{"id":21120,"date":"2012-07-20T13:13:26","date_gmt":"2012-07-20T18:13:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=21120"},"modified":"2013-02-05T16:13:52","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T21:13:52","slug":"foreigner-alive-rockin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/foreigner-alive-rockin\/","title":{"rendered":"Foreigner | Alive & Rockin\u2019<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"Formed in 1976 by Mick Jones, Ian McDonald and Lou Gramm, now Foreigner is more or less a super-group on its own. With the addition of such musicians as vocalist Kelly Hansen (Hurricane, Unruly Child, Heaven & Earth), drummer Jason Bonham (the man\u2019s name speaks for itself) or bassist Jeff Pilson (Dokken, Dio) the band still rises up to the challenge, deserving to be listed among the greatest AOR\/melodic rock acts ever. Their newest release via Eagle Rock Entertainment is Alive & Rockin\u2019<\/em> \u2013 nine-track record of the band\u2019s performance on the 2006 Bang Your Head!!! festival in Balingen, Germany. In fact, the material included is not entirely new to the listeners \u2013 the concert was previously released in DVD format and its availability on CD is the only novelty out there.<\/p>\n

Reviewing live albums is always a bit of nuisance \u2013whereas the content is nothing else but a \u201cgreatest hits\u201d package in reference to the band\u2019s catalogue, simultaneously there is a fair chance of ruining the band\u2019s legendary status by a poor live performance and disappointing the fans. This is not the case for Foreigner, though \u2013 their live compilation of the most recognizable songs from the Lou Gramm era, is nothing but the best of the best. It begins with powerful performance of \u201cDouble Vision\u201d off the band\u2019s 1978 album \u2013 Jeff Jacobs\u2019 keyboard sound is especially notable, giving the track the expected (and appropriate) late \u201870s, early \u201880s feel. 79’s \u201cHead Games\u201d is sort of room to show Mick Jones\u2019 instrumental talents off, as it is his melodic six-string sound which leads the song to the bombastic final \u2013 an explosion of virtuosity taken as far as possible with the \u201ccheesy\u201d arena rock sound. Tongue-in-cheek 1979’s hit \u201cDirty White Boy\u201d is treated with equal dose of dynamism \u2013 and the flute-driven ballad \u201cStargazer\u201d must have been the one the die-hard metalheads gathered in Balingen that night had lighted their trademark concert lighters (or their mobile phones \u2013 sign of the times, they say) to.<\/p>\n

It is not easy to say that classics such as \u201cCold as Ice\u201d or \u201cUrgent\u201d fall in between the cracks on the album \u2013 but it is the roaring crowd during the \u201cJuke Box Hero\/Whole Lotta Love\u201d medley that speaks for itself about what had to be the highlight of the gig. Still, along with \u201cHot Blooded\u201d or \u201cFeels Like the First Time\u201d it is hard to pick one song the performance of which could be described as mediocre. That is partially thanks to the instrumentalists and partially to the breathtaking vocal delivery of Kelly Hansen. While it is not too easy to replace such legend Lou Gramm certainly remains, Hansen rises up to the challenge \u2013 he easily fits into the Foreigner catalogue by having similar abilities and vocal range to his predecessor, but also adds a bit of his own feeling and vocal style to the well-known band\u2019s hits, proving there is no note in them he is not capable of hitting (no matter if it is beginning or the end of the show). The audience\u2019s ecstatic chants and roars, evident through the whole album, are just another proof of that.<\/p>\n

Alive & Rockin\u2019<\/em> is, obviously, not much of a surprise. Beyond the fact the material was previously released on DVD, it is also more or less a list of what every Foreigner fan could dream of listening to, if attending the band\u2019s show; a crowd-pleasing set perfect for an open-air festival experience. Still, it proves the class of the current band\u2019s line-up (Kelly Hansen, hands down) as well as the fact that the widely-played, big-selling hits of the last three decades stood the test of time even all those years later. Due to the general character of live albums Alive & Rockin\u2019 is not a must-have even for a die-hard Foreigner fan, but certainly remains a nice addition to the band\u2019s records\u2019 collection.<\/p>\n

Genre: Classic Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nMick Jones (guitars)
\nKelly Hansen (vocals)
\nJason Bonham (drums)
\nJeff Jacobs (keyboards)
\nTom Gimbel (guitars, saxophone, flute)
\nJeff Pilson (bass)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1. Double Vision
\n2. Head Games
\n3. Dirty White Boy
\n4. Cold As Ice
\n5. Starrider
\n6. Feels Like The First Time
\n7. Urgent
\n8. Juke Box Hero \/ Whole Lotta Love
\n9. Hot Blooded<\/p>\n

Label: http:\/\/www.eagle-rock.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Web: http:\/\/www.foreigneronline.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska – Columnist — Formed in 1976 by Mick Jones, Ian McDonald and Lou Gramm, now Foreigner is more or less a super-group on its own. With the addition of such musicians as […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6772],"tags":[336,163,2996,334],"class_list":{"0":"post-21120","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-cd","8":"tag-foreigner","9":"tag-jason-bonham","10":"tag-review"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21120\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}