Maps of Music

4 (1981)

Where the lyrics of 4 take you, and where it was really made.

The band's management rejected the first cover, and the album was once titled Silent Partners.

Key places

Recorded at Electric Lady Studios (1981)

Recording site Electric Lady Studios — Discogs release notes list Electric Lady Studios in New York City as the recording location. The album was recorded over eight months, according to the album page. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• 4 (also known as Foreigner 4): fourth studio album by the British-American rock band Foreigner
• Released July 3, 1981 by Atlantic Records
• Title marks both that it is the fourth studio album and that membership fell from six to four
• Musically moved from hard rock toward more accessible mainstream rock and pop
• Release coincided with the launch of MTV later that August

Background

• Originally titled Silent Partners, later changed to 4
• Ian McDonald and Al Greenwood left before recording; session musicians filled their roles
• All songs credited to Mick Jones and/or Lou Gramm
• Recording ran eight months, and the daily studio start time moved from noon to midnight
• That schedule change inspired the opening song 'Night Life'
• Lange had to leave toward the end to meet commitments with Def Leppard on their High 'n' Dry album

Recording

• Produced by Robert John 'Mutt' Lange and Mick Jones
• Discogs release notes list Electric Lady Studios in New York City as the recording site
• Junior Walker played the saxophone solo in the bridge of 'Urgent'

Cover

• The Hipgnosis design based on the original title was rejected by the band's management
• The replacement cover was designed by Bob Defrin, modeled after an old-fashioned film leader
• Hipgnosis received credit for the label design

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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

• Classic Rock's editors called 4 Foreigner's 'masterpiece'
• PopMatters critic Evan Sawdey called 'Night Life' a 'remarkably limp album opener'

Reappraisal

• Ultimate Classic Rock critic Matt Wardlaw rated 'Juke Box Hero', 'Waiting for a Girl Like You', 'Urgent' and 'Night Life' among Foreigner's top 10 songs
• Ultimate Classic Rock critic Eduardo Rivadavia rated 'Girl on the Moon' and 'Woman in Black' among Foreigner's 10 most underrated songs
• Classic Rock critic Malcolm Dome rated 'I'm Gonna Win' at No. 8 and 'Night Life' at No. 1 on his most underrated list
• Mick Jones rated 'Urgent', 'Juke Box Hero' and 'Girl on the Moon' among his 11 favorite Foreigner songs

Records

• Commercial success worldwide, with 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200
• Sold over six million copies in the U.S. alone
• Singles 'Urgent', 'Waiting for a Girl Like You' and 'Juke Box Hero' were hits
• Rereleased June 2015 by Atlantic Records as 180-gram vinyl with the original 1981 track listing

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The band's management rejected the Hipgnosis cover, which was built on the original title Silent Partners, and found it 'too homosexual'
• Thomas Dolby, who was not an admirer of the band, ended up on the album because of a misunderstanding
• Junior Walker's saxophone solo in the bridge of 'Urgent' came from a session musician brought in after two members left
• The 8-month recording schedule's shift from noon to midnight gave the album its opening song 'Night Life'

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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