THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 21, 1996 TAG: 9607210098
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Music review
SOURCE: BY SUE VANHECKE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 36 lines
Okay - they're balding, a little thicker around the midriff and, by popular music standards, well, old.
Get over it.
That's what a surprisingly mixed-aged amphitheater crowd did Saturday as '70s rockers Foreigner, REO Speedwagon and Peter Frampton proved that sentiments like ``baby I love your way'' and ``you're as cold as ice'' can transcend decades.
A no-frills, concise opening set from a bespectacled Frampton was the most digestible on the Can't Stop Rockin' '96 bill.
The years since his ``Frampton Comes Alive,'' which remains among the best-selling releases of all time, has given the singer's voice a hearty resonance. He played guitar with gorgeous tone and great technique, from bluesy slides to arena rock heroics and his hallmark talk-box, which he used on ovation-evoking hits ``Baby I Love Your Way,'' ``Do You Feel Like We Do'' and ``Show Me the Way.''
REO Speedwagon rolled out a batch of glossy, harmony-coated hits including power pop ballads ``Take it on the Run,'' ``Keep on Loving You'' and ``Can't Fight This Feeling,'' as well as maudlin material from new album ``Building the Bridge.'' Endless space filling guitar solos, cheesy synthesized second guitar parts and front man Kevin Cronin's helium voice and sappy segues made Foreigner's set all that more appealing.
And Foreigner delivered. Grounded by prodigal frontman Lou Gramm's ageless vocals and guitarist Mick Jones' sturdy riffs, the sextet presented a tight bunch of song-crafting culled from their 20-year repertoire.
Older hits like ``Double Vision,'' ``Head Games,'' ``Cold As Ice'' and ``Feels Like the First Time'' held up the best; the band's hard-edged treatment resuscitated the material with almost punkish energy. by CNB