Back after an extended absence, it seems Foreigner co-founder Mick Jones deemed it a good idea to get the band back on its feet with numerous gigs over the last 5 years with Lou Gramm’s replacement, the quite superb Kelly Hansen building up an audience and it seems to have been working with the live act considered a must see, the live album we reviewed a couple of years ago being a perfect testament to the fact the band have a back catalogue to rival most, and also the balls to deliver that material with a new found vengeance.  So I approached the new album “Can’t Slow Down” with great excitement. 

Opener title track “Can’t Slow Down” is a fine opener, rock solid, rocking, big chorus, great vocals from Hansen everything you could want in fact, however sadly nothing else on the album lives up to these lofty heights.  “In Pieces” tries to be Coldplay for some bizarre reason, “Living In A Dream” is bland with very obvious commercial rock-isms about it. Of the ballads “When It Comes To Love” offers the most positivity and “I’ll Be Home Tonight” is good although nothing new, whilst “I Can’t Give Up” and “As Long As I Live” head right back to the blandness.  “Ready” is home to a good pre-chorus but otherwise is faceless; “Give Me A Sign” is dated and sounds like its trying to be more Lou Gramm solo material c. 88 than Foreigner.  However, “Too Late” is the other fine success, harking back to the sound of the bands first 2 albums, what you get here is a nice mix of piano and guitar, good melodies and a nice dose of power, why couldn’t there be more like this?

“Lonely” is one of those quasi-psychedelic Beatles “Strawberry Fields” influenced numbers it seems you have to have on an album since 1993 if you have a pedigree dating back to the 70’s – just ask Aerosmith. “Angel Tonight” is built around a simple guitar lick, and again the more retro sound works to the band advantage possessing more character and personality, in fact it sound like Foreigner which to be honest is kind of what I want from them, call me weird.  “Fool For You Anyway” closes the album in soulful mode with this cool laidback tune, complete with horns and vintage sounding production – a nice closer.

Generally “Can’t Slow Down” is disappointing.  There are a few songs which are very good, mainly because they sound like Foreigner and not an attempt to sound like any other band getting played on the radio.  Granted, the band probably are trying to reach a new audience, but even then you have to question why when your classic sound is good enough even in this day and age to get noticed.  Overall this isn’t the album I really hoped this line-up could deliver – maybe the next one will? A few songs here show Mick Jones can still write a cracker when he wants to, he just has written too many sounding like everyone else to take this album anywhere.  If you want more of the classic Foreigner sound (albeit again not quite as good as it once was) then check out the debut from the Lou Gramm Band instead.