In your honour
The fifth studio album from the Foo Fighters
Released 2005
Before the review how about a short introduction to the band. The current line up is Dave Grohl singer and guitar, Nate Mendel Bass, Chris Shiflett Guitar and Taylor Hawkins Drums. Dave Grohl ex drummer with Nirvana put together the band that would become today's Foo Fighters in 1995 after the 1994 Kurt Cobain suicide. In early 1995 Grohl and one of his friends from Washington booked some studio time and created the master tape that would later become the first FF album. The self-titled album carries 15 tracks all written by Grohl who's responsible for all of the instrumentation himself with the exception of a small piece of guitar playing. The album released on Capitol in mid 95 was to go platinum by the end of 96, and remains to many critics the bands the bands most definitive works. 1997 and after some band member shuffling the second album, and the first the band had actually recorded together titled "The colour and the shape" was released. The colour and the shape, was the last Fighters album to be released on Capitol. This was followed by the 1999 offering "There is nothing left to lose" and in 2002 the most critically acclaimed "One by One" was released and is certainly the bands most accomplished and complete album to date.
After 10yrs together as a band and 18 month on the road Grohl ask himself the question "what next" another album? and apparently deciding that the next project needed to be a solo acoustic album that was disguised as a film score. With that thought in mind Grohl started working on what would become In Your Honor using the studio he had had built at his home. The Fighters have long used the acoustic guitar as a song righting tool and along with their carrying the torch for last departing echoes of grunge the band are capable of producing some fine melodies wrapped around some very clever songs, and maybe as a definitive that's what makes them stand out from so many wanna be Nirvana clones and radio rock bands.
The story goes that the new material sounded more and more like the band and less like the solo album it was intended as so as an appearance at the Reading festival was on the agenda the decision was taken to make double album half typical Foo rock and the other half acoustic
Listening to the album you get the feeling that the production team or the band themselves took the decision that the two discs needed to be as opposed as possible to each other giving total distinction between the sound.
The results on the rock album are more akin to the type of heavy rock you associate with denim wearing men sporting dubious amounts of hair, track titles like track 4 "D.O.A." and track five "Hell" tend to lend a hint to the musical style adopted for this disc. For the first seven tracks I got the opinion that, from the opening scream of "Can you hear me Hear me screaming", the solid wall of sound was there to disguise the attempts by Grohl to spit out his own vocal chords. The recent single "Best of you" is a very good example of where I think they went wrong the song I feel is not a bad song in that its clever its catchy and its got a hook but its one dimensional, no doubt it will get a lot of air time and be very successful but for me the best of the fighters can be heard when the elements of the two discs are blended and that doesn't happen on this disc.
After having my senses bashed for some 45 minutes I approached the second disc with mixed feelings but was relived to find that the bands ability to play good intricate melodic rock had not been buried. First point to have in mind is the entire second album has a much stronger set of songs and this is enhanced by the introduction of a couple of friends. Track four another round is delivered with the accompaniment of the former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones on both the piano and the mandolin. On track eight "Virginia Moon" Grohl finds himself accompanied by the exquisite Nora Jones, piano vocals and loads of class, then it's all change for the penultimate track "Cold days in the sun" when the vocals are delivered by Hawkins Grohl returns too his position behind the drums and producer Nick Raskulinecz contributes a very commendable bass. The best of the album being left to last the album closes with the stunning Razor with Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Josh Homme throwing his bit in.
Given that this is a 20 track 80 some minute journey I cant help feeling that had the decision been taken to reduce it to a single disc this review would be extolling its virtues but that decision was never taken.
I read an article recently that credits Grohl with saying he would like to think that in twenty odd years time when some kid asks his father which Fighters album he should have the father would reply "In your Honor". If the question asking son was mine and assuming the Fighters never make another musical contribution he would be advised to buy two the first release "Foo Fighters and the most accomplished to date fourth album "One by One"
In conclusion I think this would have been a far more creditable offering if somebody had tempered the bands excesses on the first disc and encouraged somewhat the artistry of the second disc, or perhaps better still had as suggested reducing it to a single disc