FEATURE:
Independence Day
Foo Fighters’ Eponymous Debut Album at Twenty-Five
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RATHER than cover this…
IN THIS PHOTO: Dave Grohl/PHOTO CREDIT: Gie Knaeps/Getty Images
for Vinyl Corner, I want to do a separate piece to mark the Foo Fighters’ eponymous album. It turns twenty-five on Friday (4th July), and it is an album that I overlooked for a long time. I am not a massive fan of the Foo Fighters’ more recent output, but one cannot ignore the brilliance and importance of the debut – which is, essentially, a Dave Grohl solo album. After the break-up of Nirvana – following Kurt Cobain’s suicide in 1994 -, it must have been a very weird and scary time for Dave Grohl – who had been part of this tight band for years. Not only did Grohl have to process the news, but he had to figure out what to do as a musician. It would have been odd joining another band so soon but, with songs in his pocket and the desire to keep moving, Grohl wrote and recorded the album himself. There is a guest spot from Greg Dulli, but Foo Fighters is, on the debut album, a pseudonym for Dave Grohl – it was only later when he added band members. Foo Fighters started out as a way of Grohl to have a bit of fun and release some of the anger and sadness felt over the death of Kurt Cobain. In a way, it was like Grohl was returning to the days before Nirvana, or when he first joined the band, as things were very stripped-back and simple.
He was starting from scratch as a solo artist and passed around cassettes to his friends of the sessions he was recording. The music caught the ear of Capitol, who he signed to, and it was only after the album came out that Grohl hired some band members so he could perform the songs live. Foo Fighters had six singles released from it, including the epic This Is a Call. It seems like the recording proves was quite hectic. Grohl and Barrett Jones produced the album in just one week in October 1994, where Grohl would record a guitar part, run to a different room and lay down bass, and do that for all the instruments required. About four songs were completed a day, and although there was a lot of energy and rush, it seemed like things were quite civil too. Grohl and Jones had this routine, and that process resulted in one of the best albums of 1995. I think there was reticence from Grohl regarding his singing voice, as he had not done a lot of vocal work with Nirvana. Many people had not heard Grohl away from the drums, so it was an eye-opening experience for a number of different reasons. About one-hundred L.P.s and cassettes were made, and it was intended to be a very low-key release. Being Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters was always going to grab attention, and you only need to listen to the urgency of the album to realise why it resonated in 1995. It still sounds fresh today, and it is amazing to see how the Foo Fighters grew from there – today, they are one of the biggest bands in the world and have headlined numerous festivals!
Twenty-five years after its release, new listeners are picking up the Foo Fighters’ debut, and I am sure it is inspiring bands to form. It is a great record, and it would have been a tragedy if the songs were just for Grohl’s amusement and never saw the light of day. Luckily, he did put out the album, and it got a lot of critical acclaim. There would have been the temptation for many to compare Foo Fighters with Nirvana and, whilst Grohl’s vocal shares similarities with Kurt Cobain, the two projects are different. Foo Fighters would follow up the eponymous debut with The Colour and the Shape in 1997 and, whilst some say that album is more successful and consistent, I have a soft spot for the debut. In this review, this is what AllMusic had to say:
“Essentially a collection of solo home recordings by Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters' eponymous debut is a modest triumph. Driven by big pop melodies and distorted guitars, Foo Fighters do strongly recall Nirvana, only with a decidedly lighter approach. If Kurt Cobain's writing occasionally recalled John Lennon, Dave Grohl's songs are reminiscent of Paul McCartney -- they're driven by large, instantly memorable melodies, whether it's the joyous outburst of "This Is a Call" or the gentle pop of "Big Me." That doesn't mean Grohl shies away from noise; toward the end of the record, he piles on several thrashers that make more sense as pure aggressive sound than as songs. Since he recorded the album by himself, they aren't as powerful as most band's primal sonic workouts, but the results are damn impressive for a solo musician. Nevertheless, they aren't as strong as his fully formed pop songs, and that's where the true heart of the album lies. Foo Fighters has a handful of punk-pop gems that show, given the right musicians and songwriters, the genre had not entirely become a cliché by the middle of the '90s”.
I have seen some anniversary articles pop up to celebrate twenty-five years of Foo Fighters, and I think it is a big anniversary! The band would have been playing festivals this year, and it would have been cool to mark that debut album with a special set. They will be back in force next year, and I am sure the Foo Fighters album will get particular consideration. I will wrap things up soon but, just before, I want to bring in an article published this time last year, that shone the spotlight on an album both huge and modest. Whilst Foo Fighters is this expansive and physical record, the fact that its release and promotion was not a big event – all the more impressive considering the fame and importance of the man who created the music! In their piece, UDiscoverMusic discussed Foo Fighters’ immense songs, and the fact the touring and promotion of the album was not this major thing:
“Filled with punk-pop anthems
Even with the deck stacked against him, Grohl delivered an exceedingly fun album, filled with punk-pop anthems and DIY sound that satiated post-grunge fans while hinting at the throbbing arena-rock that was to come. But you can’t play rock venues of any size without a band and so Grohl quickly assembled a band to take Foo Fighters on tour. Having heard about the disbanding of Seattle-based rock band Sunny Day Real Estate, Grohl drafted the group’s bass player, Nate Mendel, and drummer, William Goldsmith, as well as Nirvana touring guitarist and former Germs member, Pat Smear to complete the line-up.
Like the album release, the tour was also decidedly under the radar, with the band playing a friends loft in Seattle as their first gig. Throughout the whole album cycle, Grohl remained healthily sceptical, telling Kerrang! in 1996, “I don’t think we’re capable of being a sensation like Oasis or Alanis Morissette. Sure it has some hook and melodies, but I just don’t think it’s the kind of thing that eight million 12-year-olds are ever going to be able to palate”. Ironically enough, Grohl would go on to recruit Miss Morissette’s drummer Taylor Hawkins to join his band and go on to release eight more albums, selling over 30 million records worldwide”.
Dave Grohl couldn’t have predicted what would happen to Foo Fighters after that debut album, and how successful he would become as a frontman. Twenty-five years from that incredible and much-loved debut album, the band have conquered the world. Fans can debate as to which Foo Fighters is the best, but I don’t think there is any as important as the debut of 4th July, 1995. As it has a big anniversary coming on Friday, go and stream the album and let it do its work. It is an incredible album, and I just felt I had to mark its quarter-century. 1995 was a phenomenal year for music, so it would have been possible Foo Fighters sort of got overlooked or struggled to make an impact. As it was, it won a lot of respect, and it resonated with Dave Grohl fans and non-fans alike. To this very day, Foo Fighters…
REMAINS a classic.