(2009 - Rhino)Mention FOREIGNER to people and you will usually get one of either two responses. There are the people that know them mainly for the radio mega ballad " I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS", or the people that remember the band as the rockers that did songs like DIRTY WHITE BOY and HOT BLOODED. Whichever side of the band you wish to remember most one thing is a certainty, FOREIGNER are an undeniable musical institution and featured one of THE most reverred and respected rock singers of all time in the one and only LOU GRAMM.
LOU'S health problems and his new found obsession with christianity have been well documented throughout the media of the rock world and don't really need to be revisited here.
Suffice to say though, the biggest problem facing the band a few years ago now was, how do you replace somebody as iconic and legendary as LOU GRAMM. They tried it on 1991' UNUSUAL HEAT album, that featured JOHNNY EDWARDS as lead vocalist, and while a pretty good aor/melodic rock album in it's own right, really didn't feel like FOREIGNER at all.
This time around they have the vocal talents of ex-HURRICANE front man KELLY HANSEN.
And what a great addition he is. FOREIGNER, or maybe i should say MICK JONES, as hi is the only remaining original member now, decided to tread the road traveled by JOURNEY last year and seek out a sound-a-like singer rather than something fresh. Well, it worked for JOURNEY with Arnel Pindea, and on CAN'T SLOW DOWN is works for FOREIGNER as well.
While there is definitely a modern tinge to the overall style, this album is classic FOREIGNER and may just be the perfect representation of what modern day AOR music should sound like.
As is usual for MICK JONES, the songwriting here is split almost right down the middle with an equal number of ballads and rockier songs, but apart from a couple of slightly weaker tracks this album is a killer from cover to cover and will surely please fans of the band, especially those fans that were disappointed with LOU GRAMM'S latest output (myself included).
The album opens with CAN'T SLOW DOWN, which is a great song to begin with and it takes all of 35 seconds to realise that KELLY HANSEN was the perfect choice as a new vocalist. IN PIECES is the first ballad of the album and shows that the band are still capable of writing perfect radio power ballads that deserve to be picked up by major stations. WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE is an interesting song with some light keyboard work and tinges of saxophone and sounds as though it could have been written in the mid-eighties somewhere. LIVING IN A DREAM is a rockier track that could have slotted perfectly into DOUBLE VISION or HEAD GAMES. I CAN'T GIVE UP is a great piano ballad and a definite high point of the album. The next two track READY and GIVE ME A SIGN are both pretty good but definitely in a lower class to the rest of the album. I'LL BE HOME TONIGHT is a great power ballad that has a very modern feel to it and should be released as a single. TOO LATE is a great little number and is probably the track where HANSEN sounds the most like his predecessor LOU GRAMM. LONELY features a great climbing chorus and lyrically is a very well written song. AS LONG AS I LIVE is another well structured mid paced track that is radio ready. ANGEL TONIGHT is sure to please any fan of the band. The album closes with FOOL FOR YOU ANYWAY, a reworking of the same track from their debut album which is okay but feels a little unnecessary and really not the ideal way to end the album.
Overall, CAN'T SLOW DOWN is a very good modern tinged take on the classic FOREIGNER formula and should make long time fans of the band very happy indeed. This album runs rings around the LOU GRAMM BAND album released earlier in the year.
LOU'S health problems and his new found obsession with christianity have been well documented throughout the media of the rock world and don't really need to be revisited here.
Suffice to say though, the biggest problem facing the band a few years ago now was, how do you replace somebody as iconic and legendary as LOU GRAMM. They tried it on 1991' UNUSUAL HEAT album, that featured JOHNNY EDWARDS as lead vocalist, and while a pretty good aor/melodic rock album in it's own right, really didn't feel like FOREIGNER at all.
This time around they have the vocal talents of ex-HURRICANE front man KELLY HANSEN.
And what a great addition he is. FOREIGNER, or maybe i should say MICK JONES, as hi is the only remaining original member now, decided to tread the road traveled by JOURNEY last year and seek out a sound-a-like singer rather than something fresh. Well, it worked for JOURNEY with Arnel Pindea, and on CAN'T SLOW DOWN is works for FOREIGNER as well.
While there is definitely a modern tinge to the overall style, this album is classic FOREIGNER and may just be the perfect representation of what modern day AOR music should sound like.
As is usual for MICK JONES, the songwriting here is split almost right down the middle with an equal number of ballads and rockier songs, but apart from a couple of slightly weaker tracks this album is a killer from cover to cover and will surely please fans of the band, especially those fans that were disappointed with LOU GRAMM'S latest output (myself included).
The album opens with CAN'T SLOW DOWN, which is a great song to begin with and it takes all of 35 seconds to realise that KELLY HANSEN was the perfect choice as a new vocalist. IN PIECES is the first ballad of the album and shows that the band are still capable of writing perfect radio power ballads that deserve to be picked up by major stations. WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE is an interesting song with some light keyboard work and tinges of saxophone and sounds as though it could have been written in the mid-eighties somewhere. LIVING IN A DREAM is a rockier track that could have slotted perfectly into DOUBLE VISION or HEAD GAMES. I CAN'T GIVE UP is a great piano ballad and a definite high point of the album. The next two track READY and GIVE ME A SIGN are both pretty good but definitely in a lower class to the rest of the album. I'LL BE HOME TONIGHT is a great power ballad that has a very modern feel to it and should be released as a single. TOO LATE is a great little number and is probably the track where HANSEN sounds the most like his predecessor LOU GRAMM. LONELY features a great climbing chorus and lyrically is a very well written song. AS LONG AS I LIVE is another well structured mid paced track that is radio ready. ANGEL TONIGHT is sure to please any fan of the band. The album closes with FOOL FOR YOU ANYWAY, a reworking of the same track from their debut album which is okay but feels a little unnecessary and really not the ideal way to end the album.
Overall, CAN'T SLOW DOWN is a very good modern tinged take on the classic FOREIGNER formula and should make long time fans of the band very happy indeed. This album runs rings around the LOU GRAMM BAND album released earlier in the year.
9/10
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