4 [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster]

Performer: Foreigner
Artist: Junior Walker; Thomas Dolby
Engineer: Dave Wittman; Dennis Fitzmartin; Tony Platt; Brad Samuelsohn
Producer: Mick Jones; Bill Inglot; David McLees (Reissue)
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Atlantic's Gold Standard Audiophile Compact Discs are gold-plated CD's that boast 20-bit digital reproduction technology for improved sonic dynamics. Each re-issue comes in a specially designed mini-box which includes the jewel CD box plus a 24-page color booklet featuring new liner notes, photographs, and the complete original album artwork. Personnel: Lou Gramm (vocals, percussion); Mick Jones (guitar, keyboards, background vocals); Hugh McCracken (slide guitar); Mark Rivera (saxophone); Joe Walker, Jr. (alto saxophone); Michael Fonfara, Bob Mayo (keyboards); Larry Fast, Thomas Dolby (synthesizer); Rick Willis (bass guitar, background vocals); Ian Lloyd (background vocals). Audio Remasterers: Dan Hersch; Bill Inglot. Liner Note Author: Bruce Pilato. Recording information: Electric Lady Studios, N.Y.C (1999); Mick's Home Studio (1999). Photographer: Neal Preston. Prior to the band's fourth release, the aptly titled 4, Foreigner again sustained lineup changes. With the departures of second guitarist Ian McDonald and keyboardist Al Greenwood, Foreigner became a quartet for the first time. The streamlining of the lineup helped bring about even greater commercial success for the band, as 4 became Foreigner's best-selling album ever, eventually selling well over six million copies in the U.S. alone. Its success can also be attributed to the presence of soon-to-be-superproducer John "Mutt" Lange. The presence of the gigantic hit ballad "Waiting for a Girl Like You" and the well-known rockers "Urgent" and "Juke Box Hero" certainly didn't hurt either. Looking back, 4 proved to be Foreigner's apex. Prior to the band's fourth release, the aptly titled 4, Foreigner again sustained lineup changes. With the departures of second guitarist Ian McDonald and keyboardist Alan Greenwood, Foreigner became a quartet for the first time. The streamlining of the lineup helped bring about even greater commercial success for the band, as 4 became Foreigner's best-selling album ever, eventually selling well over six million copies in the U.S. alone. Its success can also be attributed to the presence of soon-to-be-superproducer John "Mutt" Lange. The presence of the gigantic hit ballad "Waiting for a Girl Like You" and the well-known rockers "Urgent" and "Juke Box Hero" certainly didn't hurt either. Looking back, 4 proved to be Foreigner's apex. Over the course of their first three late-'70s albums, Foreigner had firmly established themselves (along with Journey and Styx) as one of the top AOR bands of the era. But the band was still looking for that grand slam of a record that would push them to the very top of the heap. Released in 1981, 4 would be that album. In producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange -- fresh off his massive success with AC/DC's Back in Black -- guitarist and all-around mastermind Mick Jones found both the catalyst to achieve this and his perfect musical soulmate. Lange's legendary obsessive attention to detail and Jones' highly disciplined guitar heroics (which he never allowed to get in the way of a great song) resulted in a collaboration of unprecedented, sparkling efficiency where not a single note is wasted. "Nightlife" is only the first in a series ("Woman in Black," "Don't Let Go," the '50s-tinged "Luanne") of energetic, nearly flawless melodic rockers, and with "Juke Box Hero," the band somehow managed to create both a mainstream hit single and a highly unique-sounding track, alternating heavy metal guitar riffing, chorused vocals, and one of the ultimate "wanna be a rock star" lyrics. As for the mandatory power ballad, the band also reached unparalleled heights with "Waiting for a Girl Like You." One of the decade's most successful cross-genre tearjerkers, it has since become a staple of soft rock radio and completely eclipsed the album's other very lovely ballad, "Girl on the Moon," in the process. And last but not least, the surprisingly funky "Urgent" proved to be one of the band's most memorable and uncharacteristic smash hits, thanks to Junior Walker's signature saxophone solo. Through it all, vocalist Lou Gramm does his part, delivering a dazzling performance that confirmed his status as one of the finest voices of his generation. Three years later, Foreigner would achieve even greater success on a pop level with the uneven Agent Provocateur, but by then Jones and Gramm were locked in an escalating war of egos that would soon lead to the band's demise. All things considered, 4 remains Foreigner's career peak. [Atlantic Records' expanded version, released in 2002, adds acoustic versions of the hits "Juke Box Hero" and "Waiting for a Girl Like You."] ~ Eduardo Rivadavia

CMJ (1/5/04, p.8) - Ranked #16 in CMJ's "Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1981"

With their accessible AOR sound, Foreigner made it OK for pop fans to listen to hard rock in the '70s. American singer Lou Gramm and UK guitarist Mick Jones (formerly of Spooky Tooth, not to be confused with the Clash guitarist) are responsible for some of classic rock's most instantly recognizable anthems ("Hot Blooded," "Cold As Ice," etc.); however, mammoth hit ballads like the sinisterly seductive "Waiting For a Girl Like You" and the anomalous, gospel-inflected "I Want to Know What Love Is" launched a second life for the band in the 1980s as purveyors of soft rock ballads.

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