Maps of Music

Unusual Heat (1991)

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

The only album with singer Johnny Edwards was a commercial failure, peaking at number 117 on the Billboard 200 after every earlier album had reached the Top 20.

Key places

Recording at BearTracks Studios, Suffern (1991)

Recording site BearTracks Studios — The album was recorded at several studios across New York state and England. This Suffern studio is one of those recording locations. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Right Track, Manhattan (1991)

Recording site MSR Studios — The album was recorded at several studios across New York state and England. Right Track in New York City is one of those recording locations. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at The Farmyard, Little Chalfont (1991)

Recording site The Farmyard — The album was also recorded in England, and The Farmyard in Little Chalfont is one of those recording locations. The point marks the town centre, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Unusual Heat: seventh studio album by British-American rock band Foreigner
• Released June 1991 by Atlantic Records
• Produced by Terry Thomas and Mick Jones
• The only album with lead singer Johnny Edwards, who replaced original lead singer Lou Gramm
• Final album with original drummer Dennis Elliott and longtime bassist Rick Wills
• Edwards also plays lead guitar on "Mountain of Love"

Background

• Johnny Edwards: veteran singer who performed with Montrose and later fronted Wild Horses
• Wild Horses had only just signed its record deal when the Foreigner offer came
• Edwards was reluctant to walk away from his own band after years of struggling to succeed on his own terms
• Mick Jones chose a singer most fans hadn't heard of over a big-name replacement
• Jones preferred keeping four people making the record to assembling an all-star band

Recording

• Recorded at several different studios across the state of New York and England
• Mixed by Mick Jones and Terry Thomas on all tracks
• Rafe McKenna and Andrew Scarth handled recording engineering on different tracks
• Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in New York

Cover

• Art direction by Reiner Design Consultants
• Photography by Timothy White
• Art direction for band photography by Bob Defrin

Sources: en.wikipedia.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

• Billboard 200 peak: number 117, a commercial failure
• Sales fell sharply compared with all earlier albums
• Every earlier album reached the Top 20 and became at least Platinum
• Neither of the two singles entered the Billboard Hot 100

Records

• Billboard 200: peaked at number 117
• Billboard Hot 100: neither single charted
• Mainstream Rock chart: "Lowdown and Dirty" reached number 4
• The album's only chart success came from one single on a rock-format chart
• Commercial results are the main documented measure for this album

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• "Ready for the Rain" began as a late-1980s demo by the Sacramento band Northrup, with Johnny Edwards on lead vocals
• That original version was finally released in 2001 by Metal Mayhem Music as part of a demo collection under the name JK Northrup
• Mick Jones said an all-star band would have cheapened the band's meaning and direction
• Johnny Edwards was reluctant to leave Wild Horses, which had only just signed its record deal
• Johnny Edwards, Mick Jones and Terry Thomas are credited as songwriters on most tracks

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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