jam From Cobra Kai Seas". Men's Health. Hearst Magazine Media. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
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