"Luanne" was the fifth and final single taken from the album 4 by the band Foreigner, and the second to feature a B-side that was not available on one of their albums, a controversial live version of their hit, "Hot Blooded". The song was written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones and reached number 75 in the U.S. charts, but was a live staple for years to come.[5] The live version of "Hot Blooded" was later placed on the international release of their retrospective, Records, but in subsequent re-releases has been dropped in favour of the original album version due to a couple of choice words spoken in ad lib during the song's performance by its singer, Lou Gramm.
"Luanne" | ||||
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Single by Foreigner | ||||
from the album 4[2] | ||||
B-side | Hot-Blooded (live)[3] | |||
Released | July 1982 (US) [1] | |||
Recorded | Early 1981 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:25 (album version) 3:11 (single version)[4] | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
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Foreigner singles chronology | ||||
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Rolling Stone contributor Kurt Loder felt the song sounded like it could have been written by John Fogerty.[6] Berkeley Gazette critic Robert Blades said it has "a mesmerizing pop hook uncommon to most of Foreigner's material" and shows "a breadth of style the band hasn't revealed before."[7] Hartford Courant critic Colin McEnroe called it a "first-class driving rock 'n' roll melody."[8] WCSC-TV music director Chris Bailey praised it, saying that it sounded like songs from REO Speedwagon's Hi Infidelity album.[9] Cash Box said that it's a "pleasant departure," with a "rumbling drum fill reminiscent of 'Peggy Sue' [by Buddy Holly]" and with an emphasis "on melodically twangy guitar hooks rather than sheer rock force."[10] Billboard said that it was a throwback to the "crisp guitar base" of earlier Foreigner hits, rather than the "synthesizer-tinged melodic pop" of their more recent hits, "Lou Gramm's vocal readings and the spare production" were consistent with their recent successful charting songs.[11]
References
edit- ^ "Foreigner singles".
- ^ "Foreigner - 4". Discogs.
- ^ "Foreigner – Luanne (1982, Vinyl)". Discogs.
- ^ "Foreigner - Luanne". Discogs.
- ^ "Foreigner Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
- ^ Loder, Kurt (October 15, 1981). "Foreigner: Mass-Appeal Rock in a Post-Golden Age". Rolling Stone Magazine. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
- ^ Blades, Robert (February 10, 1982). "Foreigner's too familiar sounds finally dying out?". Berkeley Gazette. p. 15. Retrieved 2022-06-21 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ McEnroe, Colin (October 20, 1981). "Foreigner's Repertoire Nothing Exotic". Hartford Courant. p. C6. Retrieved 2022-06-22 – via newspaper.com.
- ^ Sacks, Leo (July 10, 1982). "Out of the Box" (PDF). Billboard. p. 20. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
- ^ "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. July 10, 1982. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
- ^ "Top Single Picks". Billboard. July 10, 1985. p. 65. Retrieved 2022-07-29.