ARTIST: Foo Fighters
ALBUM: Sonic Highways
LABEL: RCA, Roswell
RELEASE DATE: November 10, 2014
20 Years and Counting
Written by Silas Valentino
If anyone else found themselves in the situation Dave Grohl was in following Kurt Cobain’s death 20 years ago, they’d probably just play drums in some other band—like for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. But Grohl did something on his own and went into the studio to record an album all by himself (except one song’s guitar part) with the outcome being the Foo Fighter’s self-titled debut album. The Dave Grohl spirit of mixing up the rhythm and treading into new waters, while maintaining true to form, has remained consistent in the Foo Fighter’s past 20 year run and it’s still the case for their eighth studio album, Sonic Highways.
Grohl and Co. toy with convention on this one. Instead of recording all the tracks in a single studio, the Foos recorded the album’s eight tracks in eight separate studios across the country including in Nirvana’s In Utero producer Steve Albini’s Chicago studio and the old soundstage from Austin City Limits in Texas. But instead of coming off like a cover band trying to incorporate all these different styles into the songs, Sonic Highways is an authentic and unmistakable Foo Fighters album.
The lead single, album opener and theme song for the HBO mini series documenting the Foo’s cross-country journey— “Nothing from Something”— is an instantaneously enjoyable rocker. It builds and adds to itself until a climatic explosion signaled by guitarist Chris Shiflett when he rattles off a furious solo at the 4-minute mark. (Refer to the scene in the Chicago episode of the HBO series where Shiflett and Grohl craft together this solo’s live wire sound—it makes you hone into this part of the song.)
“What Did I Do?/God as My Witness,” their Austin track, breathes with a Credence Clearwater Revival-style verse and features just enough honky tonk to justify its Texan inspiration. Each track on this album features a guest musician representing their city and Gary Clark, Jr. lends his bluesy touch on the song’s second half. Clark, Jr. is an unattested guitar hero but on this guest appearance he sounds limited and not fully flexed.
This notion of good idea but not great execution plagues Sonic Highways. Everything is in order for a unique musical expression: the Foo Fighters traveled to musically-distinct cities to record, powerful guests frequently appear to lend their chops; but even with all this great buzz in the air Sonic Highways falls short of extraordinary and shelves itself in the “okay, not bad” section of music’s library.
Cutting west to the golden coast, the Foos enlist Eagle’s guitarist Joe Walsh for a desert-wide solo on “Outside.” Walsh’s signature high tone screeching is in check but the standout on this track is the Foo’s bassist Nate Mendel. The opening bass lick is a warming throwback to his early work like “Up in Arms” off the Foo’s The Colour and the Shape.
Taking us home is the final track “I am a River,” inspired by New York City. Since NYC is already a cesspool of culture and inspiration it’s hard to pin down exactly the music motivation behind this track but the featured musicians (Tony Visconti and Kristeen Young) are frequent David Bowie collaborators, which gives insight to the song’s grandeur feel.
At the center of Sonic Highways’ album artwork amidst the famous landmarks of the eight cities that inspired the album is the number 8. But if looked at differently, the 8 falls on its side, ∞, it makes an infinite sign.
If Sonic Highways proves anything it’s that the Foo Fighters won’t be throwing in the towel any time soon.