Foreigner - Double Vision

Expanded & remastered reissue of their 1978 release. Features two live bonus tracks, 'Hot Blooded' & 'Love Maker'. Includes new liner notes written by Jerry McCulley. 2002. Album Description

 Foreigner's Second Best Album Has Just Gotten a Whole Lot Better!
This album together with "4" represent the best work that Foreigner has ever done. After a competent but not too spectacular debut album, "Double Vision" followed and represented a high point of their early 6-member line up. For starters, 2 of Foreigner's and classic rock music in general's best ever tracks are on this album: "Hot Blooded" and especially "Double Vision". The other album tracks are slightly better than your average filler material but the strength of those two monster hits alone were enough to carry the rest of this album along.

This version of the album is a treat for fans as the sound quality is very good following some good remastering work done and there are two bonus live tracks included as well. Although the mini-lp replica sleeve design isn't the best that I've seen as the cardboard used is thin and not as good as other mlps designs that I've seen e.g. the Bob Dylan and Hall & Oates mlps designs, the plus point is the very well designed booklet that's included. This 20-page booklet has an excellent essay written by Jerry McCulley and all the lyrics in both English and Japanese all on good quality paper too. The inner sleeve which houses the cd is also very well designed. Imagine just how perfect this would be if they paid the same amount of attention to the quality of the outer cardboard sleeve too. Overall, this has to be the best version of the album that is out there right now. Recommended. June 1, 2007

 A bit middle of the road
As with a lot of Foreigners works, they tend to overlook their strong-points and focus too much on "intellignet pop". This is definitely one of those albums.

it begins with a blistering rocker "Hot Blooded" which is one of their most popular tracks to this day. Although it's very Lennonesque, the spacey "I have waited to long", sung by Mick Jones, is another highlight, a really beautiful song. The closing track, "Spellbinder" is a bit of a token-rocker but at least it rocks. The instrumental "Tramontane" is interesting.

Between that, there are a lot of maudlin love-ballads about being such a lovely-romantic man whose mistreated by a nasty girl. It's an overdone theme in rock. I mean "Love has taken it's toll" and "Blue Morning" have some grit but"back where you belong" is realy maudlin and melancholy. The ballad "You're all I am" is pretty typical and overly-sugary.

With this album they seemed to reach for a more Beatlesque sound rather than a hard-rock - prog fusion. It doesn't have the grit of their better albums. Still, there are a few good tracks, I'd rate it at about 4 / 10, maybe slightly more. March 14, 2007

 Foreigner Avoids The Sophmore Jinx
With DOUBLE VISION, Foreigner avoids the sophmore jinx, by adding the influences of such pro-law-enforcement guitar bands as Ted Nugent and the Outlaws, resulting in a heavier album than the debut. A couple of the ballads drag a bit, but the album as a whole is totally consistent, to the point where, in my view, discussion of specific highlights is not protected by the Constitution. Of the two bonus cuts, the live version of "Hot Blooded" is totally smokin', but the version of the soul standard "Love Maker" adds nothing. Any band whose two leading lights (Lou Gramm and Mick Jones) advocate sanctions against Indonesia in retaliation for that country's trumped-up 2005 drug-smuggling conviction of a young Australian tourist, as well as increased funding for law enforcement, deserves nothing but the best that their reissue label (in this case Rhino) can give them. November 26, 2006

 Lame
This should ONLY be used as a reminder of how bad the 70's worst excesses were. Avoid. BTW, 'Hot Blooded' blows chunks. July 26, 2006

 Great sophomore effort by Foreigner
This second album by Foreigner is probably their best effort and a bit better than the self titled debut. I remember playing this on my high powered car cassette deck back in the very early 80's. It sounded so awesome in my Ford Grand Torino, cruising the streets of Wichita when I was in high school. This is their only release that doesn't seem to have any filler on it whatsoever. The ones I like the most are the songs like "Back Where You Belong", "I Have Waited So Long", "You're All I Am", "Love Has Taken It's Toll", and "Lonely Children". I can't believe that DOUBLE VISION only has four reviews here on Amazon when other great albums have close to a hundred or more. "Come up with some reviews Foreigner fans"!!! If you've been thinking of buying some discs by this supergroup, Double Vision is the perfect cd to start out with. Enjoy!!! June 20, 2006

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