Taking a cue from the Eagles, Foreigner decided to release their first album in 15 years, creating a package that touches upon all phases of their past and into the present on the three-disc Can't Slow Down. The first disc is a brand-new studio recording, the first to feature their new lead vocalist Kelly Hansen, who joined in 2005, replacing Lou Gramm's replacement. The second is a collection of classic hits remixed by Anthony Focx and Marti Frederiksen -- the latter produced the bulk of the new album with Mick Jones, who is the only remaining original member of the band -- while the third disc is a DVD of live performances from 2009, expanded with footage from the making of the album. The DVD is certainly for hardcore fans only, and the same argument could be leveled against the remix disc, since only those intimately familiar with the originals could spot how these differ (generally, they may be punchier but they're not far removed from the originals). Then again, since these remixes aren't much different than the originals, they're ideal for the general customer who picks this up as an enhanced greatest-hits collection: they sound like the versions they remember from the radio, and the rest of Can't Slow Down sounds like it could have been a hit in the late '80s, appearing as the sequel to 1987's Inside Information. Hansen sounds uncannily like Gramm, to the point that any casual fan could mistake him for his predecessor, and the songs are good, tight arena rock, whether they're fist-pumping anthems like the title track and "Give Me a Sign" or power ballads like "When It Comes to Love" and "As Long as I Live." Nothing here is hip or will convert skeptics, but everything here will satisfy fans who have been waiting years for new music from Foreigner.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo