Doing a 180: Foreigner, 4

Picking a favorite Foreigner album from the initial Lou Gramm era of the band is for many a choice along the lines of picking your favorite child: they all have their merits, but no matter which one you choose, someone’s going to look down their nose at you for your selection. On the other hand, the unselected albums aren’t likely to scream “I hate you” and run off sobbing, so at least they aren’t likely to be left with the permanent emotional scars that your children will, but…oh, sorry, where were we? Oh, well, let’s just forget the analogy and make with the announcement: we’ve just released Foreigner’s 4 album on 180-gram vinyl.

Even if 4 isn’t your overall favorite Foreigner album, it’s hard to argue against its merits as a solid studio endeavor by the band, given that it features three of the band’s best-loved tracks: “Jukebox Hero,” “Urgent,” and “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” all of which are – as anyone who’s flipped down their radio dial recently – still getting regular airplay almost 34 years after the album’s original release.

With production by the band and Mutt Lange, who was just off the success of his work on AC/DC’s Back in Black, and musical contributions from Ian Lloyd of Stories, Junior Walker (him of the All-Stars), and Thomas Dolby on synthesizer (yes, really), 4 hit #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart, with “Urgent” and “Waiting for a Girl Like You” both topping the Mainstream Rock singles chart. In other words, just to reiterate our earlier point, even if it’s not your favorite Foreigner album, it’s still a classic, and now’s your chance to enjoy it all over again.