The Ready or Not LP was a collaboration between Gramm and Bruce Turgon, who had worked together in the band Black Sheep. When Gramm joined Foreigner, Black Sheep disbanded and Turgon became a working musician in LA. However, the two artists remained in touch, and as the chemistry in Foreigner deteriorated, Gramm invited Turgon to work with him on a solo project.
The video for "Midnight Blue" is pretty standard fare, but that doesn't make it bad. By the by, the actress in the video is Traci Lind, who left the industry long ago (there is an interview with her on Noblemania for those who are interested), while the actor is Joe Holland, who died in 1994.
While "Midnight Blue" may not have broken any new ground creatively, it is a damn fine rock song, in your author's opinion, helped by a catchy guitar line. And Lou Gramm has a voice that sounds like it was made for rock. It adds up to one of the better rock songs of the decade.
Cool trivia fact: R.E.M. covered "Midnight Blue" on a bunch of their shows in the fall of 1987, and an audio version from one of these concerts has survived:
I've always enjoyed this song.
ReplyDeleteHad no idea REM covered this tune!
As always, thanks for the knowledge.
Best,
-Sam
Thanks, Sam -- the R.E.M. version was pointed out to me a few years back by a knowledgeable friend, and I thought that it was worth sharing. (There's a little Furs in the cover too, if you listen). All the best.
DeleteWho's the Guitarist in the Video?
ReplyDeleteI'm about 80% sure that the guitarist in the video is Bruce Turgon, who co-wrote the song with Gramm.
DeleteHa. I'm in a internet wormhole right now trying to figure this out without much success. I found the actual "on the record" musicians, but it's not noted that they also appear in the video, and I'm not sure it's them. Of course, it makes total sense that it's Turgon, but it doesn't really look like him. Same for the other guys. Could this have been a "touring" band? FWIW, perfectly happy to be wrong about this, and invite anyone who actually knows to pipe in and tell me that I'm an idiot and it's obviously them. Also, thanks for providing the info about the boy in the video -- Joe Holland. Sorry to hear he died so young. Hope he's still driving that sweet "cherry red" convertible somewhere in the great beyond.
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