Foreigner Dvd

The 80s Compilation market is a minefield - a lack of variety, re-recorded versions, poor sound quality among the pitfalls - but Demon Music Groups' "100 Hits" series have been the pick of the bunch in recent times…

1989's Long Hard Look was the second solo album from Foreigner vocalist Lou Gramm, and its modest success led him to officially – but ultimately briefly – leave the enormously popular band. Long Hard Look is another slice of sleekly professional pop/rock, similar to Gramm's 1987 solo debut, Ready or Not. But whereas Ready or Not rather consistently combined melody with bite (side one specifically), Long Hard Look is spotty…

It may not be the "ultimate" collection of hits from the 1970's, but this ten disc set does indeed offer 198 of the songs that helped define the decade. Happily, they are all original recordings by the original artists, as they were heard on the radio. True, in a few cases that means the selections are "radio edits" (Rod Stewart's 1971 hit "Maggie May", for example, is missing the 30 second instrumental introduction that was included on the original album, but rarely played over the airwaves), but why quibble? The songs, though not necessarily remastered, all sound great, and the set includes some genuine treasures that have not (yet) been offered on other compilations. Highly recommended!

Shadow King was a hard rock supergroup. Formed by former Foreigner lead singer Lou Gramm, Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell, Foreigner bass player Bruce Turgon, and drummer Kevin Valentine. They released a self-titled album in 1991. Although plans were made for a tour, they performed only once, at the Astoria Theatre in London, England, on December 13, 1991. Rick Seratte (Whitesnake, Foreigner, Poco, Rick Springfield) joined the band for this performance with backup vocals and playing keyboards. Shortly afterward, Vivian Campbell announced he was leaving Shadow King to join Def Leppard. Although replacements were considered, the band members eventually went their separate ways, with Gramm and Turgon rejoining Foreigner in 1992.

Taking over from where Sony left off, Ministry of Sound's Guilty Pleasures is the first compilation in five years to be officially affiliated with the concept created by BBC DJ Sean Rowley back in 2004 which has since spawned its own Camden Town club night, prime-time ITV show, and regular Sunday afternoon radio slot. But while indie kids have embraced the idea of "reclaiming the songs it's shameful to love," the whole Guilty Pleasures brand has come under fire from unapologetic fans of its previous material, who claim the whole idea reeks of musical snobbery.