Down on Love

For a Kelly Rowland song of the same name, see Down on Love (Kelly Rowland song).
"Down On Love"
Single by Foreigner
from the album Agent Provocateur
B-side"Growing Up the Hard Way"
ReleasedAugust 1985[1]
Recorded1984
GenreRock
Length4:08
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Foreigner singles chronology
"Growing Up the Hard Way"
(1985) 		"Down On Love"
(1985) 		"Say You Will"
(1987)

"Down on Love" is the fourth single taken from the album Agent Provocateur by the band Foreigner, and released in August 1985.

The song was written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones, and the B-side, "Growing Up the Hard Way", was itself released as an A-side single in Europe.

Reception

Billboard said that the single "returns the group to the massive power ballad sound that's propelled their biggest pop hits."[2] Cash Box said that "heart tugging sentimentality meets slickly professional rock" and predicted a "fast rise up the pop singles chart" based on Foreigner's "knack for slow rocking love tunes."[3] The Pittsburgh Press critic Pete Bishop described it as an "'I-can-heal-your-heartache' ballad" that he compared to the lead single from Agent Provocateur, "I Want to Know What Love Is."[4] Daily Record critic Jim Bohen described it as "synthesizer-orchestrated pop [ballad] of towering melodrama."[5] The Sun music critic Alan Schmidt noted that while two other ballads from Agent Provocateur that were released as singles, "I Want to Know What Love Is" and "That Was Yesterday," are "full of the blues" then "Down on Love" provides a "ray of hope" with lyrics like "They've given up on finding someone new/But new love comes, it's gonna come for you."[6] Billings Gazette writer Chris Rubich similarly wrote that it's a "song of reassurance that love deserves another chance."[7]

Allmusic critic Bret Adams later praised the song's "pleasant chorus" and "warm keyboard melody."[8] Tri-City Herald critic Jim Angell praised the synthesizer playing.[9] But The Daily News Journal music writer Curt Anderson criticized the fact that the slow keyboard buildup goes nowhere, "as if the mere sound of a synthesizer is all the song needs."[10]

Chart performance

"Down on Love" reached #54 on the Billboard Hot 100.[11] It reached #59 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart.[12] Fort Worth Star-Telegram pop music writer Roger Kaye stated that the song was a hit in the Dallas, Texas area even though it did not perform very well on the national charts.[13] It was also a Top 20 hit in the Akron, Ohio area.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Foreigner singles".
  2. ^ "Reviews". Billboard. August 10, 1985. p. 67. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  3. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. August 17, 1985. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  4. ^ Bishop, Pete (January 27, 1985). "Foreigner is solid as ever after 3 1/2-year studio layoff". Pittsburgh Press. p. F6. Retrieved 2022-07-29 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Bohen, Jim (March 31, 1985). "Collins captures musical moment in 'No Jacket'". Daily Record. p. D11. Retrieved 2022-07-29 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Schmidt, Alan (March 16, 1985). "Foreigner maintains consistency on latest". The Sun. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-08-01 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Rubich, Chris (January 26, 1985). "Foreigner returns in strong style". Billings Gazette. p. 16-A. Retrieved 2022-08-01 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Adams, B. "Agent Provocateur". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
  9. ^ Angell, Jim (January 20, 1985). "'20/20' needs more of George Benson's guitar playing". Tri-City Herald. p. C6. Retrieved 2022-08-01 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Anderson, Curt (February 10, 1985). "Top music, books, TV". The Daily News-Journal. p. 23. Retrieved 2022-08-01 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Foreigner Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  12. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Cash Box. September 21, 1985. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  13. ^ Kaye, Roger (November 10, 1985). "Foreigner shines with greatest hits in exciting show". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 37A. Retrieved 2022-08-01 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Robinson, Lisa (September 15, 1985). "Making up is so easy to do". Akron Beacon Journal. p. E4. Retrieved 2022-08-01 – via newspapers.com.