The Foo Fighters album Dave Grohl wants to be remembered for: “The best stuff we’ve done”
Some rock stars burn out as quickly as they light up the sky, but Dave Grohl has had one hell of a life, that can’t be denied.
From being the drummer with one of the most successful rock acts of the early 1990s in Nirvana, to then fronting one of the most successful rock acts throughout the years after in Foo Fighters, you can hardly blame the multi-talented musician for slacking or resting on his laurels.
This doesn’t even mention the whole host of side projects and collaborations that Grohl has worked on throughout his career, with stints in Queens of the Stone Age, Tenacious D and Them Crooked Vultures being among his most celebrated extra-curricular activities.
With such a vast and acclaimed discography to select from, you’d think that there’s plenty that Grohl himself would take a sense of pride in contributing to, especially in the band he has been at the helm of since 1995 and released 11 studio albums with. Plaudits are often dished out for several albums of theirs, especially the first three in Foo Fighters, The Colour and the Shape, and There Is Nothing Left To Lose, with the occasional later release being revered as a return to form following understandable dips in quality.
If there was one particular moment in his career with Foo Fighters that you’d expect the supposedly affable frontman to cherish the most, you’d probably assume it would still be one of the records from their opening trilogy. Having garnered the most praise from fans and critics, the albums that brought the world songs such as ‘Big Me’, ‘Monkey Wrench’ and ‘Learn to Fly’ are surely at the top of the pile, with the remainder all bubbling around below in a nebulous and interchangeable state.
However, the record that sticks in Grohl’s mind the most is a surprising one, and he has fonder memories of writing, recording and assembling 2005’s In Your Honor than he seemingly does of any other of his records with the band. An ambitious double album that followed the critical dud One By One, their fifth album was received in a much more generous fashion. Still, its lengthy duration and a direct split between a heavier and lighter side to the band’s songwriting were two things that polarised opinions upon its release.
The origin of the Foo Fighters now-constant striving for pushing boundaries and getting out of their own comfort zone is on this double album. With a decade of tumultuous growing pains already behind him, Grohl for the first time had a stable band line-up and an unmatched standing as the leader of one of the most popular bands in the world.
He escaped the Nirvana shadow, had settled down with his wife Jordyn, and could do whatever he wanted. In other words, he was comfortable. That wouldn’t do. So he reconvened the band to put out a half-hard rock and half-acoustic record that sprawled all over the place.
Grohl’s opinion on the album, while overwhelmingly positive, is somewhat confusing. “I didn’t consider it a Foo Fighters record,” he remarked in a radio interview with Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson shortly after the album’s release. “I considered it something else.”
What exactly it was Grohl considered it to be is unclear, but he would then go on to elaborate on exactly why the record stood out to him at the time, and the decisions behind releasing it as a double album. “I came up with the double album idea,” continued Grohl, “splitting the 2 CDs, making one rock one acoustic, and it seemed to work. I think the rock album is some of the best stuff we’ve ever done. It’s strong, it’s quick, it’s tight, it’s ten songs. That coupled with the acoustic record? I’m really proud of us for pulling it off.”
As for the legacy Grohl anticipated the record to have, he would remark, “I told everyone I want this album to be the one people remember the band for, and I think it might be. I hope it will be.” It’s quite a claim. The group have delivered so many incredible moments over the decades that to cite one record, in particular, is a big bet. But Grohl seems confident that he would win out.
While a lot of people certainly remember ‘Best of You‘, and those with a better memory might recall ‘No Way Back’ and ‘DOA’ also being two of the heavy hitters from the album, most people these days are still flocking to the first three records for their Foo Fighters fix, and while there are later gems in their catalogue, there’s a good reason for sticking to the early stuff.
