Foreigner’s meteoric rise with their first album back in 1977 began a run of hits from their multi-platinum debut on through to the final album in the Foreigner catalogue.  But those albums also contained deep cuts that were staples on FM airwaves.  All of this made for albums that fans of all kinds could enjoy and appreciate.  Foreigner sated that hunger easily enough with well-constructed rock classics and ballads.  This is the reason for the various ‘best of’ discs that have sprung up for representation of the band over the course of their career.

Atlantic revisits the band’s success with this new 2CD collection compiled by Rhino that skims back on the extracurricular and pre-Foreigner materials found on their last Rhino collection of note, Juke Box Heroes.  In addition, the songs have been re-mastered.  However, the important matter in the compilation of tracks for No End in Sight: The Very Best of Foreigner is that it delivers a well planned fusion of familiar charting singles, and an assortment of better appreciated album cuts that fared well with fans.  These are generally preferable to over-laden anthologies that appeal only to the devout fan and under-represented ‘hits-only’ discs that always manage to leave out one glaringly necessary hit and all too often replace a studio cut with a live track, a reprehensible practice.

Everything is here in the way that you want including a few from the Gramm-less album, Unusual Heat.  There are also a few extras, like three live tracks.  Two are from their 2006 Las Vegas Live album, Extended Versions, and one is a previously unreleased live track of “Say You Will.”  In addition, there is a new recording from the group called “Too Late.”  “Too Late” shows that the band really hasn’t lost any ability, staying true to their own style of music.

This 2CD set is completed by a 12-page booklet that provides a 6-page essay by Roy Trakin.  There are also several pages that list the albums and songs, although the song-listing info could have been beefed up a bit.  The photos are a small batch of neatly arranged, sepia-toned shots of the band.

All in all, the hopefully titled No End in Sight: The Very Best of Foreigner is a grand summary of the band from both AM and FM radio perspectives, adequately covering respectable ground for fans that are more than the casual hits lovers.