Alive and Rockin' (2007)
1. Double Vision
2. Head Games
3. Dirty White Boy
4. Cold As Ice
5. Starrider
6. Feels Like the First Time
7. Urgent
8. Jukebox Hero/Whole Lotta Love
9. Hot Blooded
Let me just get this off my chest up front: I’ve never understood the claim—parroted by countless critics—that Kelly Hansen “sounds exactly like” Lou Gramm. Maybe they mean he gets close. Maybe they mean he hits the notes. But sounding “exactly” like him? Not to these ears. Call me a purist, or maybe just someone who’s listened to too much Foreigner over the years, but Lou Gramm had a texture and presence that can’t be easily replicated. So no, this isn’t the original lineup. And no, it doesn’t sound quite the same.
That said… this album rocks.
I’ll be the first to admit I approached this one with plenty of skepticism. By this point, Foreigner was down to a single original member—guitarist Mick Jones—and even he had been absent for stretches due to health reasons. When a band becomes a brand, and the lineup starts looking more like a tribute act than a reunion, it’s hard to get too excited. So imagine my surprise when Alive and Rockin’ turned out to be… well, alive. Very alive. Rockin' as well.
What sets this one apart from their only other live album (Classic Hits Live from the early ’90s) is the energy. That was always something the original band lacked in a live setting. Sure, they were tight. They were professional. But they rarely lit the stage on fire. Here, though, the band actually sounds like they’re having fun—and that makes all the difference. Whether it’s the injection of new blood, the loosened expectations, or just the passage of time, this version of Foreigner plays with urgency.
Now, if you’re scanning the tracklist and see only nine songs, don’t panic. The running time clocks in close to an hour, meaning these songs breathe a bit. Jukebox Hero gets stretched to 13 minutes with a surprise detour through Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love—and somehow it works. It’s the kind of risk that the original band rarely took. Other staples—Cold as Ice, Urgent, Double Vision, Hot Blooded (yes, this time they remembered it)—all get faithful, high-powered treatments.
One curious inclusion is Starrider, a somewhat spacey, semi-ballad from their debut album that never really became a classic. Its only real claim to fame is that it’s one of the few tracks sung by Mick Jones himself, so maybe it’s more of a legacy moment than anything else. Personally, I would’ve traded it for Blue Morning, Blue Day or Break It Up, but at least it gives Jones a brief turn in the spotlight.
There’s a conscious decision here to skip the syrupy ballads like I Want to Know What Love Is and Waiting for a Girl Like You, which helps the pacing and keeps the energy high. That’s not a knock on those songs—they’re classics in their own right—but it’s nice to hear a live set that focuses on the rockers for a change.
If, like me, you’re usually wary of “reformed” bands and lineup overhauls, Alive and Rockin’ is worth a second look. No, it’s not quite the same Foreigner you remember—but it’s a surprisingly strong reminder of why these songs have stuck around as long as they have. This may not be pure vintage, but it’s still a solid pour.
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