Review Summary: I don't owe you anything.
Imagine this: you're a drummer in a band that suddenly gains mass attention, and you're worshipped all around the world. Everyone likes you, and for some time you're on top of the world... until one of the members die. You don't know what to do, where to go... it was a roller-coaster of emotions, and you start to being depressed about it, to the point of quitting music altogether. Now, what would you do? Would you throw it all away or turn your pain into something new, and move on with music by your side?
Well, that's basically the story of Dave Grohl, a man that lost one of his best friends and almost lost his career, but instead, as a type of therapy, wrote an entire album by himself, with songs he wrote during the time he was in Nirvana, and created something new. It's hard to believe that this album was all composed and recorded by one man, but maybe that's the magic about it. The songs mix a punk attitude with mellow vocals and, obviously, some grunge influences, crafting soothing songs with a sense of freedom that Dave never had before.
The songs he composed after Kurt's death are letters to the past(This is a Call) and messages to people who doubt about him after Nirvana's end(I'll Stick Around). You can see how much the lyrics changed from non-sense to passionate struggles after everything went down. These grunge influences are visible in the depressive tones of Exhausted, the melancholic riffs of Alone+Easy Target, and the aggression of Wattershed. It's not like they're a copy of Dave's previous band, but instead, they're something new, fresh and beautiful.
The mellow songs have a feeling of fragility to them, like Dave wasn't sure if his songs were good. In fact, he put effects in his voice in Floaty because he wasn't confident about his singing, but it gave the song a dreamy vibe that is the song's triumph. And the hard ones show some of his struggles with his new life, but in a more optimistic way, like in This Is A Call, but it feels more like a man hiding his weaknesses, because it all sounds so melancholic, that's hard to believe that he's "ok". The fact that he recorded the album alone is already a little sad, but it's so well done that it feels like a full band, showing the man's talent. His new treatment to the loud-soft formula in songs like Good Grief and Oh George! is a prototype of the band's signature sound, showing that it can stand on its on, without living in Nirvana's shadow, and the power of singles like I'll Stick Around, Alone + Easy Target and This Is A Call were enough to put the band on the media, building a fan base of its own and guaranteed its future.
Foo Fighters' debut album is getting 20 years old this year, and this review is a tribute to it. The album is a document that shows Dave Grohl's talent, and how he turned his depression into something more doing what he does best: Music.
It's a record of a broken man rising from the past's ashes.
Standout Tracks:
I'll Stick Around
Exhausted
Oh George!
Alone + Easy Target
