In the Spotlight showcases a cross-section of an artist’s cover work. View past installments, then post suggestions for future picks in the comments!
Summer 2023 saw the kick-off of Foreigner’s farewell tour, and it rolls on through the end of this year, with a bonus few summer 2025 shows on the books. The performers are not the original members, and Mick Jones, the only original member still involved with the band, is no longer able to perform on this tour due to his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, but the songs are still the ones we know and love.
Foreigner is one of the great bands of the arena rock era where everything was just big and in your face. If you think you don’t know any Foreigner songs, my guess is that by the end of this post you’ll have said “oh, I know that one” at least once. Their hits are myriad and ubiquitous, so much so that I couldn’t just pick a few to highlight in this post. In honor of the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, we present covers of the setlist of this farewell tour. This way we get to reminisce about hits across multiple albums and hear a fuller span of the band’s work.
These won’t be the only Foreigner covers to cross your path in the near future. During the induction ceremony itself, we’ll hear plenty more. The band is in luck getting Kelly Clarkson to be part of their induction. Clarkson is a whiz with covers and is sure to give us some new takes on the hits that will keep Foreigner in our heads in the weeks following the ceremony.
So without further ado, bring on the hits!
Krab Legz – Double Vision (Foreigner cover)
“Double Vision” is a great choice to kick off the setlist; it’s upbeat, it has that rough-and-tumble edge we expect from arena rock. When it was released, on Foreigner’s second album of the same name, “Double Vision” was the song that brought the band closest to the top of the charts at the time, peaking at number two. In this cover, the high hat keeps us going, going, going with a more upbeat tempo than the original. And here, that tempo doesn’t ease up in the choruses where the original de-escalates some of the heaviest rock guitar elements. Although not quite so electric-guitar-focused, Krab Legz’s cover still rocks, with its opinionated percussion and gravelly vocals.
Midlife Crisis – Head Games (Foreigner cover)
Next up, another title track. This one is from Foreigner’s third album Head Games, a bit of a shift from what the band had done so far, including a change in lead bassist from Ed Gagliardi to Rick Wills. The hits from this album didn’t reach as high as the ones before them, and after this album, founding members Ian McDonald and Al Greenwood left the band. Now, there are definitely vocal covers out there, but I wanted to prioritize a cover that also took on the instrumental parts. Midlife Crisis puts on a good show, not shying away from wailing guitar licks and the moments involving challenging vocal ranges. Lead singer Carlen Dixon is even rocking a Journey album cover on his shirt (clearly dedicated to the arena rock cause).
Lou Barlow – Cold as Ice (Foreigner cover)
We go back to the very beginning for “Cold as Ice,” the second single off of Foreigner’s self-titled debut album. We’ve even covered this particular cover before, but it’s too good not to include here as well. This acoustic version is simple, making the accusatory message of the lyrics even more stark. Even stripped of the punctuating piano, the reinforcement of the drums, and synthy interludes, the bite of the lyrics remains.
Heather Nova – Waiting for a Girl Like You (Foreigner cover)
It took until the band’s fourth album (aptly named 4) to have a power ballad hit with this song (a record ten consecutive weeks at number 2 on the Billboard charts), and it’s about that time in the setlist to slow things down a bit. This cover doubles down on that slowness, making us wait for every syllable. There’s an admirable patience to the pacing that is in tension with the intensity of the feelings expressed. With just a touch of piano and haunting vocals, this cover is pure yearning.
Mars Alley – Dirty White Boy (Foreigner)
The other hit from the tumultuous Head Games album was this song with a potentially controversial-sounding name. Again, I was back on the lookout for someone who would take on this lesser-known hit in its full, instrumental glory. I appreciate the teamwork of the Mars Alley band members, apart for recording but still working together to rock out (watch the keyboardist pop up!), and I love to see a lead singer/drummer combo. The call and response across the quadrants are well complemented, and everyone is giving it their all.
Ronnie Romero – Girl on the Moon (Foreigner cover)
This is the deepest cut in this farewell tour’s setlist. It was the seventh single (out of ten total songs) on the fourth album. This cover captures the mysterious element of the song, and actually puts a little more rock edge to the crooning whereas the original song has a little lighter whimsy in its musings. The music video doesn’t make it seem like this version is as focused on the instrumental components of the song, but then an extended guitar solo appears in the middle. One can’t escape the draw of a rock-out moment.
Rascal Flatts – Feels Like the First Time (Foreigner cover)
Now, I know I’m a little biased, because Rascal Flatts has a special place in my nostalgic heart. I especially like this cover of “Feels Like the First Time” because it brings a little country crossover to a genre that is all about packing stadiums full of energy, which is something both genres can agree on. I love when bands cover songs that you can tell they just really enjoy personally. It sounds like singer Gary DeVox has been honing his craft on this song at his local karaoke joint, and the overall vibe has us feeling like we are free to join in. For this song that started it all, hearing it in any form must take Foreigner fans back to that first time feeling.
Soul Kitchen Band – Urgent (Foreigner cover)
“Urgent” preceded “Waiting for a Girl Like You” as the first single off of the 4th album. Yes, the name 4 worked chronologically, but it also reminded us that the band had slimmed down from 6 members to 4. This cover is fairly faithful to the original; it results in the same head-bobbing groove effect. However, the horns steal the show in this version. As they take their turn to wail, you don’t even miss the guitar solo you are accustomed to in the original.
Soul Asylum – Juke Box Hero (Foreigner cover)
To close out the main show, what better choice than the namesake of a musical based on Foreigner songs? Like the Who’s “Pinball Wizard”, this song is highly narrative, so it’s no wonder they both got musicals tied to them. This version is a little more screamy, with heavier instrumental sounds, than the original, but the change in energy adds to the franticness, the “do anything for success” urgency, of the storyline.
Gloria Gaynor – I Want to Know What Love Is (Foreigner cover)
Finally, Foreigner got a chart-topping hit with this lead single off of their fifth album. Just like the band had to wait for that accolade, the band makes the audience wait until the encore to hear this hit. Gloria Gaynor adds a little extra funk to her version. There is syncopation in the bass line, and Gaynor plays a bit with the cadence of the vocal delivery. Her rich vocals, backed by choral echoes, still impart the desire of this song, but the overall tone feels more triumphant and hopeful than the original. Gaynor is speaking that want into existence rather than making a futile plea.
(Need an encore for this encore?)
Gretchen Wilson – Hot Blooded (Foreigner)
But we can’t end on that somber note. We need one more rock anthem before we leave the concert and head back to the real world. “Hot Blooded” encapsulates everything we both love and hate about arena rock. It’s full of bravado and maleness, emblematic of the rockstar lifestyle. Maybe that’s why I’m drawn to this Gretchen Wilson cover; she wears the rockstar mantle well but broadens who we think of when we think “rock” (and really, isn’t “Here for the Party” in the same spirit of this song anyway?). This is a straightforward cover, no extra frills to make the cover tip over into cringey, but with just enough attention paid to the guitar to keep the original’s spirit alive.
(Need an encore to this final encore?)