4
- Artist: Foreigner
- Rating:
- Release Date: 1981
- Total Time: 41:56
- Type: Lyrics are included with the album
- Genre: Rock
Review
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. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, Rovi| 4 (1973 Album by A.R. & Machines) | |
| 4 (2007 Album by Dewarren Moses) |
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4 (Foreigner album)
| 4 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Studio album by Foreigner | ||||
| Released | July 2, 1981 | |||
| Recorded | Electric Lady Studios, New York City, 1981 | |||
| Genre | Rock, hard rock | |||
| Length | 42:10 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Robert John "Mutt" Lange and Mick Jones | |||
| Foreigner chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
4, also known as Foreigner 4, is the fourth studio album by British-American rock band Foreigner, released in 1981 on Atlantic Records. Several singles from the album were successful, including "Urgent", "Waiting for a Girl Like You", and "Juke Box Hero". These propelled the album to being Foreigner's only #1 album in the US.
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Contents
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Background and writing
The album was originally titled Silent Partners and later was changed to 4. In 1981, renowned art studio Hipgnosis was asked to design a cover based on the original title, and they developed a black & white image of a young man in bed with a pair of binoculars looming overhead. The resulting design was rejected by the band as they felt it was "too homosexual".[2] The replacement cover for 4 was designed by Bob Defrin and modeled after an old fashioned film leader. Hipgnosis is still credited with designing the record labels.
The album marked the completion of the band's shift to hard rock, begun in Head Games. Both Ian McDonald and Al Greenwood had left before the recording of 4. As a result, all of the songs on the album are compositions by Mick Jones and/or Lou Gramm. McDonald and Greenwood had played saxophone and keyboards, respectively, and so several session musicians were needed to replace their contributions, among them Junior Walker, who played the saxophone solo in the bridge of "Urgent", and a young Thomas Dolby, who would later have a successful solo career.
Track listing
All Songs Copyright Somerset Songs & Evansongs, Ltd. ASCAP
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Night Life" | Mick Jones, Gramm | 3:48 | |
| 2. | "Juke Box Hero" | Gramm, Jones | 4:18 | |
| 3. | "Break It Up" | Jones | 4:11 | |
| 4. | "Waiting for a Girl Like You" | Jones, Gramm | 4:49 | |
| 5. | "Luanne" (On some vinyl editions, "Luanne" is listed as 3:11[3]) | Gramm, Jones | 3:25 | |
| 6. | "Urgent" | Jones | 4:29 | |
| 7. | "I'm Gonna Win" | Jones | 4:51 | |
| 8. | "Woman in Black" | Jones | 4:42 | |
| 9. | "Girl on the Moon" | Jones, Gramm | 3:49 | |
| 10. | "Don't Let Go" | Jones, Gramm | 3:48 |
| Bonus tracks on 2002 re-issue, recorded in 1999 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 11. | "Juke Box Hero" (nearly unplugged version) | 3:06 | ||||||||
| 12. | "Waiting for a Girl Like You" (nearly unplugged version) | 2:50 | ||||||||
Personnel
Foreigner
- Lou Gramm – Lead vocal, percussion
- Mick Jones – guitar, keyboards, background vocal
- Rick Wills – bass, background vocal
- Dennis Elliott – drums, vocals, background vocal
Additional personnel
- Hugh McCracken – slide guitar on track 9
- Tom Dolby – main synthesizers
- Larry Fast – sequential synthesizer on tracks 2, 3 & 10
- Michael Fonfara – keyboard textures on tracks 6 & 9
- Bob Mayo – keyboard textures on track 4
- Mark Rivera – saxophone on tracks 6 (except solo) & 3, background vocals
- Junior Walker – saxophone solo on track 6
- Ian Lloyd – background vocals
- Robert John "Mutt" Lange – background vocals
Production
- Produced By Robert John "Mutt" Lange & Mick Jones
- Recorded & Engineered By Dave Wittman (Chief Engineer) & Tony Platt (basic tracks)
- Second Engineer: Brad Samuelsohn
- Assistant Engineers: Edwin Hobgood & Michel Sauvage
- Mastered By George Marino
Surround releases
This album has been released in 2001 in multichannel DVD-Audio,[4] and on 14 September 2011, on hybrid stereo-multichannel Super Audio CD by Warner Japan in their Warner Premium Sound series.[5]
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[6] | 4× Platinum | 400,000^ |
| France (SNEP)[7] | Gold | 100,000* |
| Germany (BVMI)[8] | Platinum | 500,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[9] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[10] | 6× Platinum | 6,000,000^ |
|
^shipments figures based on certification alone |
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Charts
 |
This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability. |
Album – Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Pop Albums | 1 |
Singles – Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | "Juke Box Hero" | Mainstream Rock | 3 |
| "Night Life" | Mainstream Rock | 14 | |
| "Urgent" | Club Play Singles | 32 | |
| Mainstream Rock | 1 | ||
| Pop Singles | 4 | ||
| "Waiting for a Girl Like You" | Adult Contemporary | 5 | |
| Mainstream Rock | 1 | ||
| Pop Singles | 2 | ||
| 1982 | "Break It Up" | Pop Singles | 26 |
| "Juke Box Hero" | Pop Singles | 26 | |
| "Luanne" | Pop Singles | 75 |
References
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r7629/review
- ^ "Anecdotes, "Curio Corner" - Foreigner - Silent Partners". http://www.stormthorgerson.com/html/cc/CC03.html. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
- ^ "Foreigner - 4". Discogs.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2009. http://www.discogs.com/Foreigner-4/master/82436. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
- ^ Audio Revolution review of Foreigner’s 4 DVD-Audio.
- ^ Warner Premium Sound 14 September releases (in Japanese). Retrieved 2011-11-03.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Foreigner". Music Canada. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=&sa=Foreigner&smt=0.
- ^ "French album certifications – Foreigner" (in French). InfoDisc. http://www.infodisc.fr/Certif_Album.php. Select FOREIGNER and click OK
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Foreigner)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=&strInterpret=Foreigner&strTtArt=alben&strAwards=checked.
- ^ "British album certifications – Foreigner – 4". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx. Enter 4 in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
- ^ "American album certifications – Foreigner – 4". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%224%22. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
| Preceded by "Precious Time" by Pat Benatar "Tattoo You" by The Rolling Stones "For Those About to Rock We Salute You" by AC/DC |
Billboard 200 number-one album August 22 – September 4, 1981 November 21 – December 25, 1981 January 16 – February 5, 1982 |
Succeeded by "Bella Donna" by Stevie Nicks "For Those About to Rock We Salute You" by AC/DC "Freeze Frame" by The J. Geils Band |
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Copyrights:
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums
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