New Album in the Works From Foreigner
Foreigner's Mick Jones says his band is working on a studio album that likely will feature some new songs and re-worked versions of a few of their older tunes. "During the fall we'll take a couple months off [touring] to focus in on the writing and get some new product," the guitarist reports, adding that he expects the disc to come out either in late 2007 or early next year.
Jones also reveals that Foreigner are planning to document an upcoming concert for a DVD release.


from Billboard.com--



Foreigner Plotting New Album, Live DVD


June 04, 2007, 11:40 AM ET

Gary Graff, Detroit

Foreigner is eyeing "either the end of this year or early next year" to release a new album, according to group founder Mick Jones. And it's likely to contain a mix of both brand new and familiar material.

Jones and the reconstituted band -- which features Led Zeppelin progeny Jason Bonham on drums, former Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson and Kelly Hansen on vocals -- were recently in an Atlanta studio recording new versions of some of its older material, including a "stripped down" take of the 1987 hit "Say You Will." On top of that, Jones tells Billboard.com there are "about four or five (new) songs that we have pretty much ready to go," though he's not yet ready to reveal titles or final recording plans.

"During the fall we'll take a couple months off to focus in on the writing and get some new product," Jones says. "Gradually it's been coming. It's just been a question of feeling out where I want to go with the music. I want it to flow naturally. I don't want to sort of do anything consciously to go in a certain direction. I want to be guided by my inner intuitions."

Jones has other ideas for Foreigner as well. The group is considering filming a concert DVD this year, and he says there are plans to "do a specific concert playing the whole of the '4' album in sequence, with a live audience. We wouldn't play it exactly like the record, but we'd play it in the sequence and change the arrangements a little."

There are, however, no plans to celebrate this year's 30th anniversary of the release of Foreigner's self-titled debut album, which sold more than four million copies and launched the hits "Feel Like the First Time" and "Cold as Ice."

"Everybody's conscious of" the anniversary, Jones says, "but I guess I just haven't been dwelling on it much. I don't think we're even talking about it. These days, at a lot of the concerts, the front rows are tons of kids, like 18- to 25-year olds, maybe even younger, and they're pretty much doing the same kinds of things that kids did 25, 30 years ago ... a lot of underwear coming on stage!"

"I think it's sort of incredible. It's such a gift to look out and see that the songs have somehow survived and they've got almost kind of a rebirth here," he continues.

I just can't get into the idea of Foreigner without Lou Gramm and since Lou Gramm's voice is shot, I've even given up on the idea of a reunited Foreigner at any point.

As for the reissue of the first album, it's already been done, with bonus tracks. What could they have to offer now?

I agree. This is nothing more than a Foreigner tribute band. Call it the Mick Jones Band, and stop trying to slip one over on casual fans.

That sounds like an XM radio Then Again...Now show.

Yeah but the recent REO disc has msotly original members and the vocalist.

There's a time when you have to hang it up, amd move on. With Lou Gramm gone, and Mick Jones the sole original member, it's long past time. I bought that live CD that came out last year, just out of curiosity, and my suspicions were correct. They are now nothing more than a cover band.
I saw them (with Lou) back in 2002, and even though Lou's voice was nowhere near what it used to be, they put on an excellent show. At this point Mick should just call the band something else, and move on.

Jeff

"Re-worked versions of a few of their older tunes?" Why, what was wrong with the originals??

I hope they don't re-record the old songs-it's pointless and a joke-just a cheap way of making a crappy comp.
As for the new lineup-they kick ass. I saw them with Lou Gramm plenty of times and Lou was awesome in his prime-but the shows I saw in 2000 and 2002 were painful to watch.
I think the new lineup is fantastic and many Foreigner fans are pleased. The message boards on the Foreigner website have been very positive since the new lineup debuted in 2005.
I'm not saying it's like the classic lineup-it's not. But it's a fun show and sounds great. Not 100%, but like the new Styx lineup, it's great musicians and a solid time out.
These new projects sound awful and Mick should not tamper with history. Just do a new studio album that nobody will buy and leave it at that!

Remember the last time he tried this with a new singer? He got a guy named Johnathan Edwards, and the album tanked. It wasn't awful, just didn't sound anything like Foreigner. He soon brought Lou back into the fold...

Jeff

The real voice of Foreigner is back! Hopefully Lou is in good health these days and making some good music.

http://www.melodicrock.com/



LOU GRAMM SIGNS WITH SPECTRA RECORDS:

The new CD from Lou Gramm is in the finishing stages and will be released on Spectra Records. Warner Music Group will be releasing a compilation of Lou's recordings this summer on Rhino Records as part of their Flashback series. Stay tuned for an updated release date.

There is now an official MySpace site for Lou, you can check it out at http://www.myspace.com/lougrammofficial. Also check http://www.lougramm.com
Line-Up: Lou Gramm - vocals, Ben Gramm - drums, backing vocals, Richard Gramm - bass, guitar, backing vocals, Andy Knoll - keyboards, backing vocals, Don Mancuso - guitar, bass, backing vocals.

I don't hold out a lot of hope for this one. This will definitely be a "listen before I buy" kind of thing.

I'm not expecting to hear the Gramm of old on this disc. His voice, due to his health, has deteriorated from what it once was, sadly.
I'm wondering if this is the preposed Christian music album he was working on?
Nothing on his website or his My Space page indicates that.

Well, Mr. Lou Gramm himself is weighing in on the current version of the band and not surprisingly, he's not happy with the situation.

Not posting this here to revive the recent debate regarding Foreigner and other veteran bands who tour with replacement members, but I felt that Gramm voicing his side of the story was worth posting here.

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/foreigne ... vertising/

Former Foreigner Singer Lou Gramm Accuses New Version Of Band of ‘False Advertising’
by: Matt Wardlaw

With the historically complicated relationship between former Foreigner lead singer Lou Gramm and founding guitarist Mick Jones, it’s a given that Gramm would have some choice words about the current version of the group.

Brain surgery in the late ’90s robbed Gramm of his legendary vocal range, and although he bravely returned to Foreigner for several years, he and Jones acrimoniously parted ways in 2003.

Vocalist Kelly Hansen, his replacement in Foreigner, helped Jones to deliver a musical experience that was so accurate, we were rubbing our eyes with disbelief when we saw the band with Journey earlier this month.

Still, Gramm believes that calling the new lineup Foreigner is “misleading” and “false advertising,” telling Spinner, “as I’ve learned talking to people who see those shows… in many cases the audience, especially if they’re younger, don’t even know it’s not the original lead singer. In Foreigner’s case, as I understand it, the singer was actually trained to deliver pretty much exactly everything as I did it, note for note. If I were in the audience and learned that while I was there, I’d get up and leave.”

He continues to tour solo with his own band, performing Foreigner songs and solo hits like ‘Midnight Blue.’ Foreigner hasn’t been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame yet, but Gramm says whether or not that happens matters very little to him, and that he “always be very proud of what we accomplished.”

Did the Lou Gramm comp from Rhino come out? I don't think so, but I wondered if anyone here has any insight on that. Thanks.

Didn't know a Lou Gramm comp was in the works. As far as I know, he only had two solo albums back in the day, but maybe there are some b-sides or stray tracks they could tack on there.

And there's also the Shadow King album, with Gramm and Vivian Campbell. That was funny to me at the time because the group broke up right after the album came out and shortly afterwards, Gramm went back to Foreigner!

I don't suppose the fact that the singer is roughly 20 years younger than Mick Jones is a clue, eh?

Oh no! Not again!

hey i just noticed that steve frimmer started this thread.

whatever happened to.............

Something must have pissed him off back in 2008!

Steve was replaced by a younger, more photogenic poster who can still hit the high notes.

This is is part of the great ICE tradition --- I bring up Lou Gramm on his former band and it ends up being about a former ICE mod.



I guess the whole Gramm Vs. Foreigner thing did get debated to death in that other thread, so it's understandable that this thread has...transmogrified.