There are a few bands that have managed to turn around original lineups and remain successful. Foreigner with only one original — guitarist Mick Jones — is one of them. With a songbook cast in platinum, relentless touring, and seasoned, younger players who bring a high level of energy and enthusiasm to each and every show, Foreigner continues to do brisk business in amphitheaters, casinos, and 10,000 seaters around the country. To kick it up a notch, original members have been brought back into the fold. Double Vision: Then And Now captures one such concert at Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, as both Foreigner’s current lineup and original band members share the stage in an unfathomable co-op for the ages.
For the first set, Jones is joined by singer Kelly Hansen, saxophonist and guitarist Tom Gimbel, bassist Jeff Pilson, keyboardist Michael Bluestein, guitarist Bruce Watson, and drummer Chris Frazier. Most of this configuration has been on board for the past 15 years and they’ve developed into a tight unit that plays every classic Foreigner song note-for-note. Together, they blast through “Cold As Ice,” Head Games,” “Headknocker” and others from the band’s early years.
A stylish acoustic take on one of the band’s final Top 10 hits from the late 80s, “Say You Will” is a pleasant surprise. “Starrider,” a deeper cut features Jones on lead vocals and an array of special effects. They finish up with a show-stopping “Juke Box Hero,” accompanied by smoke, an animated jukebox, and Hansen masterfully angling the vocals and working the frontline, on stage and in the crowd. It all culminates with some impressive guitar work from Jones, flanked by Watson and Gimbel to fill in the gaps and double up on the breaks.
When original singer Lou Gramm, keyboardist Al Greenwood, drummer Dennis Elliott, saxophonist and guitarist Ian McDonald, along with bassist Rick Wills, the group’s second bassist replacing Ed Gagliardi (who passed in 2014) in 1979, come up to join Mick Jones, there’s little time to assess what happens next. After Phil Carson’s long-winded introduction, they waste little time jumping right into “Feels Like The First Time.” Everyone looks a little stiff at first, as they competently follow Jones through each verse. Gramm, who’s struggled in recent years due to health issues, sounds better than you might expect. The power isn’t there, but the key and the clarity are.
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Foreigner’s sophomore mega-seller Double Vision provides an opportunity for the originals to take the title track and “Blue Morning, Blue Day” out for a ride with relish. Gramm talks about writing “Long, Long Way From Home” with Jones and the band rolls right into it. MacDonald, the first horn player for both King Crimson and Foreigner, finally switches over from guitar to saxophone, and confidently blows through the song’s signature solo. When they slam through “Dirty White Boy,” you have to wonder why the lineup ever had to change.
Filmed in 4K Ultra HD using over 24 camera positions, there are some goofy special effects randomly thrown in here and there and cutaways to various members (mostly Hansen) talking about themselves and the band. That’s a separate documentary in itself. None of it quite resonates as well as the music and the idea of the original and current incarnations sharing the stage. “Super” Foreigner, with members past and present, gather together for the group’s biggest hit, “I Want To Know What Love Is.” As if seeing Hansen and Gramm exchange lines and join in on the chorus isn’t enough, Albert Strickland & Cho’Zen Choir add a gospel feel that transforms the song into a choral hymn. The love fest carries over into “Hot Blooded,” and as the credits roll for Double Vision: Then And Now, you may speculate if this sort of joint collaboration could ever happen again. As the years go by, you just never know.
~ Shawn Perry 
