Maps of Music

Double Vision (1978)

Where the lyrics of Double Vision take you, and where it was really made.

Its best-known joke credit: A&R executive John Kalodner's name appears twice in the liner notes, a play on the album's title.

Key places

Recording and mixing site in New York City (1978)

Recording site Atlantic Studios (New York City) — Atlantic Recording Studios in New York City is named as the place where the album was recorded and mixed. Source dates for the sessions differ, so the exact timing is not fixed here. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Double Vision: second studio album by the British-American rock band Foreigner
• Released 20 June 1978 by Atlantic Records
• The only Foreigner album co-produced by Keith Olsen
• Last recording with bass guitarist Ed Gagliardi, who was later replaced by Rick Wills
• Includes Tramontane, the only instrumental the band has released on a studio album to date

Background

• A&R executive John Kalodner's name is listed twice in the liner notes, the first in a line of such credits
• The credit idea began when producer Olsen wondered how to credit Kalodner's involvement in the band and the album
• Guitarist Mick Jones proposed doubling the name, in keeping with the double vision theme
• Mick Jones takes the lead vocals on Back Where You Belong and I Have Waited So Long

Recording

• Recorded between March and May 1978
• Atlantic Recording Studios in New York City is named as the place where the album was recorded and mixed

Cover

• Design and photography by Norman Seeff

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Foreigner is a British-American rock band formed in New York City in 1976.
• Mick Jones led the band from the start; the original lineup included Lou Gramm, Dennis Elliott, Al Greenwood, Ian McDonald and Ed Gagliardi.
• The name came from the band's mix of British and American members: at least three members were foreigners in any country they played.
• The band's debut album came out in March 1977 and reached No. 4 in the US.

Members

• Mick Jones (guitar, keyboards, vocals) is the founder and only constant member.
• Lou Gramm (vocals) was an original member who left in 1990, rejoined in 1992, and left again in 2003.
• Gagliardi was replaced by Rick Wills in 1979; Greenwood and McDonald were dismissed in 1980.
• Kelly Hansen became lead singer in 2005; Luis Maldonado took over lead vocals in 2025.

Career

• Foreigner is one of the best-selling bands of all time, with worldwide sales exceeding 80 million records.
• The 1981 album 4 was its first and only US No. 1 album.
• The 1984 single "I Want to Know What Love Is" topped the charts in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.
• The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn described the album as slickly produced, commercially powerful, but artistically vapid
• The Record critic Rick Atkinson said it used the same formula as the debut, so Foreigner's Clone would have been an appropriate title
• The Morning News critic Gary Mullinax called Tramontane a densely textured instrumental, pleasant enough but going nowhere
• New York Daily News critic Ace Adams called the album a fine collection of songs and hard rock at its best
• Record World said Back Where You Belong and Spellbinder showed the band's expertise and maturity
• PopMatters critic Evan Sawdey praised the shimmering acoustic wonder of Back Where You Belong, while calling Tramontane gloomy

Reappraisal

• Allmusic reviewer Andy Hinds gave the album 4 stars out of 5
• Robert Christgau gave the album a C- and criticized Hot Blooded harshly
• Mick Jones rated Blue Morning, Blue Day and Spellbinder among his 11 favorite Foreigner songs

Records

• Peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and earned platinum certification a week after release
• Lead single Hot Blooded reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100; Double Vision reached number 2; Blue Morning, Blue Day reached number 15
• Certified 7x platinum for sales over 7 million units; counted with the 1982 compilation Records as Foreigner's best-selling album
• Canada: multiplatinum certification from CRIA for 200,000 copies
• Reached the Top 40 in Europe only in the United Kingdom

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Mick Jones takes the lead vocals on two tracks, Back Where You Belong and I Have Waited So Long.
• Tramontane was written mainly by Al Greenwood, unlike most Foreigner songs, and Ian McDonald played a lyricon on it.
• Rhino Entertainment reissued the album in 2002 with two live tracks, Hot Blooded and Love Maker.
• The Kalodner credit was a play on the album's double vision theme, and it became the start of a series of similar liner note credits.
• Mick Jones named two songs from this album among his 11 favorite Foreigner songs.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

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