Foo Fighters - In Your Honor
Album of the Week
Date - 2005-06-19 00:00:00
Two things before we get into it: First of all, after hearing the first single ("Best Of You"), I immediately became real excited about this album. And I was not disappointed. Secondly, the first time I listened to this album was on a plane from Detroit to Albany, on my mp3 player. I thought it was very interesting the way the tracks were ordered, in that they seemed to alternate between loud and soft songs. And then I realized that my mp3 player wasn't playing them in their correct order.
Two-disc album, first is hard, second is soft, blah blah blah. The first disc (ten songs) is really really good. Like, really good. Probably my favorite of 2005. We start out with the title track, a fabulous choice for the opening track, it grabs you and pulls you right in. "No Way Back" is up next, and they kick it up yet another notch, before slowing it down just a bit for "Best Of You". The first single is one of those 'powerfully melodic' songs that everyone loves, in the style of Monkey Wrench or Times Like These. "DOA" is next, it might be my favorite track on the whole album, an unmistakable Foo-style song. Next is "Hell", a short and quick track, nothing too special about it, though it is catchy. "The Last Song" is one of the more emotionally charged tracks... I found the chorus slightly repetitive but otherwise an excellent tracl. "Free Me" was probably my least favorite song on the first disc... it has an ok beat to it but I just didn't really dig it for some reason. Then they tone it down a bit for "Resolve", but in a good way, there's a lot of depth in this track. "The Deepest Blues Are Back" is another unmistakably Foo song, which got better the more I listened to it. The first disc finishes with "End Over End", a surprisingly strong ending track that puts a nice close on the first disc.
Didn't dig the second disc nearly as much, so I'm not gonna write too much about it. The first track, "Still" was probably my favorite. Other tracks I enjoyed were "Miracle", "Cold Day In The Sun" [non-Dave Grohl vocals], and "Razor", probably the most pure acoustic song on the disc. "Friend Of A Friend" is a song about Kurt Cobain that is extremely soulful and emotional, but it wasn't one of my faves. Don't get me wrong, it's a very solid disc and I enjoyed listening to it, but even I found it to be a bit soft and slow, though the bookend tracks are excellent. I'd love to hear some of the disc 2 tracks played as 'loud' versions.
Wrapping things up, the first disc flat out rocks. Some people might wish that there was a bit more variety within the first disc, but not this guy. The second disc is all acoustic and mellow and really demonstrates the range of the Foos. I enjoy and appreciate this, but I thought it was just a bit too much, even though they are good songs. Probably my subsequent reviews won't be as long either, but I'm feeling things out.
The verdict: Disc 1 - 10/10; Disc 2 - 7.5/10; Album - 9/10.
Two-disc album, first is hard, second is soft, blah blah blah. The first disc (ten songs) is really really good. Like, really good. Probably my favorite of 2005. We start out with the title track, a fabulous choice for the opening track, it grabs you and pulls you right in. "No Way Back" is up next, and they kick it up yet another notch, before slowing it down just a bit for "Best Of You". The first single is one of those 'powerfully melodic' songs that everyone loves, in the style of Monkey Wrench or Times Like These. "DOA" is next, it might be my favorite track on the whole album, an unmistakable Foo-style song. Next is "Hell", a short and quick track, nothing too special about it, though it is catchy. "The Last Song" is one of the more emotionally charged tracks... I found the chorus slightly repetitive but otherwise an excellent tracl. "Free Me" was probably my least favorite song on the first disc... it has an ok beat to it but I just didn't really dig it for some reason. Then they tone it down a bit for "Resolve", but in a good way, there's a lot of depth in this track. "The Deepest Blues Are Back" is another unmistakably Foo song, which got better the more I listened to it. The first disc finishes with "End Over End", a surprisingly strong ending track that puts a nice close on the first disc.
Didn't dig the second disc nearly as much, so I'm not gonna write too much about it. The first track, "Still" was probably my favorite. Other tracks I enjoyed were "Miracle", "Cold Day In The Sun" [non-Dave Grohl vocals], and "Razor", probably the most pure acoustic song on the disc. "Friend Of A Friend" is a song about Kurt Cobain that is extremely soulful and emotional, but it wasn't one of my faves. Don't get me wrong, it's a very solid disc and I enjoyed listening to it, but even I found it to be a bit soft and slow, though the bookend tracks are excellent. I'd love to hear some of the disc 2 tracks played as 'loud' versions.
Wrapping things up, the first disc flat out rocks. Some people might wish that there was a bit more variety within the first disc, but not this guy. The second disc is all acoustic and mellow and really demonstrates the range of the Foos. I enjoy and appreciate this, but I thought it was just a bit too much, even though they are good songs. Probably my subsequent reviews won't be as long either, but I'm feeling things out.
The verdict: Disc 1 - 10/10; Disc 2 - 7.5/10; Album - 9/10.
I've been listening to this album a lot, and while I posted my initial thoughts on elscorcho, I have plenty more to say about In Your Honor.
The Foo Fighters are one of my favorite bands. There's just no two ways about it. I've been actively looking forward to this album for the last month, not like "man, I hope the Foos come out with a new disc soon", but more like "let's figure out how many minutes it is until I'll be able to get this". I had pretty high expectations, as the Foos have yet to disappoint me, and the working concept of the double-disc set had me pretty pumped. The Foo Fighters have historically recorded incredible acoustic tracks to compliment their already rocking out sound, so I really did not question if they could pull this off but instead wondered how long it would take before I would want to listen to something else. That being said...
Well, there's not a ton of suspense here. I wrote on elscorcho (link to initial review) that the first CD was a frolicking rock disc that maintains high energy throughout, but that I was disappointed by the acoustic CD, because I thought the drop-off was too significant.
Well, let's examine that first CD in more detail. Track one is the incredible "In Your Honor", in which Dave Grohl sets the tone for the entire first disc. The energy is tangible, and the amazing ending of the track, in which Grohl just screams over a nifty guitar riff and a loud chord sequence, just makes you want to scream as well. It is an ideal track one, and it transitions nicely into "No Way Back", which is a track with more of a Foo Fighters feel: "Pleased to meet you take my hand / There is no way back from here..." It's just balls to the walls, and this does not let up in to the first single, "Best of You", which has its share of excellent lyrics that I imagine you have heard too many times on the radio by now. I would argue that tracks 4 and 5, "DOA" and "Hell", are two of the weaker tracks on the first disc, but I think that's because the lyrics of "DOA" bother me and "Hell" leaves no impression on me whatsoever. However, the next 5 tracks are all excellent and they all vary enough to make the first disc listenable to straight through. While there are only ten tracks, it is still an accomplishment to make an alternative rock cd that varies enough to be listenable all the way through. I especially like track six, "The Last Song", where you will find the lyrics "This is the last song / That I will dedicate to you / And your's is a name / I will never name again".
So I originally said I did not like disc 2 but I was willing to give it a chance. Yeah, that chance has been used up, and I still do not like disc 2. I've thought about it a lot, and this is what I've come up with - while Dave Grohl's voice is good, it cannot stand on its own - either the song needs complexities in guitar parts, or loudness in guitar parts, or minimal singing by Dave Grohl. However, 8 out of the 10 tracks on the second disc are pretty prototypical singer-songwriter slush that is uninteresting, unimpressive, and even embarrassing to listen to at times. I can't explain it, but I feel embarrased to listen to parts of this cd. However, there are two gems that MUST NOT be passed up. Track five is entitled "Friend of a Friend". It is pretty simple musically, but Grohl's delivery in this track really puts it above and beyond the other songs up to this point on disc two. I really, really like it. Also, he announced that it is about Kurt Cobain, so that's nice. The other track I really cannot recommend enough amongst the the wasteland of disc two is the final track, entitled "Razor". Not only is Grohl's delivery amazing, the guitar part is ALSO amazing, so it's essentially what I had hoped the entire acoustic disc would be like.
Overall, I have to give this album a 7 out of 10. The first disc is really, really good, and the second disc has a couple of good tracks and maybe a song or two that those of you who enjoy simple singer-songwriter stuff (alliteration!) would like. I can only hope that the acoustic side of the Foo Fighters evolves as nicely as the plugged-in rock has evolved.
The Foo Fighters are one of my favorite bands. There's just no two ways about it. I've been actively looking forward to this album for the last month, not like "man, I hope the Foos come out with a new disc soon", but more like "let's figure out how many minutes it is until I'll be able to get this". I had pretty high expectations, as the Foos have yet to disappoint me, and the working concept of the double-disc set had me pretty pumped. The Foo Fighters have historically recorded incredible acoustic tracks to compliment their already rocking out sound, so I really did not question if they could pull this off but instead wondered how long it would take before I would want to listen to something else. That being said...
Well, there's not a ton of suspense here. I wrote on elscorcho (link to initial review) that the first CD was a frolicking rock disc that maintains high energy throughout, but that I was disappointed by the acoustic CD, because I thought the drop-off was too significant.
Well, let's examine that first CD in more detail. Track one is the incredible "In Your Honor", in which Dave Grohl sets the tone for the entire first disc. The energy is tangible, and the amazing ending of the track, in which Grohl just screams over a nifty guitar riff and a loud chord sequence, just makes you want to scream as well. It is an ideal track one, and it transitions nicely into "No Way Back", which is a track with more of a Foo Fighters feel: "Pleased to meet you take my hand / There is no way back from here..." It's just balls to the walls, and this does not let up in to the first single, "Best of You", which has its share of excellent lyrics that I imagine you have heard too many times on the radio by now. I would argue that tracks 4 and 5, "DOA" and "Hell", are two of the weaker tracks on the first disc, but I think that's because the lyrics of "DOA" bother me and "Hell" leaves no impression on me whatsoever. However, the next 5 tracks are all excellent and they all vary enough to make the first disc listenable to straight through. While there are only ten tracks, it is still an accomplishment to make an alternative rock cd that varies enough to be listenable all the way through. I especially like track six, "The Last Song", where you will find the lyrics "This is the last song / That I will dedicate to you / And your's is a name / I will never name again".
So I originally said I did not like disc 2 but I was willing to give it a chance. Yeah, that chance has been used up, and I still do not like disc 2. I've thought about it a lot, and this is what I've come up with - while Dave Grohl's voice is good, it cannot stand on its own - either the song needs complexities in guitar parts, or loudness in guitar parts, or minimal singing by Dave Grohl. However, 8 out of the 10 tracks on the second disc are pretty prototypical singer-songwriter slush that is uninteresting, unimpressive, and even embarrassing to listen to at times. I can't explain it, but I feel embarrased to listen to parts of this cd. However, there are two gems that MUST NOT be passed up. Track five is entitled "Friend of a Friend". It is pretty simple musically, but Grohl's delivery in this track really puts it above and beyond the other songs up to this point on disc two. I really, really like it. Also, he announced that it is about Kurt Cobain, so that's nice. The other track I really cannot recommend enough amongst the the wasteland of disc two is the final track, entitled "Razor". Not only is Grohl's delivery amazing, the guitar part is ALSO amazing, so it's essentially what I had hoped the entire acoustic disc would be like.
Overall, I have to give this album a 7 out of 10. The first disc is really, really good, and the second disc has a couple of good tracks and maybe a song or two that those of you who enjoy simple singer-songwriter stuff (alliteration!) would like. I can only hope that the acoustic side of the Foo Fighters evolves as nicely as the plugged-in rock has evolved.