Foo Fighters (album)

Infobox Album |
Name = Foo Fighters
Type = Album
Artist = Foo Fighters


Released = July 4, 1995
Recorded = January 17 - 23 1995 at Robert Lang Studios in Seattle, Washington
Genre = Alternative rock
Length = 44:01
Label = Roswell/Capitol
Producer = Foo Fighters,
Barrett Jones
Reviews =
* Allmusic rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Ame6ibkr9jak0 link]
*Robert Christgau rating|3|3 [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=foo+fighters link]
* "Rolling Stone" rating|4|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/foofighters/albums/album/114450/review/6067922/foo_fighters link]
Last album =
This album = "Foo Fighters"
(1995)
Next album = "The Colour and the Shape"
(1997)
Misc = Singles
Name = Foo Fighters
Type = studio
single 1 = Exhausted
single 1 date = June 12, 1995
single 2 = This Is a Call
single 2 date = June 19, 1995
single 3 = I'll Stick Around
single 3 date = September 4, 1995
single 4 = For All the Cows
single 4 date = November 21, 1995
single 5 = Big Me
single 5 date = March 25, 1996

"Foo Fighters" is the debut album by the Foo Fighters, recorded entirely by frontman Dave Grohl. It was released in 1995 through Roswell and Capitol Records. It was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 1996 Grammy ceremony, but it lost to Dave Grohl's former band Nirvana's album "MTV Unplugged In New York". Dave Grohl has often called the Foo Fighters' debut piece to be more of a demo than an album.

History

Nearly all of the album's instrumental parts are performed by Dave Grohl. (The lone exception is a guitar part on "X-Static" provided by Afghan Whigs member Greg Dulli, with whom Grohl had performed as part of an all-star band on the 1994 "Backbeat" soundtrack.)

The Foo Fighters band, originally consisting of bassist Nate Mendel, guitarist Pat Smear, and drummer William Goldsmith, was formed by Grohl after the completion of the album in order to promote it on tour. Despite not appearing on the album itself, the band is featured in the liner notes and was paid royalties for the album.

Grohl had been recording his own music for years prior, releasing a cassette called "Pocketwatch" (under the moniker "Late!") during his time in Nirvana. The album was recorded in October 1994 in Robert Lang's Studio in Seattle with friend/producer Barrett Jones. This was the same studio where Nirvana recorded its last session just nine months prior.

The gun featured on the cover is the "XZ-38 Disintegrator Pistol," which was originally released in 1935 as a tie-in toy for the Buck Rogers comic strip and radio show. The guns were originally manufactured by Daisy, best known for their line of youth BB guns, and today remain sought-after collector's items.

The cover was shot by Grohl's then-wife, photographer Jennifer Youngblood, and, like the name of his band, reflects his interest in science fiction.

"Foo Fighters" reached #3 in the UK and #23 in the US, being certified Platinum on January 26th 1996.

On Foo Fighters' 2005-2006 live set with Weezer, the band brought "Big Me" back into their live setlist after Weezer covered the song at several shows, as Weezer have been longtime fans of the Foo Fighters. In 1995 Dave Grohl sent Weezer leader Rivers Cuomo a copy of the Foo Fighters debut with a note saying he really liked the "The Blue Album".

The album won the band their first and only MTV VMA for "Big Me."

Track listing

All songs written by Dave Grohl

#"This Is a Call" – 3:53
#"I'll Stick Around" – 3:52
#"Big Me" – 2:12
#"Alone + Easy Target" – 4:05
#"Good Grief" – 4:01
#"Floaty" – 4:30
#"Weenie Beenie" – 2:45
#"Oh, George" – 3:00
#"For All the Cows" – 3:30
#"X-Static" – 4:13
#"Wattershed" – 2:15
#"Exhausted" – 5:45

"Japanese bonus tracks"

#"Winnebago" – 4:14
#"Podunk" – 3:03

"Australian Tour Pack" bonus CD

#"Winnebago" – 4:14
#"How I Miss You" – 4:56
#"Podunk" – 3:03
#"Ozone" – 4:17
#"For All the Cows (Live)" – 3:34
#"Wattershed (Live)" – 2:15

Personnel

Recording

*Dave Grohl - vocals, guitar, bass, drums
*Greg Dulli - guitar on "X-Static"

Band

*Dave Grohl - vocals, guitar
*Pat Smear - guitar, vocals
*Nate Mendel - bass
*William Goldsmith - drums

Other

*Producers: Foo Fighters, Barrett Jones
*Engineer: Steve Culp
*Mixing: Tom Rothrock, Rob Schnapf
*Mastering: Stephen Marcussen
*Art direction: Tim Gabor
*Design: Tim Gabor
*Paintings: Jaq Chartier
*Photography: Curt Doughty, Charles Peterson, Jeff Ross, Jennifer Youngblood
*Cover photo: Jennifer Youngblood

Chart positions

Accolades

* "Kerrang!" magazine "100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" - Editors Choice #19 (1998)
* "Kerrang!" magazine "100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" - Readers Choice #34 (1998)
*"1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die", edited by Robert Dimery (2006)
* "Rolling Stone" ranked the album #2 in the Albums of the Year Critic Picks of 1995.

References