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Cold as Ice (Foreigner song)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Cold as Ice
| cover = Foreigner - Cold As Ice b-w I Need You (1977).jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Foreigner
| album = Foreigner
| B-side = I Need You
| released =
| recorded = 1976
| studio =
| genre = Rock
| length = 3:18 (single)
3:19 (album)
| label = Atlantic
| writer = Lou Gramm, Mick Jones
| producer = Gary Lyons, John Sinclair
| prev_title = Feels Like the First Time
| prev_year = 1977
| next_title = Long, Long Way from Home
| next_year = 1978
| misc =
}}
"'Cold as Ice'" is a 1977 song written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones that was first released by British-American rock band Foreigner from their eponymous debut album. It became one of the best known songs of the band in the US, peaking at #6 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100. It was initially the B-side of some versions of the "Feels Like the First Time" 45 rpm single.
The single version is a second shorter than the album version, but adds an orchestra track.
Background
"Cold as Ice" was a replacement for a song that was intended for 'Foreigner' but which producer Gary Lyons didn't feel fit the album (Ian McDonald believes the replaced song may have been "Take Me to Your Leader"). According to Jones "I went home after Gary said this, sat down at my piano and out came the riff for Cold As Ice. And the rest of the song flowed from there. Lyons said that When I got back, they played me Cold As Ice and it worked for me. So we went into Atlantic Studios one night to cut it. According to McDonald, Gary and I were in there all night working on the vocals. And when we got out of the studio we discovered that a blizzard had been raging. Everywhere was covered in snow, and we heard on the radio that it had been coldest night in New York on record! Somehow that seemed to be a good omen for the song.
Jones has also said of the subject:
'Salt Lake Tribune' staff writer Terry Orme identified the message of "Cold as Ice" to be "a banal, sleazy claim of unrequited love."
Reception
'Billboard' described "Cold as Ice" as having a "haunting feel" and a "surrealistic chilling effect" produced by its "richly textured instrumentals and gutsy vocals." 'Billboard' also praised how the song maintains its momentum and intensity. 'Cash Box' said that "listeners will recognize the controlled fury of Lou Gramm's lead vocal as well as the finely textured harmonies" and that "the orchestra lends an expansive effect." In a contemporary review, music critic Dave Marsh said that Jones' songwriting on this song and its predecessor single "Feels Like the First Time" "places him among the better English hard-rock writers." Henry McNulty's contemporary review of 'Foreigner' in the 'Hartford Courant' called "Cold as Ice" his favorite song on the album, saying it "is propelled by Dennis Elliott|[Dennis] Elliott's drums they carry the song in the best rock manner but the interplay between Lou Gramm|[Lou] Gramm's lead vocal and Al Greenwood|[Al] Greenwood's electronic keyboard is what raises this from the rock pile."
'Classic Rock History' critic Janey Roberts ranked "Cold as Ice" as Foreigner's 4th greatest song, stating that the piano hook that opens the song "will always go down as one of the signature riffs in classic rock history." Similarly, 'Ultimate Classic Rock' critic Matt Wardlaw ranked it as Foreigner's 5th greatest song, wondering about how it could have been used as a b-side in some countries given its "famous piano beginning." 'Billboard' reviewer Gary Graff rated "Cold as Ice" to be Foreigner's 6th greatest song, praising the "insistent, pounding piano," the "full-bodied verses," and "faux operatic backing vocals," and calling the song "a rock-cum-pop classic and a diss track with enough lyrical bite to make most rappers proud."
Jones has rated it as one his 11 favorite Foreigner songs, saying that it was the first song he wrote and recorded on the piano.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Personnel
* Lou Gramm lead vocals
* Mick Jones lead guitar, backing vocals, piano
* Ian McDonald rhythm guitar, backing vocals, mellotron
* Al Greenwood organ, synthesizer
* Ed Gagliardi bass guitar, backing vocals
* Dennis Elliott drums, backing vocals
In popular culture
"Cold as Ice" was used as the soundtrack for a skit on the March 25, 1978 broadcast of 'Saturday Night Live' that showed a man being attacked by a woman in a number of grisly ways. Host Christopher Lee introduced the segment as being "not for the squeamish". [http://snltranscripts.jt.org/77/77o.phtml SNL transcripts] Retrieved 28 Jan 2015. Will Arnett plays the song on the piano in character as G.O.B. Bluth on the show Arrested Development.
Guest musicians
* Ian Lloyd backing vocalsReferences
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