Alive And Rockin' (DVD)

Alive and Rockin' is the perfect title for the new live DVD by this group of seasoned veterans. Musical mastermind and founding member Mick Jones was involved with a charity event a few years back and was asked to put a band together to play some Foreigner songs. He had been working on a solo career after his musical partnership with original vocalist Lou Gramm had dissolved, driving the final stake into Foreigner and by all intents and purposes, after many, many years, signalled the end of the band. Drummer Jason Bonham, son of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham had always expressed an interest in working with Mick Jones and when they got together, Jeff Pilson (ex-Dokken) was suggested by Jason as a bass player who would fit in well. Jason and Jeff had both been involved in the Rock Star movie and had always expressed an interest in working together. Things went so well with their first gig that Mick unexpectedly had begun to consider resurrecting Foreigner with an all-new line-up. Jeff Jacobs once again filled the keyboardist slot and rhythm guitarist, sax player Tom Gimbel was also brought in. The only missing piece was a strong vocalist and front man who could do their classic songs justice. Anyone auditioning was sent 4 Foreigner tracks without vocals with instructions to add their own voice and send them back in. After literally hundreds of auditions, one day a CD came back with vocals done by Kelly Hansen, the former Hurricane vocalist. Mick was so impressed that after meeting with him face to face, he was handed the position of being Foreigner's new lead singer. This new version of the band has been a big hit with the fans and their live shows have been spectacular. While on tour in Europe last year, the band had the chance to play at the Bang Your Head Festival in Germany. They were a bit nervous sharing the stage with bands like Death Angel, Helloween, In Flames, Unleashed etc. knowing full well that they could hold their own but unsure how they would they go over with a very "metal" crowd at the festival.

In a meeting backstage before the show, Mick Jones suggested scratching all the ballads from the set list to try to get a solid 60 minutes of music for their allotted time; a move that was not only popular with the other band members, but allowed them to bring out their heavy artillery to try to win over what could've very easily been a hostile crowd. Right from the opening track Double Vision, it was obvious that there were quite few people who came to see them. Others, lukewarm at first, were pumping fists along with everyone else by the time they blasted through Head Games and Dirty White Boy. Cold As Ice got a huge response from the crowd and a big surprise was Starrider from the very first Foreigner album. This version is much more powerful and heavy and came off really well. The whole place went bezerk when Mick started cranking out the opening chords to their mega hit Feels Like The First Time and Urgent was also met with a frenzy of pumping fists and throwing the horns especially during Tom Gimbel's amazing sax solo....very weird yet very cool at the same time!! After a simply monstrous version of Juke Box Hero complete with a couple of verses of Led Zep's Whole Lotta Love thrown in the middle, the band briefly left the stage before finishing with a killer version of Hot Blooded.

Kelly Hansen, besides his cocky Steven Tyler-like stage presence has a voice that is a dead ringer for Lou Gramm's. Although a tad over the top in his stage antics, he is just what the band needed to try to jumpstart their career. The rhythm section of Jeff Pilson on bass and Jason Bonham is rock solid and everyone seems to be really enjoying themselves. The big smiles on Mick Jones' face throughout no doubt fuelled his guitar playing as he lets lose with some great lead work on extended solo breaks for many of the songs. Most songs are extended for that true live rock and roll experience and even though seeing them live myself way back in the 70's, I don't remember them being this tight and explosive with their live performances. Besides the concert, we get interviews with Kelly Hansen, Mick Jones and Jason Bonham. My only beef about this whole DVD release is that the show itself is only 60 minutes. Although I can certainly see why they wanted to release this performance, it would've been better to be included in a package with other live performances. Plans are in the works to release a new studio album later this year or early next year so it looks like they're in it for the long haul. Mick Jones' rejuvenated version of Foreigner really kicked some serious ass that day last summer and rocked harder than I've ever heard them rock before. It was an important show that was captured in all its glory for this DVD release and one that announces to the world that yes they still are very much Alive and Rockin'.