01 - Feels Like the First Time
02 - Cold as Ice
03 - Starrider
04 - At War With the World
05 - The Damage Is Done
Born in Portsmouth, Mick Jones had been in bands since the early 60s, and had achieved a modicum of success when he lived in France and worked with Johnny Hallyday.
“He was – and still is – treated like the French Elvis,” says Jones. “And being in his band gave me the opportunity of meeting so many greats, like Jimmy Page [who played on the Hallyday single A Tout Casser] and Otis Redding, who came over to teach Johnny how to sing soul. It was an incredible grounding, which taught me a lot. I call it my ‘French Period’.”
In 1973, Jones hooked up with Gary Wright to start Wonderwheel. “Then Island Records asked us to get Spooky Tooth back together [Wright had been an original member of the band], and that lasted about three years. But when Spooky Tooth broke up I was left high and dry in New York. However, I got the chance of joining the Leslie West Band [who released one self-titled album in 1976]. Working with Leslie was such a privilege; he was a great guitarist and songwriter, even though there were harrowing experiences at times. But it prepared me to do my own thing.”
In 1976, Jones began to bring to fruition a vision he’d been harbouring secretly for a long time. “What I wanted to do was a British take on American music. I had gotten into R&B and also loved soul music. I was very comfortable with the idea of doing rock with a soulful feel – and that was the foundation for the new band.”
One of the most crucial people involved in this project from the beginning was Bud Prager. The pair had met because Prager managed Leslie West, but now they began to realise there was a synergy between them, one that would later prove to be mutually beneficial.“We challenged one another,” laughs Jones. “I threw down the gauntlet to him to prove he could be an effective manager for me, and he dared me to prove that I could actually put together my own band and make my musical dream come true. It was a great partnership.”
“I understood from the start that Mick wasn’t just an artist, but one who had the discipline to make things happen,” Prager once said. “Our relationship was more than just a manager and his client. I knew that first album would sell at least a million copies even before it was recorded, because I had complete faith in Mick.”
The quest for Jones was to put together a band who could bring his ideas to life, and he began with two Englishmen whom he already knew. “I had met Ian McDonald before the band idea ever came up,” Jones says, “and so it seemed logical to ask him to be part of this from the start.”
Multi-instrumentalist McDonald (who had been part of the early King Crimson) has a slightly different recollection on the timing of his recruitment.
“As far as I can recall, Mick already had a couple of musicians on board by the time he contacted me. I believe Al [Greenwood, keys] was already in the line-up, and there was one more as well, although I can’t now recall who this would have been. But Mick and I got on very well, so working with him was the sensible thing to do.”
The probability is that drummer Dennis Elliott was already involved when McDonald was brought in, because his arrival is seen as crucial by Jones. “I had played with Dennis on Ian Hunter’s first solo album [1975’s Ian Hunter],” says Jones, “and he inspired me a lot in terms of the direction the band should take. He had a really special feel in the way that he played, and I loved that. Dennis acted as a sounding board for my ideas, and I’d say he was a major part of Foreigner. In fact, he was the spirit of the band as far as I was concerned.”
But Jones was also determined to bring in young talents who elicited a freshness and vitality. Musicians who weren’t tainted by years of failure or bitterness. “Al Greenwood and [bassist] Ed Gagliardi both came from the New York area, and while they’d been in local bands for a few years, they’d not had any significant success. But both fitted in with what I was after.”
The American duo were both found through a series of extensive auditions held at a rehearsal studio in the building where Prager’s office was located. “The studio had been built by Felix Pappalardi of Mountain, when he worked with Bud [the two effectively co-managed Mountain], so we just based ourselves there for nine months while the line-up came together.”
The biggest problem they faced was finding the right vocalist. In the end, around 50 hopefuls were auditioned. “We tried out so many. And all of them were young guys who were unknowns at the time; I don’t think any of them went on to have success, though. There were a few who were good – but not good enough. You see, I had an idea in my head of how the singer should come across. I’d hear a Robert Plant or Paul Rodgers doing the songs, and I kept on singing to myself to get an idea of what worked. So I wasn’t prepared to settle for less than someone who really knocked me out.”
Two high profile vocalists were almost offered the chance to front the band. One was American Ian Lloyd, who had topped the US singles chart in 1973 with Brother Louie, while he was a member of Stories. “Ian was a friend of mine, and he helped us out during the auditions. And I came very close to asking him if he wanted to be the vocalist in the band. He was really good, and it felt right when he did the songs.”
Lloyd would end up doing backing vocals not only on this album, but also subsequent Foreigner recordings. The second possibility, meanwhile, was a little more far-fetched. “I had gotten to know Steve Winwood when Spooky Tooth toured with Traffic,” says Jones. “And while we were still struggling to find a suitable vocalist, I went on holiday to Wales with a friend. Steve was staying very close by, and we hung out for a few days. I was always a fan of his voice, and was very tempted to ask him if he’d consider joining the band. But I could never quite bring myself to ask him. I just thought he would inevitably turn down the whole idea, so it remained one of those thoughts you never put into action. Still, I do sometimes wonder if he might have agreed to give it a go!”
However, all such thoughts were dispelled when Lou Gramm entered the story. Formerly with Rochester, New York band Black Sheep (who had released two albums), Gramm was asked to audition by Jones. “What happened was that when Mick was still in Spooky Tooth, they played in Rochester, New York, where Black Sheep were based,” says Gramm. “So we went along to the show, and because our manager worked for A&M Records [to whom Spooky Tooth were signed in America], we got to meet the band afterwards, and gave them copies of our two albums [1974’s self-titled debut and the following year’s Encouraging Words].
“Then we had a major piece of bad luck. We’d been chosen to open for Kiss, but after the first gig in Boston our van hit a patch of ice, which not only destroyed the van but most of our equipment as well. That meant we had to pull out of the Kiss tour, and come off the road for ages.
“In April 1976, Mick tracked me down and asked if I’d like to audition for his new band. But I turned the offer down, because I was committed to Black Sheep. Anyway, Mick said he’d call again in two weeks to see if I’d changed my mind. Now, when I mentioned the offer to the rest of the guys, they told me to go ahead and audition, because Black Sheep would be out of action for a long time. So when Mick did call back, I accepted his offer.”
McDonald says that Jones took a lot of convincing before he finally plumped for Gramm as singer. “Mick put on the first Black Sheep album, and as soon as I heard the vocals I just knew Lou was the man for us. I said so at the time to Mick, but he insisted that we had to go through the whole process of auditioning him. I kept on at Mick, telling him we had to grab this guy before someone else did, and finally he agreed with me. He was very cautious about it, though.” Jones, though, suggests he was won over by Gramm almost immediately.
“As soon as he came in to the audition, I realised we’d found our guy. He sounded exactly the way I wanted the band’s singer to come across. Lou was just so much better than anyone else we had tried out. He brought everything to a new level.”
Gramm sang four songs in his audition: Feels Like The First Time, At War With The World, Woman, Oh Woman and Take Me To Your Leader. And these were the same songs the newly cemented sextet elected to record for the demo that they hoped would get them the all-important record deal. This was cut in the same rehearsal room where the auditions were held, and in the case of Feels Like The First Time it featured Gramm’s very first try at doing the song. From: https://www.loudersound.com/features/foreigner-debut-album
