Lou Gramm to Hang Up the Mic: Final Album and Foreigner's Future

Lou Gramm, the iconic voice of Foreigner, has announced his retirement from the music scene, but not before leaving one last legacy. The artist plans to 'hang up the microphone' at the end of the year, but before that, he will release a third and final solo album, titled 'Released', which will be released on March 27. This album is a self-produced collection of ten songs from his archives, in various stages of completion before being worked on for this release. Gramm also plans to perform with his own band and some special appearances with Foreigner.

The album 'Released' stems from Gramm's reflection on the time elapsed since his last release and the existence of 'gems' in his archives. The songs, which at the time were not included in his albums 'Ready or Not' (1987) and 'Long Hard Look' (1989), or in the only album by Shadow King (1991), were rescued and completed for this project. Bruce Turgon co-wrote nine of the tracks on 'Released' with Gramm. The selection of the songs was based on those that were almost complete and others that required retouching, including new instrumentations and vocals.

The creation process of 'Released' involved the revision of songs that were half-finished, adapting and completing them. Some songs like 'Heart and Soul', 'Lightning Strikes' and 'World Gets Around' come from the 'Long Hard Look' sessions. Others like 'Young Love', 'Walk the Walk' and 'Time Heals the Pain' were created later, before the Shadow King album. In addition, songs such as 'Long Gone' and 'Deeper Side of Love' were included, which needed more work, including new instrumentation and vocals. The song 'True Blue Love', originally on 'Long Hard Look', was reworked in an acoustic arrangement.

Gramm has been taking care of his voice for the last fifteen years, avoiding drugs and alcohol. He receives weekly singing lessons from an opera teacher in New York, which allows him to control his breathing and improve his vocal technique. This dedication allows him to bring something new to the older songs, maintaining the emotionality in his recordings. Gramm commented that the chemistry with his younger version remained intact.

Foreigner is also exploring its archives, releasing unreleased material. So far, they have released 'Turning Back the Time', an unreleased song from 1996, and 'Fool If You Love Him', an outtake from the 1981 album '4'. Mick Jones, the band's founder, who stopped touring in 2022 due to Parkinson's disease, and manager Phil Carson, have confirmed that more material will be released. Gramm even foresees a possible collaboration between the Foreigner members included in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the current lineup on some of those records.

Gramm envisions a possible collaboration between the Foreigner members included in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the current lineup. According to Gramm, the recordings would need some retouching, such as lead guitar and real drums instead of a drum machine. They could build on those recordings and have the new Foreigner members fill in the rest of the parts. This could include Dennis Elliott on drums, Rick Wills on bass and Al Greenwood on keyboards, allowing the new Foreigner members to fill in the spaces.