Studio Album · No. 5
Agent Provocateur Songwriting Credits by Foreigner
Produced by Mick Jones, Alex Sadkin · Engineered by Frank Filipetti, Josh Abbey, Larry Alexander, Jason Corsaro, Joe Ferla, Howie Lindeman
Holds writing credit on 10 of 10 tracks
Authorship Breakdown 10 / 10 documented
Scored across the 10 tracks with documented writers, by whether Foreigner carries a lyricist or composer credit.
Share of the 10 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.
By the Numbers
Agent Provocateur runs on the Mick Jones and Lou Gramm partnership that drove Foreigner, with most songs credited to the pair. The two biggest exceptions are the ones people remember. Jones wrote 'I Want to Know What Love Is' alone, a song he had carried for years before the choir arrangement turned it into a worldwide number one, and he also wrote 'Stranger in My Own House' by himself. Gramm took sole writing credit on 'Two Different Worlds.' In the composer column Jones appears under his legal name Michael Leslie Jones and Gramm under Louis Grammatico, the birth names behind the stage credits.
Agent Provocateur is the fifth studio album by Foreigner, released on December 14, 1984 through Atlantic Records. Produced by band leader Mick Jones with Alex Sadkin, it was recorded across nine months at The Hit Factory and Right Track Recording in New York. The album is built around the ballad 'I Want to Know What Love Is,' which topped both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart and remains the band's biggest hit. Lou Gramm sang lead throughout, with the gospel weight of the New Jersey Mass Choir of the GMWA and Jennifer Holliday lifting the closing choruses of the single. It became Foreigner's only number-one album in the UK and reached the US top five, selling in the millions on the strength of its two hit singles.
Track Listing & Credits 10 tracks
| # | Title | Lyricist(s) | Composer(s) | Producer(s) | Performers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Tooth and Nail
|
Mick JonesLou Gramm | Michael Leslie JonesLouis Grammatico | Mick JonesAlex Sadkin | Lou Gramm (Lead Vocals, Percussion)Mick Jones (Guitars, Keyboards, Backing Vocals)Rick Wills (Bass, Backing Vocals)Dennis Elliott (Drums) |
| 2 |
That Was Yesterday
#12
|
Mick JonesLou Gramm | Michael Leslie JonesLouis Grammatico | Mick JonesAlex Sadkin | Lou Gramm (Lead Vocals)Mick Jones (Guitars, Keyboards, Backing Vocals)Rick Wills (Bass, Backing Vocals)Dennis Elliott (Drums) |
| 3 |
I Want to Know What Love Is
#1
|
Mick Jones | Michael Leslie Jones | Mick JonesAlex Sadkin | Lou Gramm (Lead Vocals)Mick Jones (Guitars, Keyboards, Backing Vocals)Rick Wills (Bass, Backing Vocals)Dennis Elliott (Drums)New Jersey Mass Choir (Backing Vocals)Jennifer Holliday (Backing Vocals) |
| 4 |
Growing Up the Hard Way
|
Mick JonesLou Gramm | Michael Leslie JonesLouis Grammatico | Mick JonesAlex Sadkin | Lou Gramm (Lead Vocals)Mick Jones (Guitars, Keyboards, Backing Vocals)Rick Wills (Bass, Backing Vocals)Dennis Elliott (Drums) |
| 5 |
Reaction to Action
|
Mick JonesLou Gramm | Michael Leslie JonesLouis Grammatico | Mick JonesAlex Sadkin | Lou Gramm (Lead Vocals)Mick Jones (Guitars, Keyboards, Backing Vocals)Rick Wills (Bass, Backing Vocals)Dennis Elliott (Drums) |
| 6 |
Stranger in My Own House
|
Mick Jones | Michael Leslie Jones | Mick JonesAlex Sadkin | Lou Gramm (Lead Vocals)Mick Jones (Guitars, Keyboards, Backing Vocals)Rick Wills (Bass, Backing Vocals)Dennis Elliott (Drums) |
| 7 |
A Love in Vain
|
Mick JonesLou Gramm | Michael Leslie JonesLouis Grammatico | Mick JonesAlex Sadkin | Lou Gramm (Lead Vocals)Mick Jones (Guitars, Keyboards, Backing Vocals)Rick Wills (Bass, Backing Vocals)Dennis Elliott (Drums) |
| 8 |
Down on Love
|
Mick JonesLou Gramm | Michael Leslie JonesLouis Grammatico | Mick JonesAlex Sadkin | Lou Gramm (Lead Vocals)Mick Jones (Guitars, Keyboards, Backing Vocals)Rick Wills (Bass, Backing Vocals)Dennis Elliott (Drums) |
| 9 |
Two Different Worlds
|
Lou Gramm | Louis Grammatico | Mick JonesAlex Sadkin | Lou Gramm (Lead Vocals)Mick Jones (Guitars, Keyboards, Backing Vocals)Rick Wills (Bass, Backing Vocals)Dennis Elliott (Drums) |
| 10 |
She's Too Tough
|
Mick JonesLou Gramm | Michael Leslie JonesLouis Grammatico | Mick JonesAlex Sadkin | Lou Gramm (Lead Vocals)Mick Jones (Guitars, Keyboards, Backing Vocals)Rick Wills (Bass, Backing Vocals)Dennis Elliott (Drums) |