The Complete Atlantic Studio Albums 1977 - 1991

I am due to see Foreigner in concert soon and thought I'd take this opportunity to quickly get myself up to speed with their music. Like most people, I know plenty of the band's great catchy singles and have heard the albums previously. But I have never taken the time to properly listen to their material. This is why I purchased this lovely well priced collection.Complete Atlantic Albums 1977-1991 is a seven disc collection and has the same standards as every other collection like it. It's a fairly generic looking clamshell case with the CDs in some small vinyl replica sleeves. There's no booklet of information, meaning if you want some info, you're going to have to squint at the small album covers, look on the back of the box or find the information online. The box-set features the albums Foreigner (1977), Double Vision (1978), Head Games (1979), 4 (1981), Agent Provocateur (1984), Inside Information (1987) and Unusual Heat (1991).As for the music itself, I quite enjoyed it. I felt that the first two albums, Foreigner and Double Vision were fantastic. Those albums are of course well known for containing Cold As Ice and Hot Blooded, two very popular rock songs. The album tracks however are just as well made and in some cases better. I really loved the song Spellbinder, Feels Like the First Time and I Need You. The third album, Head Games is pretty good in its own right but didn't stand out quite as much to me. Being sandwiched between the first two and 4, it is quite understandable as to why it is easily forgotten. The previously mentioned 4 is a fantastic slick pop rock album. This one is known for Waiting For a Girl Like You and contains great tunes like Juke Box Hero, Night Life and I'm Gonna Win. It's a very positively charged album and was a blast to listen to. Agent Provocateur and Inside Information didn't feel quite as focused and well produced as the previous four albums. There's a number of cracking tunes on there, but the commercial side gets in the way of the band making progress. Unusual Heat from 1991 is one I have never heard of, until now. I quite enjoyed the sound of the album. Everything sounds like the band made a bit more effort, it's well produced and features some good solid songs.It sounds to me that these albums have been remastered and given the usual "make it louder" treatment that plagues a lot of re-releases. The drums on Head Games to me felt a bit too loud, especially when wearing headphones and the source used for the first album had some little inconsistencies here and there. Despite that, it could be a lot worse.I paid a whopping £20 for this collection and think it was well worth what I paid. The albums are nicely contained in this sturdy little box and it covers all the ground that I was looking to cover. A nice easy way to collect the majority of Foreigner's music.

A very enjoyable set of 7 albums

Brilliant quality and value for money

Foreigner was an British/American rock band from the mid 70s that reached their peak in the mid 80s. With AC/DC styled riffs and Led Zeppelin influenced swagger the band were a big live attraction too. This set 7 CD box set offers (mostly) remastered versions of their Atlantic albums with bonus tracks. Often put in the AOR box or soft rock bucket, mainly because of the gentle Girl Like You and masterful, slow burning I Want To Know What Love Is, surely one of the best song-A-Longs ever, I must say there’s some ass-kicking riff heft here that easily pushes the Harder Rock arena. This set is ideal for those with worn out LP copies that may want to upgrade to the digital domain or those that like to get their teeth into a bands catalog all at once. There is another studio album that’s not included here but that’s just a minor issue. For the price, you simply can’t go wrong. As like most rock bands that crossed from an organic ensemble in the 70s to the MIDI locked digital 80s, you’ll find synths and sequencers on Agent Provocateur (1984) and Inside Information (1987) but didn’t every other rock band do that back then? In an nutshell, if you like Foreigner this is for you!!!

good job

Very pleased with this purchase. Excellent condition. Very good price. Very good seller. Overall good experience

This set contains all Foreigners albums from their self-titled debut to their early 90's album 'Unusual Heat'. They are housed in simple thin card slipcases in a fold-open thick (glossy) card outer box. The only gatefold they released (1987's 'Inside Information' - the last of their 'big' albums) is a gatefold here. None of the albums have inner sleeves or inserts. I'm not an audiophile so I won't comment on the musical quality of the CD's, but they sound pretty good to me. Some of them have remixes or alternate versions of songs pegged at the end of the album. Foreigner were one of the biggest and best of the 70's / 80's MOR / AOR bands - arguably the biggest in terms of singles sales, and also arguably the most internationally successful. If you're a casual fan then pick this up and you'll discover some great music. If you're already a fan then pick this up to have all their prime-era albums together in one neat box. At less than £20 it's a bargain.

I own some of the original vinyl and a couple of CD compilations, so it was good to see all these albums gathered in one place. Nice little set with good quality packaging but a booklet would have made it special. Perhaps a short essay on the band along with some credit and production notes along with track listings? No complaints about the music or the sound though. Rhino have issued some superb sets for other bands but this seems a bit lazy.