American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson once said “Life is a journey, not a destination.” This is definitely true in the case of the latest release by Foo Fighters, “Sonic Highways.” For their eighth studio album, the Foo have taken a unique approach. Frontman Dave Grohl’s idea was to record a song in a famous studio in different American cities surrounding themselves with local legends. The idea was to draw inspiration from the locale and the local musical history, writing the lyrics on the spot.
It’s clear from the first track, “Something From Nothing,” that this is not a typical Foo Fighters record. The song has a blues based “Muddy” feel to it followed by the high octane punk vibe of “The Feast and The Famine.” My favorite track on the album was “In The Clear” which includes an appearance by the horns of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The poignant “I Am a River” closes things out complete with a string section outro. The production by Butch Vig is flawless and Grohl’s vocals sound fantastic as does the guitar work of Chris Shiflett. The songs, however, don’t really capture the local feel of the cities in which they were recorded and the record just seems to be lacking something.
If you’re expecting to hear huge arena rock anthems and power choruses that we normally get from Foo Fighters, you won’t find those here. “Sonic Highways” is definitely a more experimental album and some fans are going to love it and some are going to hate it. I for one am just glad that they have given us the opportunity to go along for the ride.
