Perspective May 2018

Foreigner is universally hailed as one of the most popular rock bands in the world, racking up scores of smash hits, multi-platinum albums and sold out concert tours. From 'Cold As Ice' to 'Hot Blooded', 'Urgent' to 'Juke Box Hero' and 'Waiting for a Girl Like You'. Foreigner's thrilling mix of blustery blues and impeccably crafted pop continues to captivate generation after generation of music fans. Today, over 80 million albums later, Foreigner is an ensemble of talented musicians each adding their individual credentials to make the band stronger and more powerful than ever. Besides founding member and leader Mick Jones on lead guitar and vocals, the band s line up consists of Kelly Hansen (Ex-Hurricane) as lead singer, Tom Gimbel ( Aerosmith) on guitar, saxophone, flute, and backing vocals; Jeff Jacobs on keyboards, Jeff Pilson (Ex-Dokken, Dio and MSG) on bass; and Jason Bonham (son of Led Zeppelin's drummer John Bonham) on drums.

It was worth the wait for Colombian-American songstress Kali Uchis’s first full-length. A romantic collage of artists and sounds she’s encountered along the way—Tyler, The Creator and Bootsy Collins on “After the Storm”, and Gorillaz’ Damon Albarn on the surfy “In My Dreams”—the album draws on Latin pop (“Nuestro Planeta”), hypnotic R&B (“Just a Stranger”), and high-flying psych-rock (“Tomorrow,” with production from Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker). It’s a sign of Uchis’ artistic vision that she pulled so many creative minds into a single body of work that sounds so distinctly her own.

When Tom Petty died in October 2017, he left behind a vault overflowing with hundreds of hours of unheard music. Much of it came from concerts, but there were also tons of demos, alternative versions of album tracks and even tunes he discarded completely over the years that have never been released. Once the initial shock of his sudden death subsided, his wife Dana, daughter Adria, producer Ryan Ulyate and bandmates Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench began poring through the material to create the upcoming four-CD box set An American Treasure, which arrives in stores on September 28th.

Liberation arrives in 2018, six years after Lotus, by far the longest stretch of time between Christina Aguilera albums. During that hiatus Aguilera wasn't exactly in hibernation but she wasn't prominent, taking a couple of seasons off from the televised singing competition The Voice to raise a child and spending as much time onscreen as she did on-stage when she re-emerged in the middle of the 2010s. Aguilera may have been omnipresent in showbiz but she was largely absent from the pop charts. Save a handful of duets – "Moves Like Jagger," which appeared in 2011 in the first flush of The Voice's success; "Feel This Moment," a 2013 Pitbull hit; "Say Something," a 2013 Great Big World single featuring Christina on vocals – Aguilera hadn't reached the American Top Ten since 2008's "Keeps Gettin' Better," fanbait added to her hits collection of the same name.

Jason Becker’s life story teaches two important lessons. Firstly, it teaches perspective—which was the apt title of his second solo album—because no matter how difficult your life is, it could be worse, so learn to appreciate what you have. Secondly, it teaches perseverance, because no matter what challenges lie in your way, perseverance will help you overcome them…

Sometimes, a change of pace does creativity good. Allowing a chance to recharge and refresh can give you a whole new perspective. Recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of multi-platinum jugaruant Rock band Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora is not immune to needing such alternate directions in life…