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Urgent

Foreigner | Artist Essentials

Foreigner / RECOMMENDED SELECTION 7

First released: 1981 (year verified)

Original 1981 studio album recording and mix

MusicAtlas editorial note: The repeating rhythm creates a firm platform for the much freer saxophone break.

YouTube opens a title-and-artist search. The selected recording and date are identified below.

Release evidence and recording details

First released: 1981 (year verified)

The original studio recording belongs to the 1981 4 release cycle. The 2025 remix and archival alternates are separate editions; the album day is not used as the exact date of an earlier single.

Recording: Original 1981 studio album recording and mix
Credit: Foreigner
Role in this collection: Primary artist

Original album: 4
Original album association; the supported year is not an exact worldwide release day.

Foreigner - original album programs and separately labeled editions
Original 4 (1981) program and year in the label album collection. Modern mastering, bonus recordings and other original album programs are not substituted for the selected recordings. | Reviewed 2026-10-18

Foreigner - original Atlantic studio album chronology
Rhino explicitly dates the original albums Foreigner 1977, Double Vision 1978, Head Games 1979, 4 1981, Agent Provocateur 1984 and Inside Information 1987. Original studio hits are separated from later deluxe-edition demos, live tracks and nearly unplugged performances. The 2014 box date is not used as first release. | Reviewed 2026-10-18

Foreigner 4 - original album versus later remix and archive material
Label identifies the original 1981 album and its three principal singles, separately from the 2025 stereo remix, Atmos, early versions, instrumental rough mixes and live recordings. Only the original year and original studio identity are used, not the newer mixes or their dates. | Reviewed 2026-10-18

Annual version match under review

The selected recording has release evidence, but its version has not been matched to the retained annual entry. It is omitted from Beyond the yearly lists until this match is resolved.

The actual retained annual candidate does not identify the edition. The label original-album collection explicitly supplies a single version, while this selection specifies the original album presentation. Their precise annual linkage remains provisional; later 2025 remixes are also excluded.

Foreigner - original album programs and separately labeled editions
Numbered original album programs and original years identify the selected recordings. The 4 section explicitly labels Juke Box Hero and Urgent as single versions; that edition detail is kept separate from the original full album selections. Demo, live and nearly unplugged bonuses are excluded. | Reviewed 2026-10-18

Foreigner 4 - original album versus later remix and archive material
Label identifies the original 1981 album and its three principal singles, separately from the 2025 stereo remix, Atmos, early versions, instrumental rough mixes and live recordings. Only the original year and original studio identity are used, not the newer mixes or their dates. | Reviewed 2026-10-18

ARTIST BACKGROUND

About Foreigner

Foreigner brought British and American musicians together around guitar-led rock, strong vocal hooks and carefully arranged studio sound. Mick Jones and Lou Gramm were central to the original recordings. The early Atlantic albums balanced short riffs with melodic keyboard parts; by 4 and Agent Provocateur, synthesizer textures and expansive ballads had become equally prominent. The group also continued to record more direct rock songs. Its original studio catalog, later lineups and concert recordings represent distinct stages of the band rather than interchangeable versions.

Artist background sources

Foreigner - Rock & Roll Hall of Fame career profile
British-American musical identity, the guitar-led 1970s sound, later keyboard and ballad emphasis, and named members including Mick Jones and Lou Gramm. The page display of Juke Box Hero beside 1982 is not used as first-release evidence; the label documents its 1981 album origin. | Retrieved 2026-10-18

Foreigner - original Atlantic studio album chronology
Rhino explicitly dates the original albums Foreigner 1977, Double Vision 1978, Head Games 1979, 4 1981, Agent Provocateur 1984 and Inside Information 1987. Original studio hits are separated from later deluxe-edition demos, live tracks and nearly unplugged performances. The 2014 box date is not used as first release. | Retrieved 2026-10-18

Foreigner 4 - original album versus later remix and archive material
Label identifies the original 1981 album and its three principal singles, separately from the 2025 stereo remix, Atmos, early versions, instrumental rough mixes and live recordings. Only the original year and original studio identity are used, not the newer mixes or their dates. | Retrieved 2026-10-18

Profile reviewed: 2026-10-18. Artist background does not establish a song's creative origin or release date.

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Recommended positions express one editorial listening sequence. They are not measured quality scores.

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