Foreigner’s 1993 ‘Urgent’ Performance Is Our Favorite Cause Of The Saxophone

The exquisiteness in rock does not merely depend on vocals or guitar mastery; sometimes it is about the level of experimentation that a band could formulate. Watch and be blown away by Foreigner’s performance of the hit, “Urgent,” and you’d know for sure why everyone’s falling over that gorgeous saxophone.

40 years ago, Foreigner released the first single from their album, 4, in 1981. After the decision to work with well-known AC/DC producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange, things started to become quite stressful. Lange is known for his extreme work ethic; always aims for perfection and is meticulous in any way. Nevertheless, Lange’s purpose was only to supply what was best for the group, which in turn, truly worked out for all of them.

“It was the first time working with Mutt,” Mick Jones told Ultimate Classic Rock in 2014. “And he was the first producer that wanted to come around to my place and he wanted me to play every single idea that I had on cassette. He said that it didn’t matter if I was embarrassed or whatever, he just wanted to hear everything.”

Despite all this, Lange was quick to identify some potentials inside the demo tapes he’d been working on, including the starting riff of what would eventually turn out to be “Urgent.” “And I said, ‘That’s like an experimental instrumental thing that I’m working on.’ He said, ‘No, it isn’t anymore -– let’s take that one because that’s got a lot of potential.’ There wasn’t even a song with it,” Jones added.

All’s well that ends well indeed, when the song entered the U.S pop charts, peaking at no. 4. It also placed 1^st on the Billboard Rocks Chart, and remained so for an entire month. You can watch the band’s performance below, held at the Deer Creek Music Center in 1993.