4-in-er
Overall Album Score: 6.5 out of 10 Man! I was expecting some sort of massive improvement here, especially after that last album made such leaps and bounds in terms of quality. There is absolutely no improvement here! Head Games is the better album. By the way, don't those screens depicted on the album cover normally count down? Does that mean they only have four more albums left? No! Those weirdoes are counting in the wrong direction, apparently! If they were counting down, this would have been album nubmer five! Oh yeah. I'm the one with the PhD in Stuffanomics! The Count From Sesame Street: I count: Five, Thlee, Two, Vun! Bluh! Zat's five! Bwahahahahahaaa- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: (In her bad actress pose) You forgot something. The Count From Sesame Street: Oh, bluh! I forgot zee number four! Buffy the Vampire Slayer: (Speaks as if she were making a HIL-arious pun.) No! You forgot number stake. The Count From Sesame Street: No. I'm pleety sure zat eet vas zee four. (Buffy starts pounding wooden stake in the Count's heart Oh, bluh! This album also sold remarkably well with the domestic audience; it reached the number one spot on the pop music charts. There were also some fairly successful singles on here. "Urgent," which is a good pop single, and there was also "Waiting For a Girl Like You," which is pretty awful. "Urgent" certainly equals the tracks that I liked best in the previous Foreigner album (which was "Women" and "Do What You Like.") But that's it. As far as containing 'great' songs (in relative to Foreigner), this album, in spite of it being their greatest commercial success, falls surprisingly short. Also, you can't deny also that Foreigner took a nosedive into the cheesy 80's. While Foreigner was pretty much always cheesy, this time, they really take a liking to those heavy synthesizers. This is still arena, guitar-based rock, however. It's just gets more sappy than it had to be. (I did a little praising of Head Games as being fairly gritty. 4 is not gritty at all.) Bluh! But, this is Foreigner. Take 'em or leave 'em. They're better than Kiss, though. So, maybe I should be happy. Yay? Overall Album Score: 6.5 out of 10 (Man! I almost thought I reviewed Head Games on a good day or something, and that's why it scored so high. The All-Music Guide actually gave Head Games a full star-and-a-half less than 4. But, I re-listened to it, and it's all true! 4 is a major step down! "Urgent" is a good song, however.) Average Song Score: 7.0 (Too much BLUH! Too little hmm-HMM!) Album Tilt: 6.5 (The album isn't altogether great, but at least all of these songs have a little something-something to offer.) Artist Rating: 6.0 (A significant step down from Head Games, Foreigner steps away from the grit and concentrates on the #&*$.) Track Reviews Night Life 9/10 Well, I can't deny this song its proper due. It has the necessary electricity that makes it kick just enough for it to be enjoyable. The cheesy synths here combined with some down-n-dirty electric guitar playing makes this song enjoyable. That said, there are absolutely NO HOOKS in the melody line. Really. There's none. The smooth, yet threatening, electric guitars here kick butt, though. That's all I care about. Juke Box Hero 6.5/10 CRAP! Is this supposed to be a great song? The only parts here that manage to do anything for me are the very brief, bombastic choruses of "JUKE BOX HERO, etc." And even that's a bore. The instrumental interlude is okay. Mick Jones is still a cool guitarist. But the band still can't seem to write a consistent set of songs for BEANS. Break it Up 6/10 Not bad. The melody here is actually somewhat accessible. It's teetering on that edge so much that it gets annoying more than anything. There aren't even neat guitar solos to lift this one up, either. Waiting For a Girl Like You 5.5/10 Bluh! A largely successful single that was sold to a bunch of people who probably didn't even listen to it. BORRRRRRRRRRRRRINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG. No melody. No hooks. No guitar solos. No fun. All sap. (As an added slap in the face, it sounds a bit like Fleetwood Mac's "Rain" to me.) Luane 6/10 A very BAD melody. But at least it picks up the pace a little bit where the last track dropped off. Urgent 10/10 Well, at least I feel like this song deserved to be a successful single. The melody here is not only fully accessible and hooky but it's *gasp* not annoying! Even the moments before the chorus strikes out are fun to listen to. For once, Foreigner really did a good job arranging this sucker. (And that's surprising considering that synthesizers basically run the show here.) The synthesizers kind of do this electronica self-repeat thing, and put to a drum machine, it's really fun to listen to. Even the filler 'let's play some solos with a goofy trumpet' thing is pretty entertaining. Foreigner urgently needs more songs like this! I'm Gonna Win 5/10 Well ... at least I can say it has a minimally interesting riff. But as far as anything else goes, it's really awful. Even the guitar solos aren't like they once were (like Midred's husband Harry). This track has little redeeming quality. (There are a few moments at the end when it seems to get some momentum going.) Woman in Black 5.5/10 These are crap lyrics, too. YEITCH! But putting the crappy lyrics aside ... well YEITCH. I find a little bit of joy in the bass line here. But ... WHERE'S THE FREAKING MELODY?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Did it go to Bordeaux for the wine sampling gala? I'm not having any fun. HMPH. Girl on the Moon 7.5/10 Oh! Moon alien babes! Now this is my kind of song! Well ... at least it's not annoying. The calm pace of the song at least does what it's supposed to: keep calm and not piss me off. The melody is also a little bit catchy. Not a whole lot, though. Don't Let Me Go 8.5/10 This one's certainly not bad. The melody is actually pretty good. The instrumentation is solid. It's fairly cheesy here, but at least it manages to lift my spirits a little bit. Foreigner closes the album with one of their better tracks. 'Alo! Vhat do yew tink? Send yer idears here! |
All reviews are copyrighted by Michael Lawrence. He can almost count to four-and-a-half.
