Foo Fighters Albums (5)
'Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace'
Release Date 9/24/2007
Tracks 12
Label Columbia
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
It's not quite right to say that the Foo Fighters only have one sound, but why does it always feel like the group constantly mines the same sonic vein? Even on 2007's Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace -- their sixth album and first with producer Gil Norton since their second, 1997's The Colour and the Shape -- the Foos feel familiar, although the group spends some palpable energy weaving together the two sides of their personality that they went out of their way to separate on 2005's In Your Honor, where they divided the set into a disc of electric rockers and a disc of acoustic introspection. Here, the Foos gently slide from side to side, easing from delicate fingerpicked folk (including "Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners," an instrumental duet between Dave Grohl and guitarist Kaki King) to the surging, muscular hard rockers that have been the group's modern rock radio signature. Echoes never lingers too long in either camp, as it's sequenced with a savvy professionalism that only veteran rockers have. That sense of craft is evident in all the songs, whether it's the subtly sly suite of the opening "The Pretender" -- after a slow build, it crashes into a crushing riff into a chorus, building to a typically insistent chorus before taking a slightly surprising bluesy boogie detour on the bridge -- or the sweet melodic folk-rock "Summer's End," a song as warm and hazy as an August evening. "Summer's End" is one of the unassailable highlights here, and all the rest of the truly memorable tunes on Echoes share its same, strong melodic bent, particularly "Statues," a wide-open, colorful anthem that feels as if it's been resurrected from a late-'70s AOR playlist. These songs place the melody at the forefront and also have a lighter feel than the rockers, which are now suffering from a dogged sobriety. For whatever reason, Dave Grohl has chosen to funnel all of his humor out of the Foo Fighters' music and into their videos or into his myriad side projects. When Grohl wants to rock for fun, he runs off and forms a metal band like Probot, or he'll tour with Queens of the Stone Age or record with Juliette Lewis. When it comes to his own band, he plays it too straight, as almost every rocker on Echoes -- with the notable exception of "Cheer Up Boys (Your Make Up Is Running)," a song that has a riff as nimble as those on the Foos' debut -- is clenched and closed-off, sounding tight and powerful but falling far short of being invigorating. They sound a little labored, especially when compared to the almost effortlessly engaging melodies of the softer songs, the cuts that feel different than the now overly familiar Foo signature sound. And since those cavernous, accomplished rockers are so towering, they wind up overshadowing everything else on Echoes, which may ultimately be the reason why each Foo Fighters album feels kind of the same: Grohl and his band have grown subtly in other areas, but they haven't pushed the sound that came to define them; they've only recycled it. Since this is a sound that's somber, not frivolous, the Foos can sometimes feel like a bit of a chore if they lean too heavily in one direction -- as they do here, where despite the conscious blend of acoustic and electric tunes, the rockers weigh down Echoes more than they should, enough to make this seem like just another Foo Fighters album instead of the consolidation of strengths that it was intended to be. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Although it was as big a commercial success as Foo Fighters' three previous albums, 2002's One by One seemed flat and tired, as if their leader, Dave Grohl, had reached a songwriting slump or as if the band had exhausted its possibilities. The time was ripe for a reinvention, or at least a risk, and the group responded accordingly with In Your Honor, a double album containing one disc of hard rock and one disc of acoustic material. Splitting music along such a clear dividing line is dangerous: since each disc explores one specific territory, each could sound monochromatic, but instead of falling into this trap, Foo Fighters benefit from these self-imposed constraints. Both the rock and acoustic albums have their own distinct character -- more so than, say, Guns N' Roses' separately released Use Your Illusion's, which felt like one gigantic sprawling album -- and while each is recognizably the work of Foo Fighters, neither feels as formulaic as One by One. While the acoustic album would seem to be the biggest break from tradition -- not only does it have a hushed, subdued mood, but it's filled with guest stars, including several appearances by Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, a duet with Norah Jones on "Virginia Moon," and Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme returning the favor of Grohl's drumming on Songs for the Deaf by laying down guitar on "Razor" -- both albums showcase a reinvigorated band that is eager to stretch out and experiment. As such, the rock album not only hits much harder than One by One -- arguably, it rocks harder than any of their other records -- but its has fluid musicality and a new found sense of drama that gives it a nearly cinematic sense of scope. Naturally, the acoustic album is quieter, but it also has a similar flow and easy grace that makes it a fitting complement to the harder first record. Previous Foo Fighters albums have had the problem of being a little inconsistent, both in terms of material and in terms of maintaining a consistent sound, but here, perhaps because of the focused direction of the two albums, they not only sustain a consistent mood on each record, but the songs on each are strong, hooky, and memorable. Which means that In Your Honor pulls off a neat trick: by stretching out, Foo Fighters not only have expanded their sound, but they've found the core of why their music works, so they now have better songs and deliver them more effectively. It makes for certainly their most consistent, arguably their best album yet. [In Your Honor was released in two editions: a copy-protected CD that will not play on your computer without installing a separate media player, and a DualDisc, containing a CD on one side and a DVD on the other. The DualDisc has a 5.1 mix version of the album on the DVD side, along with a very informative and entertaining documentary about the making of the album, tracing it from pre-production through the construction of a studio and to the recording of the two albums. The CD side of the DualDisc may not register on some computers.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'There Is Nothing Left to Lose'
Release Date 11/2/1999
Tracks 11
Label RCA
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What The Critics Say
Foo Fighters were the most unexpectedly mercurial band in '90s rock, boasting a different lineup for each of their three albums. The ever-shifting membership didn't help erase the image that the group was merely a vehicle for Dave Grohl, and made it seem like Grohl was something of a dictator, at least to some biased outside observers. That's why their third record, There Is Nothing Left to Lose, comes as somewhat of a surprise. It is the first Foo Fighters album that sounds like the work of a unified, muscular band, and the first one that rocks really hard. A lot of credit should go to Adam Kasper, who produced the record with the band. There Is Nothing Left to Lose has a stripped-down sound and an immediate attack that makes even the poppier numbers rock hard. The organic, natural sound is welcome, but the album also benefits from the strongest set of songs Grohl and Foo Fighters have yet written. There are the typical strong singles, but there's no fat or filler; each track has a memorable hook or melody, and they seem all the more catchy because they're delivered with conviction and confidence. And that's why the album sounds like the first true band album Foo Fighters have made -- the group sounds assured and confident, where they previously seemed like they had something to prove. It's as if they know they have few peers in straight-ahead post-grunge hard rock, so they're willing just to lie back and turn out a solid set of 11 songs. They make it sound easy and fun, and that's what really sets them apart from their contemporaries. That and the fact that they're getting better as they're losing members and growing older, which is certainly a rarity in rock & roll. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'The Colour and the Shape'
Release Date 1/1/1997
Tracks 13
Label Roswell/RCA
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Since the first Foo Fighters album was a collection of Dave Grohl solo recordings, their second, The Colour and the Shape, is in many ways their official debut, and it certainly does sound different than its predecessor. Producer Gil Norton has tightened up the sound considerably -- his control was so tight that drummer William Goldsmith left the band during the recording, leaving Grohl to record the rhythm tracks for the bulk of the album. Certainly, Norton's big, shiny production makes The Colour and the Shape sound more professional than the debut, but the presence of a full band makes a difference, too. The full Foo Fighters make Grohl's songs heavier, not punkier, which may be a little unsettling to fans of the debut's ragged, amateurish edge. It's also strange that the album has such a glossy, arena-ready sound, since Grohl's songs are introspective, quite different than the endearing punk-pop of its predecessor. They're also not quite as catchy as before, but the band compensates by delivering them with a brutal energy. Still, the lack of immediate hooks prevents The Colour and the Shape from truly catching fire. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Essentially a collection of solo home recordings by Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters' eponymous debut is a modest triumph. Driven by big pop melodies and distorted guitars, Foo Fighters do strongly recall Nirvana, only with a decidedly lighter approach. If Kurt Cobain's writing occasionally recalled John Lennon, Dave Grohl's songs are reminiscent of Paul McCartney -- they're driven by large, instantly memorable melodies, whether it's the joyous outburst of "This Is a Call" or the gentle pop of "Big Me." That doesn't mean Grohl shies away from noise; toward the end of the record, he piles on several thrashers that make more sense as pure aggressive sound than as songs. Since he recorded the album by himself, they aren't as powerful as most band's primal sonic workouts, but the results are damn impressive for a solo musician. Nevertheless, they aren't as strong as his fully formed pop songs, and that's where the true heart of the album lies. Foo Fighters has a handful of punk-pop gems that show, given the right musicians and songwriters, the genre had not entirely become a cliché by the middle of the '90s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
