The debut album from Foreigner – named for the fact that two-fifths of the group are British, with the remainder, including singer Lou Gramm, hailing from the US – was released 45 years ago this week.

Foreigner came together in 1976: guitarist Mick Jones was stranded in New York after the breakup of an earlier group, and decided to start up a new band, first recruiting keyboardist Al Greenwood, then former King Crimson guitarist Ian McDonald, then iconic singer Gramm. They recorded this debut in 1976 and released it in early 1977.

You probably know one or both of the opening tracks, “Feels Like The First Time” and “Cold As Ice”. The rest of the album is a bit of a mixed bag: third track “Starrider” leans into the prog rock of McDonald’s past and takes a cue from Jethro Tull (yes, its a flute), and the tracks veer between progressive rock, radio rock and straight classic rock from there. By the half way point, its clear that “Cold As Ice” is the standout.

Not a bad album by any means – I enjoyed it well enough as background music while I was working – but not really anything to write home about either.

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CLTM (Chris Listens To Music) is my attempt to listen to a new album every day; you can follow my efforts on Instagram here (and send recommendations), and if you like what I’m doing, support my efforts by shouting me a cuppa at Buy Me A Coffee.