HiRez Poll Foreigner - FOREIGNER [DVD-A]

[GOS]

I'm giving a "7" as well. I agree with all you said. Great album. Hard to find title. Surround mix isn't great. One of the few classic albums I have where I think I prefer the original stereo.

Still glad to have it though.

Funny thing is - some of the quieter, acoustical moments sounded amazing...only to be swallowed up by the mire. Too bad. It could have been super great IMO. I still love it and the DVD-A looks super cool sitting on my shelf.

 

[sbrom]

Inspired by this thread, I recently acquired this DVD-A and the Foreigner 4 SACD.

I agree with your comments here, especially about the quiet parts. I also like the (sometimes too much) muscular bass of both albums.

I prefer this self-titled DVD-A to the F4 SACD. Neither is stellar but the DVD-A is more open and clear. The vocals on the F4 SACD have an unnatural distorted edge to them, and the front soundstage is narrow.

Oh well, they're fun to have anyway!

Funny thing is - some of the quieter, acoustical moments sounded amazing...only to be swallowed up by the mire. Too bad. It could have been super great IMO. I still love it and the DVD-A looks super cool sitting on my shelf.

 

[steelydave]

Of the bunch of WB DVD-As that came out in the early 2000's, this has to be one of my favourites - especially compared to the stereo album, which barely moved the needle on my interest-meter.

On the surface this seems kind of like the precursor to a lot of knuckle-dragger boring 4/4 80's rock, but I think this album has a a lot more going for it than that stuff. There are a ton of nuances in both production and arrangement that really elevate it, especially in surround. The backing vocals, especially, are a real tour de force, and there doesn't seem to be any fear of fully using the 5.1 soundfield - there are plenty of great discrete moments in the rear speakers and even some quad-style swirling pans.

The tonality is a lot like some of Paul Klingberg's other 5.1 mixes - maybe a bit bright, and a bit too much compression on the loudest parts, especially for people who are used to Steven Wilson's more historically reverent approach to 5.1. I like the variety of approaches to 5.1 though, and whatever the shortcomings of this disc may be, they aren't big enough to stop me from enjoying the mix at all - and I think of myself as someone who's relatively picky about sound quality. I think with 5.1 often the first couple of listens can be disappointing in a way, because you have an idea in your head about how you'd do the placement of the instruments in the 5.1 soundfield and when things don't match up there's a sense of letdown. I think once you get past your preconceptions and listen to it for what it is, it's a really enjoyable album. One thing I do do with this disc is boost the bass by +2dB relative to my normal settings it gives the bass drum especially some added oomph.

I also think the disc itself represented a good value when it was released, with 4 demo tracks (also mixed in 5.1) along with some music videos and commentary and stuff. I agree that it's a better mix than Foreigner 4 as well - I found the high end on that disc boosted to the point of being sizzling and it made it a difficult listen as a result.

For me this disc is an easy 8, and maybe even a 9 if I'm feeling good.

 

[proufo]

I also think the disc itself represented a good value when it was released, with 4 demo tracks (also mixed in 5.1) along with some music videos and commentary and stuff.

IIRC, I have never been able to access the music videos, I believe they are not there at all.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

IIRC, I have never been able to access the music videos, I believe they are not there at all.

There aren't any "videos"...they have a "picture gallery"....it's a primitive series of pictures...not really worth anything to me...

 

[dr. simple]

There aren't any "videos"...they have a "picture gallery"....it's a primitive series of pictures...not really worth anything to me...

I don't know what disc you guys are looking at, but the DVD-A most certainly does have videos of "Feels Like The First Time" and "Cold As Ice".

 

[Clint Eastwood]

I don't know what disc you guys are looking at, but the DVD-A most certainly does have videos of "Feels Like The First Time" and "Cold As Ice".

You sir are correct! I was looking at the FOREIGNER 4 DVD-A...NOT the self titled one:couch

 

[edisonbaggins]

I fired this up tonight to see if I want to sell it.

:ebay

Nope!

 

[proufo]

I don't know what disc you guys are looking at, but the DVD-A most certainly does have videos of "Feels Like The First Time" and "Cold As Ice".

Yep, they're there, in glorious 480i cropped-16:9. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[dr. simple]

Yep, they're there, in glorious 480i cropped-16:9. Sorry for the confusion.

We (my wife and two daughters) always got a kick out of the "Feels Like The First Time" video because Lou Gramm can't stop smiling, as if to say, "Holy crap! I'm making a music video!" :banana:

 

[proufo]

We (my wife and two daughters) always got a kick out of the "Feels Like The First Time" video because Lou Gramm can't stop smiling, as if to say, "Holy crap! I'm making a music video!" :banana:

Even very cheap videos such as these!

I've heard some critics classify Foreigner as stadium rock. I don't agree. The intro to "A long way from home" is more enjoyable than all the Journey repertoire.

 

[Spock]

Finally got this disc in my collection and I love it. Always liked Foreigner, Lou's singing and those catchy rocking tunes.

Great songs. Very crankable, indicating a nice recording level and DR. The surround mix is very nice and effective.

Yes it's a 10!

 

[key_wiz]

Of the bunch of WB DVD-As that came out in the early 2000's, this has to be one of my favourites - especially compared to the stereo album, which barely moved the needle on my interest-meter.

On the surface this seems kind of like the precursor to a lot of knuckle-dragger boring 4/4 80's rock, but I think this album has a a lot more going for it than that stuff. There are a ton of nuances in both production and arrangement that really elevate it, especially in surround. The backing vocals, especially, are a real tour de force, and there doesn't seem to be any fear of fully using the 5.1 soundfield - there are plenty of great discrete moments in the rear speakers and even some quad-style swirling pans.

The tonality is a lot like some of Paul Klingberg's other 5.1 mixes - maybe a bit bright, and a bit too much compression on the loudest parts, especially for people who are used to Steven Wilson's more historically reverent approach to 5.1. I like the variety of approaches to 5.1 though, and whatever the shortcomings of this disc may be, they aren't big enough to stop me from enjoying the mix at all - and I think of myself as someone who's relatively picky about sound quality. I think with 5.1 often the first couple of listens can be disappointing in a way, because you have an idea in your head about how you'd do the placement of the instruments in the 5.1 soundfield and when things don't match up there's a sense of letdown. I think once you get past your preconceptions and listen to it for what it is, it's a really enjoyable album. One thing I do do with this disc is boost the bass by +2dB relative to my normal settings it gives the bass drum especially some added oomph.

I also think the disc itself represented a good value when it was released, with 4 demo tracks (also mixed in 5.1) along with some music videos and commentary and stuff. I agree that it's a better mix than Foreigner 4 as well - I found the high end on that disc boosted to the point of being sizzling and it made it a difficult listen as a result.

For me this disc is an easy 8, and maybe even a 9 if I'm feeling good.

Yeah this album has a lot more going on than many give it credit for. There’s a lot of proggish stuff going on —probably due to the influence of Ian McDonald. As a big fan of this album when it first came out, I was always disappointed that Foreigner quickly abandoned their proggish tendencies for a more straight ahead Top 40 hits sound with each following album.

But my issues with the mix on this has never been about instrument placement—which I think is fine, and the discreetness of it all is great, but the levels don’t sit well. At least not on my system. It feels like I’m listening to a bunch of tracks rather than a finished mix. It sounds like an early-mix attempt you might hear. As if they never really finished with the mix. And it seems to vary from track to track. Especially the center channel.

On the plus side—the fidelity of it is great. Sounds like I’m in the studio listening to them mix it. And there are a lot bits that were unheard—or buried on the stereo.

 

[proufo]

The new MFSL SACD sounds terrific, out of this world.

I think I prefer the SACD, even if it is just stereo.

 

[WBP]

Classic rock album from the 70's . There's some great material on this and the musicianship is top notch , the surround mix is great and only enhances the listening - a very solid 9

 

[Juggsnelson]

I voted an 8. I've always liked this album and the this DVD-A is pretty solid. The surround mix is fairly well done...the swirling keyboard on Long Long Way From Home and the background vocals on Cold As Ice being a couple of highlights. I definitely picked out a few keyboard and sax flourishes I have missed all of these years. If you dig the band then this is a no brainer. It sounds very good in both surround and the stereo mix. Throw in tbe bonus videos and demos and its a good package.

 

[Bill B]

I haven't listened to this DVD-A in a decade (long before I joined QQ). I pulled it out an listened to it this morning and had forgotten how good both the music and the mix were. Some very aggressive surround action on this one. I agree that it doesn't have as much punch as it could have but it was still a very enjoyable listen with a lot of discrete elements throughout. I am giving it a 9.

 

[mrcond]

I haven't listened to this DVD-A in a decade (long before I joined QQ). I pulled it out an listened to it this morning and had forgotten how good both the music and the mix were. Some very aggressive surround action on this one. I agree that it doesn't have as much punch as it could have but it was still a very enjoyable listen with a lot of discrete elements throughout. I am giving it a 9.

Ironic that you posted this today because I did the exact same thing this morning and had pretty much the same reaction. Much better than I was expecting it to be. The only difference from your reaction was I found it to be quite punchy on my system. A highlight for me was Starrider. Reminded me of Welcome to the Machine - not your typical Foreigner track. Overall I would probably give this an 8.

 

[califcab]

Starrider is awesome on this DVD-A