The arena rock bands that did the best during the peak era for that genre were the ones that knew how to adapt. They showed that they could nod to changing musical tastes without getting too far outside their comfort zone.
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The members of Foreigner understood that as well as anyone. Their 1981 smash hit “Urgent” introduced a new lineup, fresh collaborators, and an updated sound. But it still delivered outstanding results typical of this powerhouse group.
Making Changes
Most bands would have given anything for the level of success earned by Head Games, the 1979 album that went to No. 5 on the US charts and spun off two Top 15 singles. That kind of success was pretty much par for the course for Foreigner for their first three albums.
But Mick Jones, the band’s founder and lead guitarist, who also wrote much of their material, wanted to stay ahead of the pack. He chose Mutt Lange to produce their fourth album. At the time, Lange was just making his bones as a kind of rock-band whisperer. His work on Back In Black by AC/DC in 1980 was about to put him on the map in a much more substantial fashion.
Lange asked Jones to hear every bit of music that he had in his backlog for possible inclusion on the album, which would be titled 4 upon arrival in 1981. One of those pieces of music was just a stuttering guitar riff. But Lange encouraged Jones to run with it. It ended up becoming the opening of “Urgent”.
Synth and Sax
Two outside musicians ended up playing a large role in the recording of “Urgent”. Thomas Dolby was a wannabe songwriter/performer with synthesizer expertise. That earned him a gig with Foreigner, who’d had two regular keyboardists leave the band prior to the making of 4. Dolby not only played on “Urgent”, but he also had an in-development song called “Urges” that worked its way into the lyrics of the Foreigner track.
Meanwhile, Lange called on Motown legend Junior Parker to tackle the saxophone solo in the song. Parker had to go through multiple takes, with Lange eventually splicing the part together. It was the perfect complement to a song with a strong R&B feel at its foundation.
“Urgent” came blasting out in 1981 with a purpose, landing at No. 4 on the pop charts. As the lead single, it also led fans into the album. 4 would become the most successful LP of Foreigner’s outstanding career when all was said and done.
Behind the Lyrics of “Urgent”
The title of the song perfectly matches the tone of the music. Foreigner lead singer Lou Gramm’s vocals stay right in line with that vibe, as he sings intensely about a woman with “insane” desire. “Got fire in your veins,” he sings about her. “Burning hot, but you don’t feel the pain.”
This one-track mind of hers manifests itself in the narrator getting barraged at all times by her demands for more passion. It’s not exactly a romantic scenario. “You’re not warm or sentimental,” Gramm complains. “You’re so extreme, you can be so temperamental.”
But as the song progresses, we find out that the narrator is OK with all this. “Yeah, there’s one thing in common that we both share,” Gramm belts. “That’s a need for each other, anytime, anywhere.” “Urgent” manages to expertly convey the importance of that passion. And Foreigner managed to deftly tweak their sound for the 80s with this powerhouse single.
Photo by Fryderyk Gabowicz/picture alliance via Getty Images
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