The first addition to my music hall of fame is the Foo Fighters. The Foo Fighters consists of former drummer of Nirvana, Dave Grohl alongside Taylor Hawkins, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, Nate Mendel, and Rami Jaffee. Most people can recognize Dave Grohls voice in the 2005 hit “Best of You,” in their fifth studio album In your Honor. The Foo Fighters was created by Grohl following the death of his former bandmate, Kurt Cobain, and over the course of their existence, has one won four Grammy Awards for “Best Rock Album.”
The Foo Fighters is hands down my favorite band to date. My first memory of this band dates to the mid 2000’s when “Best Of You” came out and it was all that played on the car radio. Years later, I finally decided to look up this song I somehow knew the lyrics too. I came across the Foo Fighters which definitely rung a bell because of my mom’s “celebrity crush” on Dave Grohl. The rest is all history. I slowly listened to more of their music and next thing I knew my mom and I would randomly go on car rides just to scream songs at the top of our lungs.
My Review
Since discovering them, I have gone to one Foo Fighters concert in Tulsa, OK and I don’t plan to stop there. I saw them two years ago in Tulsa, Oklahoma in November just following the release of their most recent album Concrete and Gold, which is the album I will be reviewing. The Concrete and Gold album was released September 15, 2017 and is the band’s ninth recorded studio album featuring hits like “Run” and “The Sky is a Neighborhood.” It seems to be one of their most diverse and balanced albums with the slower ballad “The Sky is a Neighborhood” and the head-banging, crowd-roaring hits “Run” and “La Dee Da.”
The Foo Fighters is part of the grunge/rock music scene and ranks, in my books, close to staple grunge bands like Nirvana and Soundgarden. One could even argue that the Foo Fighters are an even better, more refined sound than Grohl’s earlier band. This refined sound is definitely apparent in the their newest album and Grohl knows how to keep the train going for their success.
Concrete and Gold starts with the intro song “T-Shirt” lasting a short 1:20 setting the precedent and tone for the whole album which leads directly into one of the hits of the album “Run.” “Run” seems to take the listener back to original Foo Fighters music with the thick guitar lines and explosive sounds. The song begins with a false sense of security on the opening 40 seconds then shortly bursts into the typical Foo Fighters sound that listeners seem to love and seems to be the hardest song since “White limo” of off Wasting Light.
The third and fourth track on the album are “Make it Right” and “The Sky is a Neighborhood.” Both tracks have an interesting history or feel for the Foo Fighters. “Make it Right” actually features famous singer Justin Timberlake in backing vocals and leads into the highlight of the album. The hit “The Sky is a Neighborhood” begins with a soft, ambient guitar and vocal mix leading into Grohl’s powerful voice giving the song an edgier, rock sound. Grohl explains the song to Rolling Stone as talking “about the atoms that comprise life on Earth and make up the human body are traceable to the beginnings of our universe.” The whole track consists of the slow drum groove from Taylor Hawkins with Grohl’s signature thick guitar sound and a background choir setting the mood of the whole song.
The last signature song from Concrete and Gold happens to be the fifth track and a definite crowd favorite. “La Dee Da” begins with a typical Foo Fighters sound but shortly leads to be the hardest song off of the album with the signature Grohl scream throughout the whole chorus. “La Dee Da” even though amazing, is definitely not for the faint-hearted.
The last six tracks on the album include absolute bangers like “Sunday Rain” and “The Line.” Concrete and Gold, even thought not as successful as previous albums, proves once again that Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters know exactly how to keep fans coming back again and again after years. This is why the Foo’s are in my music hall of fame and continue to be one of my favorite bands to date. The Foo’s also plan on releasing a new album this 2020 and it is expected to be a hit just like Concrete and Gold.
Music Hall of Fame 