Feels Like the First Time (2011)
Disc One
1. Save Me
2. Feels Like the First Time
3. Cold as Ice
4. Long, Long Way From Home
5. Hot Blooded
6. Double Vision
7. Head Games
8. Dirty White Boy
9. Urgent
10.Waiting For a Girl Like You
11.I Want To Know What Love Is
12.Juke Box Hero
Disc Two
1. Long, Long Way From Home
2. Cold as Ice
3. The Flame Still Burns
4. Double Vision
5. Fool For You Anyway
6. Say You Will
7. Starrider
8. Waiting For a Girl Like You
9. Feel's Like the First Time
10.Jukebox Hero
11.That's All Right
At this point in their career, Foreigner seemed less interested in making new music and more concerned with reminding you that they still existed. Enter Feels Like the First Time, a repackaged, reheated collection that cobbles together the two other releases they put out that year—Juke Box Heroes and The Hits: Unplugged. Throw in a live DVD for good measure (which, full disclosure, I haven’t seen), and you’ve got yourself a multi-disc reminder of how much better the band sounded in their prime.
The first disc, Juke Box Heroes, is essentially a greatest hits album—except none of the original hits are here. Instead, we get re-recordings by the current lineup, fronted by Lou Gramm soundalike Kelly Hansen. A big waste of time and effort. You know how sometimes a cover band gets all the notes right, but it still doesn’t hit the same? That’s the vibe. It’s Foreigner doing a Foreigner tribute act, with just enough polish to remind you how good the originals were.
Then there’s the unplugged disc. This part fares a little better. Acoustic versions of Fool for You Anyway, Starrider, and Say You Will actually come off pretty well. These arrangements feel intimate and genuine—even charming, in places. But that charm wears thin when they try to force-feed acoustic renditions of arena rock staples like Juke Box Hero or Double Vision. Some songs just weren’t meant to be mellowed out.
If that weren’t enough, the cover art is a near replica of their 1977 debut—same style, same logo, everything. Only now, five out of the six guys from that original lineup are nowhere to be found. It’s the musical equivalent of going to your high school reunion and realizing you don’t recognize anyone at your old lunch table.
So what’s the verdict? Well, if you’re a casual fan, you’re probably better off sticking with any of the earlier greatest hits packages. If you’re a completist or just have to have everything with the Foreigner name on it, then sure—this is a nice novelty item. But if you're hoping for something that recaptures the magic of 1977, this set is more like a tribute-or even a tragedy-than a triumph.
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