Editor's note: Honolulu has seen a parade of '80s hit-makers/rock icons recently, including Gregg Allman, Leon Russell and, just last night at the Blaisdell Arena, Foreigner. If you missed Foreigner at the Blaisdell Arena, the band's greatest hits continue to be accessible to music fans of all ages. Note to Maui fans: The band performs at 7 p.m. today at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's A&B Amphitheater; $36, $43, $50; (808) 242-7469, http://mauiarts.org.

CD: "Complete Greatest Hits" by Foreigner; Atlantic Records.

Released: May 7, 2002.

Style: Rock.

My take: Foreigner was a rare act to come out of the 1980s. The band is not a one-hit wonder nor thought of as part of the cheesiest musical genre of the last century: hair metal. Furthermore, they became famous in the decade of excess and still have a sound that teenage music fans of today can enjoy.

This is clearly demonstrated on the band's "Complete Greatest Hits" album, a collection of 20 tracks. Anyone who was in high school during the '80s or has seen a Time Life or Rhino Records infomercial trying to sell a boxed set of music from that decade is sure to recognize the famous and ridiculously sappy "Waiting For a Girl Like You" and "I Want to Know What Love Is."

But beneath those oh-so-lip-syncable, cheese-laden ballads perfect for driving alone on a Friday night, there is a nice collection of genuinely fun and listenable pop-rock for everyone, not just the wistful, to enjoy.

Classic-rock radio fans can probably rattle off the most recognizable, and expected, tracks: "Cold As Ice," "Feels Like the First Time," "Hot Blooded" and so on. Of course, any Foreigner compilation would be remiss to exclude "Juke Box Hero," a tale of a young boy inspired to approach rock stardom after hearing a guitar lick through a concert venue's walls. It is perhaps the most perfect karaoke song of all time and the inspiration of the Red Octane phenomenon "Guitar Hero."

Other songs that are less famous on this album are equally good, if not better. "Girl on the Moon" is a tale of a young man's star-crossed encounter with a lovely lady he can't get close to. "Say You Will" is an amazing pop-rock anthem for any guy who's waiting for the woman he loves to make up her mind about how she feels about him. "Dirty White Boy" is a song that takes on, albeit in a very roundabout way, interracial love, which was a more controversial issue two decades ago.

The bottom line is Foreigner is a great band that, despite its age, sounds just as good in 2007. That's a tell-tale sign that you're doing something right. I believe Foreigner will be one of those acts, such as The Cars and Cheap Trick, that will always epitomize the '80s fun-times rock without taking on the stigma of so many other bands of that time.

Jeremy Castillo, who received an associate of arts degree from Windward Community College, is attending the University of Idaho.