Maps of Music

Inside Information (1987)

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

This album was the last Foreigner record with the classic '80s lineup, and it turned out to be the band's last commercial success.

Key places

Right Track Recording in New York City (1987)

Recording site MSR Studios — The album was recorded and mixed at Right Track Recording in New York City between June and September 1987. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Inside Information: sixth studio album by the British-American rock band Foreigner
• Released in December 1987 by Atlantic Records
• Produced by Mick Jones and Frank Filipetti
• Last Foreigner album with the '80s core lineup of Gramm, Jones, Wills and Elliott
• Ten tracks in the track listing

Background

• The band's sales had been declining since the release of 4 in 1981
• Despite that decline, the album was a commercial success
• In 1989, Lou Gramm released his second solo album Long Hard Look
• In 1989, Mick Jones released his self-titled solo debut album

Recording

• Recorded from June to September 1987
• Recorded and mixed at Right Track Recording in New York City
• Co-producer, recording and mixing credited to Frank Filipetti
• Assistant engineer Billy Miranda
• Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in New York City
• Recorded and mixed to analog tape

Cover

• Group photography by E.J. Camp
• Front and back photography by Roger Corbeau
• Art direction by Bob Defrin

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

• The album debuted at number 15 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart
• The first single, Say You Will, reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late February 1988
• Say You Will also held the top spot on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for four weeks
• Say You Will reached number 22 in Germany and number 4 in Norway
• The second single, I Don't Want to Live Without You, reached number 5 on the Hot 100 in late May 1988
• Heart Turns to Stone was released as a later single and reached number 56 on the Hot 100 in mid-1988
• Cash Box said that what Foreigner lost in pure originality, they gained in accessibility and clarity

Reappraisal

• AllMusic later noted that Say You Will was a good example of the band's balancing act between guitar rock and electronics
• AllMusic praised Lou Gramm's vocal on I Don't Want to Live Without You for avoiding histrionics

Records

• Billboard 200 debut at number 15
• Certified Platinum in the U.S. for sales exceeding one million copies
• Inside Information is described as the band's last commercial success
• Heart Turns to Stone had earlier peaked at number 7 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in a non-commercial rock radio release

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Out of the Blue is the only song in the band's catalog credited to all four members of the classic 80's lineup
• The Discogs entry notes the UK-market catalogue number WX 143
• Tom Bailey appears on additional keyboards for track 4 under a courtesy credit
• The Say You Will CD single featured an extended remix version of the track
• Mastering took place at Sterling Sound in New York City

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

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