Cold as Ice (Foreigner song)

"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 characterised the message of "Cold as Ice" as "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. 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 Brian Kachejian 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 of his eleven favorite Foreigner songs, saying that it was the first song he wrote and recorded on the piano. ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==

• Lou Gramm – lead vocals • Mick Jones – lead guitar, backing vocals, piano • Ian McDonald – rhythm guitar, backing vocals • Al Greenwood – Hammond organ, synthesizer, Orchestron • Ed Gagliardi – bass guitar, backing vocals • Dennis Elliott – drums Guest musicians • Ian Lloyd – 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". Will Arnett plays the song on the piano in character as G.O.B. Bluth on the show Arrested Development. In 2000, hip hop duo M.O.P. sampled "Cold as Ice" for their song of the same name. In 2002, an episode of the Adult Swim animated series Aqua Teen Hunger Force referenced the song, as well as other songs by Foreigner. Rapper B.o.B interpolated the song on a track also named "Cold as Ice" from his 2010 mixtape, No Genre. In 2019, the song was used in Stranger Things third season episode 2 when Eleven breaks up with her boyfriend Mike Wheeler. ==References==