Legendary Foreigner vocalist and 2024 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Lou Gramm is gearing up to drop a brand new solo record. Titled Released, the upcoming collection is officially slated to hit shelves on March 27, 2026, arriving on CD via HNE Recordings and Cherry Red Records, alongside a vinyl edition through Friday Music.
The ten-track album serves as a long-awaited conclusion to a classic era of the singer’s career. Co-produced by the frontman and Matthew Gramm, the project features original material co-written with former Black Sheep bandmate Bruce Turgon. The vast majority of these tracks were initially drafted during the 1980s following the launch of his beloved solo efforts, 1987’s Ready Or Not and 1989’s Long Hard Look.
During a recent conversation with Barry Robinson on “Classic Album Review,” the iconic singer explained how delving back into these decades-old recording sessions provided a deep sense of closure.
“Well, my solo albums, which came out in 1987 and ’89, we had 10 songs on each album, but actually had about 15 songs written, and they were in various forms of being finished. But after we picked the songs for the album, I was gnawed by the fact that there was so many good songs that didn’t make it to the album and deserved to be released. So when I started to come about doing this album, I went back and listened to those unfinished songs and picked the best ones. And some of ’em needed a lead guitar, some of ’em needed a third verse. I started finishing them all. And it was a very cathartic process to hear them as a lot of potential to being done. And it felt great to hear them finished. And that’s when I came upon the idea of doing one last solo album. I think there might be one or two freshly written songs, and the rest of ’em are songs from the Ready Or Not album and the Long Hard Look album, that, like I said, weren’t quite finished, but the ideas were very good. So I went back and put the third verse in and put the guitar lead in and mixed it and mastered it. And that’s what all these songs on this album were — almost done, but now they’re finished… Some of ’em were complete except for a third verse. Some of ’em needed a guitar lead. Some of ’em needed percussion. Every song was well along, and it just needed one or two things to make it finished. And that was cathartic for me to go back and do that,” Lou said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
When the interviewer asked why wrapping up these specific 1980s demos brought him so much peace over three decades later, Lou pointed to the nagging feeling of leaving good art behind.
“Because when I went back to hear them after all these years, I remember recording them and remember the feel of of starting the song, what the idea was, and not finishing it and having it sit around for all these years was — it was just a little troubling to me. So when I decided to do this album, I was excited about going back and taking those ideas and finishing them up. Some needed a vocal, some needed a harmony, some needed a lead guitar, and so I went back and finished ’em all.”
To help bring the restored tracks to life, Lou Gramm recruited an impressive roster of guest musicians. Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell lays down riffs on the opening track, “Young Love“, while bass veteran Tony Franklin makes an appearance on “Long Gone“. The singer’s brother, Ben Gramm, also handles drum duties across the record. In addition to the revived 1980s material, the tracklist features an unplugged version of “True Blue Love“, a song originally released on Long Hard Look.
Released Official Tracklist:
- “Young Love”
- “Lightning Strikes”
- “Walk The Walk”
- “Long Gone”
- “Heart And Soul”
- “Long Hard Look”
- “True Blue Love (Unplugged)”
- “Deeper Side of Love”
- “Time Heals The Pain”
- “Word Gets Around”
