Friday, November 21, 2014

Review- Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways


For those unaware, the goal of the Foo Fighter's latest project was to record each song of their album in a separate studio in a different city, all the while absorbing and reflecting the musical flavor of that city's musical history and current scene. I go into so much detail here, because unless you read the liner notes, read press, or watched the HBO program of the same name, you would definitely not be able to discern this from the music alone.

I have been listening to the Foo Fighters for a while, and for a while, they've been treading a bit of water artistically. Dave Grohl and company hardened their sound with the return of guitarist Pat Smear for Wasting Light, but the songs were very similar to those on their previous efforts (with the exception of 'Dear Rosemary', but that is only due the awesomeness of Bob Mould's vocals). I feel like they continue the same formula here, and you can hardly tell which song is trying to represent each city, as there is little difference sonically. It's like comparing the endless variety of off white paint swatches; different, but still similar in most basic aspects.

That is not to say that these songs are weak. There are some good moments on this album, with these moments mostly showing in the fist pumping arena rock choruses. Also, guest stars lend their talents to each track, with Zac Brown and Gary Clark Jr.'s contributions being some high points. However, some guests are given very little to do. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band plays a couple of horn stabs, and the under utilization of Rick Nielsen was frustrating, to say the least. How could you have the lead guitarist of Cheap Trick on one of your tracks, and not give him some more room to open up?

So, in my opinion, this was kind of a misstep for the Foo Fighters. With all its talk of variation, it's a lot less varied than other projects they've put out, such as Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. So, in terms of the concept they had for this record, it's a bit of failure, though I'm sure die hard Foo Fighters fans will enjoy it, and it'll probably sweep the next Grammy awards (not that that's a seal of quality; quite to the contrary). For a better Dave Grohl led album with a video tie-in, I'd recommend last year's Sound City. A much more interesting and successfully applied concept.

Out of a total of five stars, I give this:



What do you think of the album? Do you think I was totally off base? Check in later, as I'll be doing another classic album review while I anticipate an ever growing number of end of year albums.


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