By Stephen Kasenda
FOREIGNER “Mr. Moonlight” (1995)
There are two important things to mention about Foreigner’s "Mr. Moonlight". First, it marked the return of Lou Gramm to the band, and also long-time members Rick Wills and Dennis Elliot. Second, the album basically marked the end of this chapter of Foreigner until Jones resurrected the band in 2009 with a new lineup. 1995 was surely a bad year for melodic rock - album sales were disappointing and rated so low that many people didn't even know the band still existed. However, this record has many good songs worth listening to, especially if you love the tender tunes of AOR.
I'm gonna start with "White Lie", a great upbeat track to start the album. This one is followed by "Rain", and the smooth transition of each note is lovable. "Until The End of Time" is relatively unknown, but the single reached a quite respectable position in the Adult Contemporary chart back then. Some other notable tracks are "Running The Risk", "I Keep Hoping" (which is the best ballad on the album), and "Hand On My Heart". The rest are good except "Real World" and "Big Dog", which I think should have been left behind and replaced with other songs in the veins of "Cold As Ice" or "Waiting For A Girl Like You".
It's nice to see the recent comeback of Lou Gramm, whose voice is still as strong as in the 80s. "Mr. Moonlight" is an underrated gem with a lot of high value goodies that you can find cheap. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking that this album is horrible!
Read more of Stephen’s features at MetalMusicArchives.
