Foreigner-Double Vision (1978)

Foreigner, in a sense, were the Beatles of arena rock. This band, when they were first formed, were a 6-piece group consisting of 3 British guys and 3 American guys. This band plays some fairly decent music. I have two of their albums. Double Vision I have on vinyl, and The Very Best…and Beyond I have on CD.

Double Vision, the band’s second studio album, was in a similar musical formula as that of their 1977 self-titled debut album, but with a more pop approach. The album is actually pretty good, as it contains a chunk of pop-driven hard rock, but it also has hints of Beatlesque sensibilities, a good amount of synthesizers (not as much as that on their fourth album, by the way), and one instrumental track. The vinyl copy of this album I got from Bookman’s over in Phoenix, and I’m very happy to have this in my LP collection. If you like classic rock with a more pop edge, go and look for this album! It’s really great!

The tracks:

“Hot Blooded”-The opening hard-rocking track is one of the band’s biggest hits. There are soft touches of Hammond organ in this piece, too. Heck, I even heard this song playing at the GCC fitness center a couple of times while working out. I do mean GCC as the college I’m at right now, Glendale Community College.

“Blue Morning, Blue Day”-This has a similar formula to “Hot Blooded”, but not as heavy, and driven by piano. Still a pretty catchy song, however.

“You’re All I Am”-This is where the band starts sounding like the Beatles during their later period! A lovely number driven by piano and a string orchestra, conducted by David Paich.

“Back Where You Belong”-An acoustic guitar-driven pop number that also has some cool synth solos. The synth could’ve easily been a Moog because it sounds like a modular synth.

“Love Has Taken It’s Toll”-Another great song, but it would be cool if it was actually released as a single.

“Double Vision”-This awesome title track, when I began hearing it again after such a long time, actually reminds me of “Don’t Go”, a song from the early 80’s by the Korean band Sanullim! I have a lot of Sanullim albums in my iTunes collection, and hopefully I’ll put some of them up for review on this blog.

“Tramontane”-This is the only instrumental track that Foreigner has ever released on any album. But, a darn good one, too! It is driven by acoustic and electric guitars and synthesizer that were played in such a way that it could count as a progressive rock song. However, Foreigner are in no way considered prog.

“I Have Waited So Long”-Another acoustic guitar-driven pop ballad, but in a much slower tempo than “Back Where You Belong”.

“Lonely Children”-A song about young runaways whose structure predates the music of Survivor at best.

“Spellbinder”-The closing track is another favorite I have from this album. In most parts, you hear atmospheric synth chords playing along to what sounds like little chimes.

The Rutles-The Rutles (1978)

The Rutles were a fictional Beatles pastiche/parody band created by members from Monty Python and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, first created for a parody program from the 1970’s called Rutland Weekend Television, before moving on to become the focus of a made-for-TV mockumentary called All You Need is Cash. Neil Innes, a member of the Bonzos and the creative force of the Rutles, actually appeared with his band in the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour film, performing the song “Death Cab for Cutie”. I bought the soundtrack for the mockumentary, also the Rutles’ self-titled debut album, on vinyl at a store called Thrifty Joe’s. I remember seeing bits and pieces of the original mockumentary, and after listening to the soundtrack, I would like to say that it is a fine piece of novelty rock and parody music that pre-dates “Weird Al” Yankovic.

Here are the songs, in order (note: this was the tracklisting from the original vinyl):

“Hold My Hand”-This song is a parody of “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” and “All My Loving”. The original vinyl pressing, which is the one I have, begins with a collage of hairdryer noises and the Rutles tuning up. However, this was not included on the CD reissue.

“Number One”-A parody of “Twist and Shout” that is in a much quicker tempo, and slightly more rocking, than the original Beatles version. In fact, the melody sounds like they were also taking inspiration from “La Bamba” by Ritchie Valens.

“With A Girl Like You”-A clever parody of “If I Fell” that begins with the line “shoot me down in flames if I should tell a lie”. This opening lyric showcases the type of humor the Rutles has.

“I Must Be in Love”-A parody of “A Hard Day’s Night” that is also a bit more different than the original.

“Ouch!”-A clever parody of “Help!”.

“Living in Hope”-A parody of “Octopus’ Garden” that has a more country tone to it.

“Love Life”-A parody of “All You Need is Love” that features an orchestra that sounds like something out of a TV variety show compared to the baroque arrangements of the original version.

“Nevertheless”-A parody of “Within You, Without You” that sounds as raga-inspired as the aforementioned.

“Good Times Roll”-This parody of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” has similar psychedelic lyrics, but are more silly. For instance, there is a pineapple pie in the sky!

“Doubleback Alley”-This parody of “Penny Lane” has lyrics that sound way more average than the Beatles version.

“Cheese and Onions”-This parody of “A Day in the Life” sounds more laid-back and depressed, with the lead vocals sounding as nasally as they could get. The orchestral crescendo parody sounds more baroque, and the crashing piano chord is replaced with a very short note.

“Another Day”-A clever parody of “Martha My Dear” with rather baroque-sounding string and brass arrangements.

“Piggy in the Middle”-This parody of “I Am the Walrus” contains a backwards message (backed by an electronic noise) which, when played backwards, says, “This little piggy went to maaaaaaaaarket!”.

“Let’s Be Natural”-The original album closes with a parody of “Dear Prudence”.

If you want to listen to a true Beatles parody, go ahead and check out the Rutles. Their music is great!