Agent Provocateur (album)

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Agent Provocateur
Foreigner - Agent Provocateur.JPG
Studio album by
Foreigner
ReleasedDecember 7, 1984
RecordedOctober 1983−July 1984
StudioThe Hit Factory and Right Track Recording (New York, NY).
GenreRock
Length42:23
LabelAtlantic
ProducerMick Jones, Alex Sadkin
Foreigner chronology
Records
(1982) 		Agent Provocateur
(1984) 		Inside Information
(1987)
Singles from Agent Provocateur
  1. "I Want to Know What Love Is"
    Released: November 1984
  2. "That Was Yesterday"
    Released: February 1985
  3. "Reaction to Action"
    Released: May 1985 [1]
  4. "Down on Love"
    Released: August 1985 [2]
  5. "Growing Up the Hard Way"
    Released: September 1985 [3]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic3/5 stars[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide3.5/5 stars[5]

Agent Provocateur is the fifth studio album by the British-American rock band Foreigner, released on December 7, 1984. The album was the band's first and only number one album in the United Kingdom, and it reached the top 5 in the United States. Although album sales were lower than their previous work in the U.S., it contains the band's biggest hit single, "I Want to Know What Love Is", which is their only #1 single in the UK and the U.S., staying at the top spot for three and two weeks respectively. The follow-up single, "That Was Yesterday", also proved to be a sizeable hit, peaking at #12 in the U.S. The album was certified Platinum in the UK by the BPI, and triple Platinum in the U.S. by the RIAA.[6]

Recording[]

Within nearly two years of releasing 4, writing and preproduction for this album began as early as June 1983 in New York, with producer Trevor Horn.[7][8] Then, once writing had been completed in September that year, official recording began in early October in London with Horn.[7][8] Eventually, things started to fall apart around the time of the Christmas holidays - even though co-producer & guitarist Mick Jones recalled that it began after a day of recording - due to Horn being more concerned about the performance of the singles he had produced (such as Frankie Goes to Hollywood) in Europe than the Foreigner record.[7][8] Eventually, another month was spent trying to look for another producer to fill his shoes, subsequently hiring Alex Sadkin, who was busy finishing the Thompson Twins' Into the Gap album.[8][9] Sadkin helped rekindle the project when it was on the verge of total collapse, but despite that, according to Jones, recording still never seemed to end: the sessions had been dogged from the very start and continued to remain unfocused.[8] Sadkin agreed when reminiscing on the project in 1987:

"The Foreigner project a couple years back, on the other hand, just seemed to go on and on. Everyone, including the band, got really pissed off with it. They’re used to it, though, and I wasn’t, so it just threw me. I couldn’t believe what was going on! There was a problem with people not coming in; Mick [Jones], who is the leader, not showing up for hours and hours, and so that obviously would really slow it down. Then the songs wouldn’t be really ready. While the album was being mixed the lyrics were still being written! Things were being changed right up to the last minute, and that is what took a long time. That is why I don’t want to go into the studio when somebody wants to write the stuff there; it just takes too long and it isn’t worth it, it doesn’t come out right. You can’t write properly in the studio because you’re under pressure. How can you really be creative when you’re watching the clock going round burning up the money?"[10]

Even though the extent of Horn's contributions to the record is unclear, he claims to have done most of the backing tracks, including for "I Want To Know What Love Is".[11] According to singer Lou Gramm, owing to the difference in production styles between Sadkin and Horn, only two of the tracks that had been cut with the latter were kept on the record, though it is unclear which ones.[7] A total of nine months had been spent on recording the album.[9]

Track listing[]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Tooth and Nail"Lou Gramm, Mick Jones3:54
2."That Was Yesterday"Jones, Gramm3:46
3."I Want to Know What Love Is"Jones5:04
4."Growing Up the Hard Way"Jones, Gramm4:18
5."Reaction to Action"Jones, Gramm3:57
6."Stranger in My Own House"Jones4:54
7."A Love in Vain"Jones, Gramm4:12
8."Down on Love"Jones, Gramm4:08
9."Two Different Worlds"Gramm4:28
10."She's Too Tough"Jones, Gramm3:07

Personnel[]

Foreigner

Additional personnel

  • Wally Badarou – analog and digital synthesizers
  • Tom Bailey – synthesizers on "I Want to Know What Love Is"
  • Brian Eddolls – synthesizers
  • Larry Fast – synthesizers
  • Dave Lebolt – synthesizers
  • Bob Mayo – keyboards, acoustic piano, backing vocals
  • Jack Waldman – synthesizers
  • Mark Rivera – saxophone, backing vocals
  • Thompson Twins – backing vocals
  • Ian Lloyd – backing vocals
  • Don Harper – backing vocals on "I Want to Know What Love Is"
  • Jennifer Holliday – backing vocals and arrangement on "I Want to Know What Love Is"
  • New Jersey Mass Choir of the GMWA – backing vocals on "I Want to Know What Love Is"

Production[]

  • Producers – Mick Jones and Alex Sadkin
  • Chief Engineer – Frank Filipetti
  • Additional Engineers – Josh Abbey, Larry Alexander, Jason Corsaro, Joe Ferla and Howie Lindeman.
  • Assistant Engineers – Bobby Cohen, Tim Crich and Scott Mabuchi.
  • Original Mastering and Digital Remastering – Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, NYC.
  • Art Direction and Design – Bob Defrin
  • Management – Bud Prager, E.S.P. Management Ltd.

Critical reception[]

By the time of Agent Provocateur, Foreigner was frequently savaged by the contemporary rock music press. A review in Creem read: "On this, their latest excursion into the gaping jaws of pulverizing mediocrity, our boys continue to wrestle with an all-too-turgid identity crisis — they still can't decide whether it's stupider to aspire to poor man's Led Zep status or settle for being a weightier version of Chicago. Some swinging choice, huh? Either way they lose and this record is simply jammed with one dull defeat after another."[12]

Charts and certifications[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Foreigner singles".
  2. ^ "Foreigner singles".
  3. ^ "Foreigner singles".
  4. ^ Adams, Bret. Foreigner: Agent Provocateur at AllMusic. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  5. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 258.
  6. ^ RIAA database Archived May 19, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Hunt, Dennis (April 21, 1985). "High profile is foreign to group's singer". The Sacramento Bee.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Sharp, Keith (1988). ""What's in a name?"". Rock Express Magazine. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b Grein, Paul (January 26, 1985). "Foreigner still loyal to records". Billboard magazine. pp. 41 & 43.
  10. ^ Buskin, Richard (April 1987). "Alex Sadkin-Send In the Fire Extinguishers". Musician. US. pp. 45–49, 110.
  11. ^ Schmidt, Torsten (2011). "Trevor Horn". redbullmusicacademy.com. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  12. ^ Zeller, Craig (April 1985). "Foreigner: Agent Provocateur (Atlantic)". Creem. Retrieved July 25, 2018 – via Rock's Backpages.
  13. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. ^ "Foreigner – Agent Provocateur (Album)" (ASP). Austrian Charts (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  15. ^ "100 Albums". RPM. 42 (3): 5. March 30, 1985. ISSN 0315-5994. Archived from the original (PHP/PDF) on 2012-10-23. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  16. ^ http://suomenlistalevyt.blogspot.com/2015/08/fis-fra.html
  17. ^ "Les "Charts Runs" de chaque Album Classé". InfoDisc (in French). Archived from the original (PHP) on 2008-08-20. Find "FOREIGNER" under the drop-down menu to see statistics.
  18. ^ "Album – Foreigner, Agent Provocateur" (ASP). Media Control Charts (in German). Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  19. ^ "Foreigner – Agent Provocateur (Album)" (ASP). Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  20. ^ "Foreigner – Agent Provocateur (Album)" (ASP). New Zealand Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  21. ^ "Foreigner – Agent Provocateur (Album)" (ASP). Norwegian Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  22. ^ "Foreigner – Agent Provocateur (Album)" (ASP). Swedish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  23. ^ "Foreigner – Agent Provocateur (Album)" (ASP). Swiss Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  24. ^ "All the Number One Albums: 1985". The Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  25. ^ Jump up to: a b "Agent Provocateur – Foreigner". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  26. ^ "Foreigner Mainstream Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  27. ^ "French album certifications – Foreigner – Agent Provocateur" (in French). InfoDisc. Select FOREIGNER and click OK. 
  28. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Foreigner; 'Agent Provocateur')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  29. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Foreigner; 'Agent Provocateur')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  30. ^ "British album certifications – Foreigner – Agent Provocateur". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  31. ^ "American album certifications – Foreigner – Agent Provocateur". Recording Industry Association of America.
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