No Foo, All Fight 4 Out Of 5 Stars
Over 15 years, 6 albums and the constant creativity of Dave Grohl, the Foo Fighters have cut some amazing rock and roll. Grohl has never gone for the fancy or elaborate stuff. He's mainly a traditionalist; Guitars, bass, keyboards and drums with a frontman who bellows his words like every single syllable has deep meaning and impact. Thirteen radio favorites and concert staples, plus three new songs.
If you're an album rock (or now, classic rock) fan, most of these will be well worn into your mind. From 1995's "This Is a Call" (which was Grohl as one-man band) to the tribute "My Hero" to the political broadside "The Pretender," many of these were the staple songs of their times. Coming out of Nirvana, Grohl kept to much of that band's model. The songs work the soft-LOUD-soft-chorus framework that Nirvana often used ("All My Life") while the Foos developed their own rock voice (the more acoustic "Skin and Bones"). It's that sense of classicism that has elevated Grohl and Foo Fighters beyond the post-grunge era and into that of a classic band.
In this period, they've made what I consider two classic albums, "The Colour and The Shape" and "One By One." (I'm also very partial to "Wasted Light," but that was issued after this hits set was released. However, they've also made some widely uneven albums. That makes this best of a great Foo's single disc if you've been hesitant to go for the albums over the decades.
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