So after two albums, which got the Foo Fighters a large loyal fan base it was time to make a third album and I’m sure Dave Grohl didn’t expect the kind of explosion of new fans his band would get from it. This was the album that gave the Foo Fighters international success and really put behind Dave the questions about will he really be able to sustain success after Nirvana.

Just in case anyone has never heard of the Foo Fighters, they are a band fronted by the afore mentioned Grohl the former drummer with Nirvana. After the death of Kurt Cobain, Grohl released an album on his own and soon got in some mates to join him to play live. Thus the Foo Fighters were formed and went on to make two albums before this: Foo Fighter and The Colour And The Shape.

This album saw the first in, which Taylor Hawkins took over from Grohl playing the Drums for an album as Grohl had done on large parts of the previous two albums. Well now onto the actual album itself.

Track 1: Stacked Actors
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A very heavy start to the album with a song about Courtney Love (widow of Kurt Cobain) and the arguments that have been raging between Grohl, Novoselic and Courtney Love over the Nirvana back catalogue. As for the song it’s one of the heaviest tracks the Foo’s have actually done to date and you can really tell, if the song is about Love, that Grohl really doesn’t have much time for her. When we seen them at Reading last year he managed to make this track go on for about 9 minutes in total.

Track 2: Breakout
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As with the last album we have a song here, which has featured on a movie soundtrack with this one appearing on Me, Myself and Irene. Well we’ve calmed down a little from the opening track but again its quite a loud track and it mixes well a pop friendly sound and a good rock song. Quite catchy and easy to get carried away singing along to this one.

Track 3: Learn To Fly
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The first single from the album and the reason why the Foo Fighters suddenly had a fan base three times the size of what it was before. All the songs really do lead into each other and this one has a sort of mellow beat to it that sort of helps it to drift along. Obviously a song that was aimed at the pop rock market to help them become a bigger band and work with results I’m sure they didn’t even predict. Keeps the same sort of consistence throughout the song, which also makes it very enjoyable to listen to.

Track 4: Gimmie Stitches
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A little bit quieter this time but another drum beat and guitar intro, which makes it sound like its going to be quite a loud song but turns out to be quite the opposite. Not really a song that’s easy to sing along to but a great beat and very easy to listen to. It’s songs like this that aren’t too heavy that make TINLTL a great first album for anyone who wants to get into the Foo’s.

Track 5: Generator
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My favourite song on the album Generator is another song that mixes pop rock with the heavier style of music, which the Foo Fighters are more accustomed to. Very easy listening and doesn’t take much attention to listen to as it drifts along and helps you to relax. Although you expect it to really go loud all the time it stays at a very mellow pace.

Track 6: Aurora
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Following on from Generator comes an even mellower song with Aurora, which for a while had been my favourite song on the album with its relaxed softer sound but at the moment it is being piped by Generator. Very relaxing with very little to get excited about but very quiet and easy going.

Track 7: Live-In skin
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Another mellower track, which is very much another pop friendly effort as is reflected in a lot of this album. Another good guitar/Drum rhythm to the song and another which is really easy to listen to. Fans of the harder Foo Fighters tracks may feel a little let down by the direction this album takes in parts but that’s not to say that it isn’t a good album.

Track 8: Next Year
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Another mellow sounding intro with the guitar’s accompanying the vocals before the drums come in. As Dave had done the Drumming on both previous albums nothing seems to have changed despite the fact that the duties have now been taken on by Taylor. Very simple lyrics again and another easy listening song. This song seems to repeat the style that was heard in Walking After You from The Colour And The Shape.

Track 9: Headwires
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A little bit more up-beat but still lacking that real drive that Foo Fighters fans will have been looking for. These last tracks are really the sort of thing I mean about being a good intro to the Foo fighters but once you’ve explored the other tracks you may ultimately feel a little disappointed by them. But don’t think I don’t like this album as I do but just feel it was aimed at a pop market.

Track 10: Ain’t In the Life
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Another quiet reflective song that starts slowly and doesn’t really build that quickly. Again it’s still a good song but not really what you would be expecting from a Rock Band with the sort of billing the Foo Fighters had come to this point with. Again if it had been released I’m sure it would have been a top 5 song.

Track 11: M.I.A.
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A very quiet start with lyrics and a slow quiet guitar riff suddenly starts to pick up a bit when the drums come in and finally after a few tracks which seemed to just drift past, we now have something to pick us up and get a bit excited about. A catchy song with lyrics in places, which are ideal to sing along to it, could still have been a bit quicker.

Well although I places it may not sound like it I do really like this album its just it wasn’t what I was expecting having heard the previous two albums. But the Foo Fighters keep going from strength to strength and obviously every band at some point does and album to attract a few more fans. That’s obviously what the intention was with this album and it definitely work on a huge scale. Of course as with a lot of my reviews the CD is available from CD-wow for a very reasonable £8.99