Double Vision (Foreigner song)

"Double Vision" is a single by Foreigner from their second album of the same name. The song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks in 1978, behind "MacArthur Park" by Donna Summer.[1] It became a gold record. The song was also a top 10 hit in Canada.

"Double Vision"
Single by Foreigner
from the album Double Vision
B-side"Lonely Children"
ReleasedSeptember 1978 (1978-09)
Format7"
Recorded1978
GenreHard rock
Length3:29 (single)
3:40 (album)
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)Lou Gramm, Mick Jones
Producer(s)Ian McDonald, Keith Olsen, Mick Jones
Foreigner singles chronology
"Hot Blooded"
(1978)		 "Double Vision"
(1978)		 "Blue Morning, Blue Day"
(1979)
Music video
"Double Vision" on YouTube

The song has been a staple of the band's setlist since its release. Over recent years, Lou Gramm and Foreigner (now fronted by Kelly Hansen) have both used the song as their show opener.

Background and writing

In an interview, vocalist Lou Gramm explained the origin behind the song: "'Double Vision' was a song that was written in about late 1977 just before the Double Vision album came out. ...A lot of people think it's about being intoxicated or being high. When we were recording that song before we had the title, the New York Rangers hockey team was playing the Philadelphia Flyers and one of the big Flyers guys bumped into the Rangers' all-star goalie [John Davidson] and knocked him down and they had to take him out of the game because he was experiencing double vision."[2]

According to the New York Rangers website, the incident actually took place in April 1978 during a hockey game between the Rangers and the Buffalo Sabres. The game announcers repeatedly used the phrase "double vision" which then inspired Foreigner to use it as the song's title.[3] The single is certified RIAA gold, selling one million copies, prior to the reduction of gold certification standards that occurred in the late 1980s.

Reception

Billboard Magazine felt that "Double Vision" was stronger single than the previous release "Hot Blooded" due to its "driving but less monotonous hard rock rhythm" and "more infectious melody."[4] The Daily News Journal critic Gary Balser regarded "Double Vision" as the best song on the album, stating that it is "an example of Foreigner's individual sound with a keyboard interlude and a constant bass and guitar drive."[5] San Pedro News-Pilot critic Joseph Bensoua said it has "just the right hooks, phrasing and simple lyrics needed for controlled rock 'n' roll.[6] St. Joseph News-Press critic Conrad Bibens described "Double Vision" as "competent but a little too bombastic."[7]

Chart history

References
  1. "Foreigner Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  2. Parker, Melissa (May 14, 2009). "Foreigner vocalist Lou Gramm sets the record straight". Our Prattville. Missing or empty |url= (help)
  3. "‘JD’ Inspires a Rock Song" NY NHL Rangers website
  4. "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard Magazine. September 23, 1978. p. 94. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  5. Balser, Gary (October 22, 1978). "Foreigner's second album a success". The Daily News Journal. p. 54. Retrieved 2020-06-26 – via newspapers.com.
  6. Bensoua, Jospeh (August 4, 1978). "Thin Lizzy is on top at last". San Pedro News-Pilot. p. E9. Retrieved 2020-06-26 – via newspapers.com.
  7. Bibens, Conrad (July 8, 1978). "Foreigner's second not quite as good". St. Joseph News-Press. p. 12. Retrieved 2020-06-26 – via newspapers.com.
  8. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  9. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  10. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, November 18, 1978". Archived from the original on May 17, 2015. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  11. "Top 200 Singles of '78 – Volume 30, No. 14, December 30 1978". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  12. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 30, 1978". Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  13. Musicoutfitters.com
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