From 90’s must-have, “The Colour and the Shape” featuring hits such as “Everlong” and “My Hero,” to 2005’s two-disc monster, “In Your Honor,” the Foo Fighters have righteously established themselves as one of the biggest bands of the last two decades. They’ve had their ups and downs, but they’ve achieved success that few other music groups have been able to come close to by routinely selling out mammoth-sized arenas and stadiums like it’s their job.
Former Nirvana drummer and frontman of the Foos’, Dave Grohl, did something a little different with the new release, “Sonic Highways,” however. In the recording of this eight-track record, Grohl and company traveled across the United States, renewing their knowledge and newly discovered the history of American music, recording each song in a different city with different influences and special guests for each particular song. Grohl called this record a “musical map of America,” with HBO airing a series of the album’s name documenting the creation of the record.
"Sonic Highways” has had a lot of buildup, and rightfully so with the audacious recording and overall background of the album, but it is not a game-changer by any means. Though the album is good and will certainly draw the acclaim of the Foos’ loyal fan base, it’s far from great and will go down as one of Foo Fighters’ middle-of-the- road records once their musical endeavors are complete.
Make no mistake, there are definitely some great songs on this above-average release. “Something from Nothing,” the album’s lead- single, recorded in Chicago’s Electrical Audio studio, kicks “Sonic Highways” into high gear in ravenous fashion. “Something from Nothing” begins at a steady, mid-tempo pace, but things really start to take a wild twist about halfway through the song when a Stevie Wonder-style clavinet comes in and underlies the rhythm guitar, turning the hard-rocking headbanger into a rather funky head-bobber. Once the song really gets going, a hard-rocking headbanger is exactly what this track really is, headlined with Grohl’s signature raspy scream, ordering, “ALL RISE!!!”
“Congregation,” the record’s third track, is signature Foo Fighters, reminiscent of the Foos’ “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace” days. “Congregation,” recorded in Nashville, Tennessee’s Southern Ground Studio, is a beautiful yet ferocious tune that any rock ‘n’ roller can appreciate. It provided one of the most memorable guitar riffs in recent Foo Fighters history.It’sabeautifullycomposed adaptation of Nashville’s musical history and would be perfectly appropriate background music to a drive through Tennessee’s sunny countryside.
Though the first 2/3 of the album is undeniably great, the remaining third of the record is average at best with “In the Clear” being one of the more passable songs on “Sonic Highways.” Recorded in New Orleans, “In the Clear” sounds like nothing more than a B-side. The song is listenable, but that’s all it really is. I’ll probably never listen to it any more than I already have. Being recorded in New Orleans, Foo Fighters incorporated brass instruments into “In the Clear” to relate to New Orleans’ jazz scene, but it doesn’t work successfully. With the minimal role that the horns play in the song, it just doesn’t radiate that New Orleans vibe. It has its moments, but “In the Clear” is a very skippable song that surely won’t go down in Foo Fighters history as a must-play.
The eighth and final track on the record, “I Am a River,” is just as unmemorable as “In the Clear.” “I Am a River,” recorded in New York City, incorporates a layer of strings towards the song’s end, really heightening the record’s final minutes, but the track is repetitive and unimpressive as a whole. One of its finest moments is the gorgeous intro preceding the song’s real commencement, but, aside from that, I didn’t take too much away from it. Like “In the Clear,” it’s a good song, but very forgettable.
All in all, “Sonic Highways” succeeds on many levels. There are a handful of songs that you can listen to over and over again and not get tired of, and then there are a few songs that you can get tired of halfway through, but, nonetheless, “Sonic Highways” is a fearless album and, though it may not be the best Foo Fighters record, it will certainly be a record that Dave Grohl and company should be immeasurably proud of.
My rating: 7/10
