The Foo Fighters - In your honor

I never really listened to the Foo Fighters until they released their sophomore album The Colour and the Shape back in 1997. When Dave Grohl first sowed the seeds of what is to become The Foo Fighters’ first album, I and most people I know were either still too downcast with how Nirvana ended to pay them any serious attention or hastily regarded them as spinoffs.

At first, I was iffy with the idea of getting their newest release In Your Honor because although I have a lot of respect for the Foo Fighters, I saw them as a band only capable of releasing four good songs, tops, in a single album. But when I finally did get the two-disc album and popped the second disc (The acoustic one) in the CD player, I fell in love within 20 minutes of listening to it.

Fans of FF are familiar with the formula: ambiguous lyrics; raw, guttural vocals; breakneck guitar playing and drums that pulverize. The second CD deviates from this formula and wastes no time in downplaying the explosiveness they are known for. The tracks in this CD are laid back and exude a melodic, acoustically warm afterglow.

In “Virginia Moon,” Dave pairs up with grammy winner Nora Jones for a song that flirts with his watered down, prepubescent song writing and Nora’s jazz influence. The end product is a powerfully evocative song that is easily my favorite track in the album.

“Friend of a friend” is a compelling piece composed by Grohl when he moved in with Nirvana Bandmates Kurt Cobain and Chris Novoselic in the early 90’s. It’s hard not to end up with allusions to Nirvana when writing or talking about The Foo Fighters; this song, for instance, is brilliant in a way that it reminds me so much of songs like “Where did you sleep last night” and “Lake of fire” from Nirvana’s unplugged in New York Album.

The second CD is actually a good appetizer for what’s in store for you on the first one. You can find current radio hits “DOA,” “No Way Back,”“Best of you” in the first CD along with seven other powerful tracks, any of which could be next anthem for the 18-25 year old demographic that can surely relate to Grohl’s shift in song writing style. and

“DOA” is a supercharged track that is both catchy and pervasive. With lyrics like ”…There’s nothing like the taste of sweet decline/What a shame we have to die, my dear…”; it does a good job at capturing dejection without sounding sappy unlike other bands who write songs about the same subject. Yes Aaron Lewis and Staind; I’m looking at your direction.

“No Way Back’s” chorus teeters between feeling like a pimply teenager writing about his crush and the genuine longing of a love-scarred adult. Excellent delivery on this one.

“Best of you” is easily my favorite track on the first disc simply because the raw yet restrained vocals in the song perfectly complements the grind, which can only be described as ‘FOOesque’, in the backdrop.

All in all, this is a great album that I would recommend to anybody; fan or non-fan. The first CD showcases the heavy, explosive stuff you would expect from the Foo Fighters and the second CD contains an intriguing compilation of ten acoustic tracks. And when I say acoustic I MEAN acoustic; I mean It’s easy to do revivals and name yourself Paolo Santos or name your band MYMP, but FF’s foray into the entire acoustic thing combines excellent songwriting with a superb ensemble of Piano, guitar and mandolin courtesy of no other than Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones.

Plus come on. Two CDs for the price of one. If that’s not a good deal right there, I don’t know what is.

Tracklist:

Disc 1
1. In Your Honor
2. No Way Back
3. Best of You
4. DOA
5. Hell
6. The Last Song
7. Free Me
8. Resolve
9. The Deepest Blues Are Black
10. End Over End

Disc 2
1. Still
2. What If I Do?
3. Miracle
4. Another Round
5. Friend of a Friend
6. Over and Out
7. On the Mend
8. Virginia Moon
9. Cold Day in the Sun
10. Razor