Lou Gramm - Long Hard Look (1989) [2005, Wounded Bird Records, WOU 1915]

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Lou Gramm - Long Hard Look (1989) [2005, Wounded Bird Records, WOU 1915]

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1989's Long Hard Look was the second solo album from Foreigner vocalist Lou Gramm, and its modest success led him to officially – but ultimately briefly – leave the enormously popular band. Long Hard Look is another slice of sleekly professional pop/rock, similar to Gramm's 1987 solo debut, Ready or Not. But whereas Ready or Not rather consistently combined melody with bite (side one specifically), Long Hard Look is spotty. Sonically, the difference between Foreigner and Gramm's solo albums is considerable and can be summed up in one word: warmth. Foreigner's music has a richer guitar, keyboard, and drum sound thanks to guitarist/keyboardist/producer Mick Jones, but Gramm's solo albums are more brittle. The tinny snare drum sound is juiced too high in the mix – not quite to the threshold of pain, but darn close. Long Hard Look includes the Top Ten hit "Just Between You and Me" and the Top 40 hit "True Blue Love." Both were smooth pop singles, but the latter is the superior tune despite charting lower. Gramm does manage to rock a bit on three songs: "Angel With a Dirty Face," "I'll Come Running," and a cover of Small Faces' "Tin Soldier." The atmospheric "Warmest Rising Sun" is pleasant, and background vocals are contributed by Merry Clayton, best known for her astonishing work on the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter." Other well-known musicians providing assistance on Long Hard Look include guitarist Vivian Campbell (who later worked with Gramm on the one-off Shadow King project), guitarist Nils Lofgren, bass guitarist Pino Palladino, and vocalist Siedah Garrett. Bass guitarist/rhythm guitarist Bruce Turgon later joined Foreigner when Gramm returned to the band and resumed his partnership with Jones.

~ Bret Adams, All Music Guide

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Lou Gramm - Long Hard Look (1989) [2005, Wounded Bird Records, WOU 1915]

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Lou Gramm:

Born: May 02, 1950, Rochester, NY
Active: '70s, '80s, '90s
Genres: Rock
Instrument: Vocals
Representative Albums: "Ready or Not", "The Lou Gramm Band", "The Best of the Early Years"
Representative Songs: "Midnight Blue", "Ready or Not", "Just Between You and Me"

After rising to prominence as the frontman for the hard rock combo Foreigner, Lou Gramm mounted a successful solo career during the '80s, cracking the Top 10 in 1987 with the single "Midnight Blue" and repeating the process two years later with "Just Between You and Me." Born in Rochester, NY, on May 2, 1950, Gramm first surfaced as the drummer with the band Black Sheep, assuming lead vocal duties prior to recording the group's self-titled 1975 Capitol debut. Neither the album nor its follow-up, Encouraging Words, earned much mainstream notice, but they did capture the attention of journeyman guitarist Mick Jones, best known for his stint with a latter-day incarnation of Spooky Tooth. Jones soon tapped Gramm to front his new group, Foreigner, and together they began writing songs, co-authoring the smash "Cold as Ice" from their best-selling 1977 eponymous debut LP. Gramm's powerfully distinctive vocals were inescapable in the years to follow as Foreigner reeled off an impressive series of pop radio hits, including "Hot Blooded," "Double Vision," "Urgent," and "Waiting for a Girl Like You." The hits culminated in 1984's chart-topping power ballad "I Want to Know What Love Is," which became a number one hit in America, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, and the U.K.

While Foreigner took a brief hiatus, Gramm made his solo debut in 1987 with Ready or Not and scored a major hit with "Midnight Blue." Foreigner reconvened and recorded another platinum-selling album, Inside Information, but Gramm maintained his solo success with 1989's Long Hard Look and soon left group to form his own band, Shadow King, which released its self-titled debut on Virgin Records in 1991. Shadow King proved to be short-lived, however, and in 1994 Gramm and Jones revived Foreigner for the release of Mr. Moonlight.

As the decade drew to an end, Gramm was sidelined with several health issues. He was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor on the eve of the band's planned Japanese tour in 1997, and the surgery that followed damaged his pituitary gland. After a year of rehabilitation and radiation treatment, the singer made a full recovery and resumed touring in 1999. He split with Foreigner once again in 2003, however, preferring to tour in support of his solo material instead.

~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

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Lou Gramm - Long Hard Look (1989) [2005, Wounded Bird Records, WOU 1915]

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Lou Gramm - Long Hard Look (1989) [2005, Wounded Bird Records, WOU 1915]

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