Women (Foreigner song)

"Women"
Single by Foreigner
from the album Head Games
B-side"The Modern Day"
ReleasedFebruary 1980 (US)[1]
April 25, 1980 (UK)[2]
Recorded1979
GenreHard rock
Length3:25
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)Mick Jones
Producer(s)Roy Thomas Baker, Mick Jones, Ian McDonald
Foreigner singles chronology
"Love on the Telephone"
(1979) 		"Women"
(1980) 		"I'll Get Even with You"
(1980)

"Women" is the fourth single taken from the third album, Head Games by the band, Foreigner. It was written by Mick Jones, and released in February 1980. The song's B-side, "The Modern Day" is also sung by its writer, Jones.

Reception

Billboard praised the "strong vocals and hot guitar licks" but criticized the womanizing lyrics.[3] Cash Box said that "slashing lead guitars...lead the way into the hardcore boogie beat, with Lou Gramm's rough 'n' tumble vocals, for another pop, AOR winner."[4] Record World said that the song "rocks hard with buzzsaw guitar and steamy vocals."[5] Rolling Stone critic David Fricke described it as a "presumably tongue-in-cheek misogynous chant" that is "powered by guitarist-songwriter Mick Jones' jackhammer riffing and Dennis Elliott's ham-fisted drumming" but "free of...pomp-art, heavy-metal flourishes."[6] St. Joseph News-Press critic Conrad Bibens identified "Women" as being a "departure from the band's style" and described the song as "a bluesy track similar to some of Steve Miller's recent works."

A music video was filmed to accompany the single (an early example of music video, about two years before MTV) that featured several models and actresses dressed like and acting in the manner of the various female stereotypes that the song mentions, one of whom was Victoria Lynn Johnson, who was the 1977 Penthouse magazine Pet Of The Year.[7]

Daily Republican Register critic Mike Bishop called "Women" the "dumbest song" on Head Games, highlighting the lyrics "Women behind bars / Women in fast cars / Women in distress / Women in no dress."[8] Livingston County Daily Press and Argus critic Scott Pohl found the lyrics of the song to be chauvinistic and unattractive as a "tale of how awful things can get when you deal with women."[9] On the other hand, Democrat and Chronicle arts editor Jack Garner called "Women" the most interesting song on Head Games, despite its seemingly simple structure.[10] Garner wrote that it:

...consists of a long series of phrases describing a large variety of women ("Women who satisfy. Women you can't buy. Women in magazines. Women in a limousine.") There isn't a completed sentence in the lyric. Such a repeated phrase structure could be dangerous, but [Lou] Gramm brings it the necessary interest and vitality through his well-phrased vocal.[10]

Press-Enterprise critic Kim McNally used a similar verse to illustrate that the song's words have force, and was relieved that, unlike most other songs on Head Games, the lyrics to "Women" are not simply "you-me-ooh-baby-you."[11] She said that the music sounds like the Cars.[11] PopMatters critic Evan Sawdey said that "'Women' had a strut that was absent from past two Foreigner [albums]."[12] But News-Journal critic Ralph Kisiel said that the music "sounds like your baby brother took the needle of your stereo and scraped it across the record."[13]

Responding to criticism of the song's lyrics, lead singer Lou Gramm said that the song uses female stereotypes in a way that "couldn't be more tongue-in-cheek."[14]

Chart performance

"Women" reached No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100.[15]

Band reaction

Jones said of the song:

You know, it was supposed to be a fun song, tongue-in-cheek a little bit. But yeah, it’s one of the band’s favorite songs to play. Throughout all of the years, it always comes up, you know, the fans bring it up sometimes. There’s certainly a nice little strut to it.[16]

References

  1. ^ "Foreigner singles".
  2. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 28.
  3. ^ "Top Singles Picks" (PDF). Billboard Magazine. February 9, 1980. p. 62. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
  4. ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. February 9, 1980. p. 17. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  5. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. February 9, 1980. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  6. ^ Fricke, David (November 29, 1979). "Head Games". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
  7. ^ Bibens, Conrad (October 13, 1979). "Consistent quality on Foreigner's third". St. Joseph News-Press. p. 14. Retrieved 2022-06-18 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Bishop, Mike (November 16, 1979). "Platter Chatter". Daily Republican Register. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-06-18 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Pohl, Scott (November 28, 1979). "'Foreigner' LP won't make female friends". Livingston County Daily Press and Argus. p. 5B. Retrieved 2022-06-18 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b Garner, Jack (September 19, 1979). "Foreigner has winning formula". Democrat and Chronicle. p. 6C. Retrieved 2022-06-18 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b McNally, Kim (September 15, 1979). "Foreigner uninspired". Morning Press. p. C-6. Retrieved 2022-06-18 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Sawday, Evan (November 26, 2014). "Foreigner: The Complete Atlantic Studio Albums 1977-1991". PopMatters. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  13. ^ Kisiel, Ralph (October 21, 1979). "Foreigner bogs down in deep rut". News-Journal. p. 7-D. Retrieved 2022-06-18 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Ashton, Bill (December 14, 1979). "Foreigner At Home On Charts". Miami Herald. p. 9E. Retrieved 2022-06-18 – via newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Foreigner Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  16. ^ Wardlaw, Matt (September 11, 2015). "Mick Jones Looks Back at 40 Years of Foreigner's 'Head Games'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2022-01-08.