| Foo Fighters Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace |
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 | Tracklist:
1. The Pretender
2. Let It Die
3. Erase Replace
4. Long Road to Ruin
5. Come Alive
6. Stranger Things Have Happened
7. Cheer Up Boys (Your Makeup is Running)
8. Summer's End
9. The Ballad Of The Beaconsfield
10. Statues
11. But Honestly
12. Home
Bonus Track: Once And For All (Demo)
| Ranking: #173 for 2007 | |
| | other reviews | Porter W. Richards (4)
Twelve years into their career, this album proves that the Foos can still 'rock hard', be 'emotional... | clairvoyant (4)
Dave Grohl yet again does not bring anything completely new to the table, but still manages to come ... | Ernzoa (3.5)
Echoes, Silence, Patience, & Grace mixes the old and the new to create an appealing, enjoyable, and ... | Davey Boy STAFF (3.5)
The Foo Fighters predominantly succeed in consolidating their previous Double Album into one disc by... | Gravy (1.5)
Well, for use of a better, intelligent word... poo... |
On 12 Lists
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| Summary: The Foo Fighters release another album. The Foo Fighters release another average album. I probably didn't have to say the second part. |
I’ve never really been a fan of the Foo Fighters. They’ve always seemed like a pretty good, pretty run of the mill rock band with some good singles and a good singer to me. I’ve listened to all of their albums at some point, and they all failed to really catch my interest, including the highly lauded The Colour & The Shape. So, once again they put out a great lead single (this time, “The Pretender”) and I am unfortunately required by curiosity to give them yet another shot. What Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace reminds me to do is next time, don’t bother.
The album is just standard rock/alternative affair. A new idea is really not present on here; in fact its like they encapsulated their previous double album to one disc hoping it would get rid of that fat that dogged that previous album. There are a large range of songs to listen to here…if a varied album to you means there are slow, mid, and fast tempo songs. There are rockers like “The Pretender” and “Cheer Up Boys (Your Makeup is Running)” which are easily the strong points to the album, as its obvious the boys are most comfortable here.
It when they try and go into a softer, more ‘introspective’ sound where the album really falters. Its as if they listened to a bunch of really bad 90s alternative-pop songs and decided it would be a good idea to bring all that back (along with a good dose of the ‘foo, of course…!). Grohl doesn’t have a pretty voice by any means, and even the songs where he transitions from crooning to shouting generally sound weak because of it. And it’s a very strange thing when one of your songs (in this case, “Stranger Things Have Happened”) sound more like a Stephen Lynch tune than a serious attempt at rock balladry.
Dave Grohl’s songwriting has just become stale. There is absolutely nothing interesting about this album structually. The closest it comes to being interesting is on “Let it Die” where he fakes an explosion of sound, retreats for a moment, and then goes through again even louder. Every song here relies on the basics of pop songwriting 101, and Grohl and company just don’t have enough catchy oomph to make it work for a whole album, let alone for whole career at this point.
Considering this is pretty much Grohl’s baby, something also of note is the fact that the lyrics underwhelm as well. Yeah, “Cheer Up Boys…” is actually a pretty neat satire on the “emo scene” of today, and its pretty cool to see him to do it. Then again, he comes up with such gems as “Meet me in the summertime/We can move the air/Sweet Virginia countryside/I will meet you there” which infest the album like a plague. Even on the “harder” tracks Grohl cant get himself out of wish washy and cliché nonsense, something he at least used to be able to attempt.
In the end, Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace really is just terribly mediocre and unexciting. Besides “The Pretender” and a handful of other songs that will probably be singles (“Summers End” which vaguely reminds of “Learn To Fly” and “Long Road to Ruin”), the album is extremely boring and uninspired. Its pretty much like any other Foo record; a boring album by a band that could be better. Listen to it if you’re a fan of the Foo, but don’t make it a priority if your not.
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| Recent reviews by this author | | | |
Album Rating: 2.5
The tracklist and album art were literally here as I was submitting this. I'll fix it in a jiffy guys.
Digging: Animal Collective - Spirit They've Gone, Spirit They've Vanished | | |
The new single isn't half bad. Nothing special, though.
Digging: Circle Takes The Square - As The Roots Undo
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Kinda short for such a big release.
Such a predictable band in general.
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I agree with thor the singles not bad. I doubt ill be checking this out but who know.s
Digging: Lil Wayne - Da Drought 3
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No offense, but this album is awesome. Secondly, this review seemed kinda half-ass...almost soundoff like.
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
I could explain how generic it is, but then people would say I talk too much.
Ill edit in another paragraph explaining one more thing about the album, because I I had it planned out then completely forgot about it last night.
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Well, I mean, it's planned out well and well written, but it's mucho shorto.
This album is good, at least in my opinion though,
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I get what your saying Iluvatar I mean we all know how this is going to sound cause its the Foo Fighters and it got a 2.5 so yeah its pretty obvious.
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
I had a paragraph about the lyrics written, but I thought it was excessive. + something else I want to mention and I'll edit it all in. I didn't figure in the fact this is a large release and people will bitch if it isnt 600 words + long.
| | | Album Rating: 3
I actually agree with Ilu on this one. Review doesn't need to be long to be good. As long as it is good, well-written, and does it job, it doesn't matter if it has 500 words or 1000 words.
Digging: Say Anything - Say Anything | | | Album Rating: 2.5
I am unfortunately going to please the general public instead of standing up for what I think the review should be.
Tbh I like it either way so eh.
| | | Album Rating: 4
Is this album streaming anywhere yet? I was pretty sure I was going to buy this after hearing The Pretender and being a decently interested fan of the band.
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Illuvatar, you're on a fucking roll.
"The Pretender" is the best Foo Fighters single I've heard in a longass time, so i might just buy this album.
Good review.
Digging: The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Forget it.This Message Edited On 09.17.07
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
How is that anymore objective?
Oh wait it gives the album a positive score forgot.
+ reppin your reviews in somebody elses review (for the same album, nonetheless) is a pretty toolish thing to do.
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Foo Fighters aren't bad but they aren't good... and this review was perfect for pointing out that nothing has changed.
Digging: The Shizit - The Shizit
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
forget it.This Message Edited On 09.17.07
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See, I'm not touching this argument with a ten foot pole.
Goodbye.
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
Mmmmm the sweet smell of things catching up with me.
Lets take a look at this: I listened to the album around 5 times. Throughout that 5 times, nothing grabbed me. Its exactly what the Foo Fighters have been doing for years and years and years. The musicianship is decent, but its not even worth mentioning. Creativity? I dont see that at all. Production makes an album nice to listen to, but it never affects my opinion on it greatly.
If you had actually taken the time to read my reviews to learn what kind of music I like/had heard my jock repeatedly "The Pretender" and how excited I was for the record, you'd realize your being an ass.
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since any unbiased ears
where can i buy a pair of these
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