Mr. Moonlight (album)

Mr. Moonlight
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 24, 1994[1]
Recorded1993–1994
Studio
Pre-production - EH Recording Studio, Owned and operated by John Jackson
  • Criteria Studios (Miami, Florida)
  • Emerald Studios (Nashville, Tennessee)
  • Bearsville Studios (Bearsville, New York)
  • Utopia Studios (Lake Hill, New York)
  • Soundtrack Studios (New York, New York)
  • Track Record Studios (North Hollywood, California)
  • Studio 4 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Genre
Length54:17
LabelArista
Producer
Foreigner chronology
Best of Live
(1993)
Mr. Moonlight
(1994)
Complete Greatest Hits
(2002)
Singles from Mr. Moonlight
  1. "White Lie"
    Released: October 1994
  2. "Until the End of Time"
    Released: March 1995[2]
  3. "All I Need to Know"
    Released: 1995 (Can.)
  4. "Rain"
    Released: 1995 (Ger.)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Rolling Stone[4]

Mr. Moonlight is the eighth studio album by British-American rock band Foreigner, released by Arista Records in Europe on 24 October and by BMG Entertainment in Japan on 23 November 1994. In the United States and Canada, it appeared in early 1995 on the Rhythm Safari label. Recorded at seven different studios across the States, the album was produced by Mick Jones, Lou Gramm, and Mike Stone, with an additional production by Phil and Joe Nicolo. It was Foreigner's last studio release until Can't Slow Down (2009).

The album was the first since Inside Information (1987) and the last to feature original lead singer Lou Gramm. Prior to starting work on Mr. Moonlight, he was the lead vocalist on three newly recorded tracks from Foreigner's compilation The Very Best ... and Beyond (1992). Mr. Moonlight was also the first album in fifteen years without bass guitarist Rick Wills, who joined the band in 1979, and drummer Dennis Elliott, who was a founding member.

Though it was intended to be a comeback release, Mr. Moonlight was a commercial disappointment, only peaking at number 136 in the Billboard 200 chart,[5] and ranked as Foreigner's worst-selling studio album.

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."White Lie" 4:16
2."Rain"Gramm, Jones, Bruce Turgon4:35
3."Until the End of Time"Gramm, Jones, Turgon4:52
4."All I Need to Know" 4:45
5."Running the Risk"Gramm, Jones, Jeff Jacobs5:09
6."Real World" 6:22
7."Big Dog"Gramm, Jones, Jacobs, Turgon4:47
8."Hole in My Soul" 5:08
9."I Keep Hoping"Gramm, Jones, Jacobs5:10
10."Under the Gun" 4:16
11."Hand on My Heart"Gramm, Jones, Turgon4:57
Total length:54:17
Japan bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Crash and Burn"4:37
Total length:58:54
U.S. and Canada editions
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Under the Gun" 3:50
2."Rain"Gramm, Jones, Turgon4:35
3."Until the End of Time"Gramm, Jones, Turgon4:52
4."White Lie" 4:16
5."Big Dog"Gramm, Jones, Jacobs, Turgon4:47
6."Real World" 6:22
7."All I Need to Know" 4:45
8."Hole in My Soul" 5:08
9."I Keep Hoping"Gramm, Jones, Jacobs5:10
10."Running the Risk"Gramm, Jones, Jacobs5:09
11."Hand on My Heart"Gramm, Jones, Turgon4:57
Total length:53:51

Personnel

[edit]

Foreigner

  • Mick Jones – guitars, acoustic piano, backing vocals
  • Lou Gramm – lead vocals, backing vocals, percussion
  • Jeff Jacobs – acoustic piano, organ, keyboards, backing vocals
  • Bruce Turgon – bass, backing vocals
  • Mark Schulman – drums, backing vocals

Additional musicians

  • Ian Lloyd – backing vocals
  • Tawatha Agee – backing vocals (on "I Keep Hoping")
  • Robin Clark – backing vocals (on "I Keep Hoping")
  • Paulette McWilliams – backing vocals (on "I Keep Hoping")
  • Duane Eddy – lead guitar (on "Until the End of Time")
  • Billy Bremner – additional guitars (on "All I Need to Know")
  • Randy Cantor – keyboards and additional guitars (on "White Lie" and "Rain")
  • Luis Enriques – percussion (on "Real World" and "Running the Risk")
  • Scott Gilman – saxophone, recorder, backing vocals

Production

  • Mick Jones – producer
  • Lou Gramm – producer
  • Mike Stone – producer, engineer, mixing (at Bearsville Studios in Bearsville, New York, and Soundtrack Studios in New York, New York)
  • Phil and Joe Nicolo – additional production, mixing ("White Lie" and "Rain", at Studio 4 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
  • David Bianco – mixing ("Real World")
  • Mark Stebbeds – mixing ("Big Dog", at Track Record Studios in North Hollywood, California)
  • Ted Jensen – mastering (at Sterling Studios in New York, New York)
  • Danny Clinch – photography
  • John Pitter – illustrations
  • Red Herring Design – design

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1994-1995) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[6] 126
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[7] 69
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8] 60
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[9] 21
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[10] 73
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] 17
UK Albums (OCC)[12] 59
US Billboard 200[5] 136

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Mr Moonlight".
  2. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. ISBN 9780862415419.
  3. ^ Parisien, Roch. Foreigner: "Mr. Moonlight" > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  4. ^ Evans, Paul (2004). "Foreigner". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (Completely Revised and Updated 4th ed.). New York: Fireside. p. 307. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  5. ^ a b "Foreigner Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Foreigner ARIA chart history". ARIA. Retrieved 20 July 2024 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  7. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9077". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Foreigner – Mr. Moonlight" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Foreigner – Mr. Moonlight" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  10. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  11. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Foreigner – Mr. Moonlight". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Foreigner | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
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