thefingerguy's rants

Upon arriving home Tuesday, my wife had surprised me with something I'd been looking forward to for some time: the new Foo Fighters CD: Echos, Silence, Patience & Grace.

Having watched the video for their first release off this album, The Pretender, I expected the same hard-hitting modern rock that any FooFan has come to know and love. To my surprise, this album was a departure from the usual Dave Grohl "sings then yells into a microphone" standard.

With the "standard" rock anthem "The Pretender", Dave and the boys do not disappoint, opening the album with their usual enthusiastic modern-times-influenced jam. Then quickly, the mood changes to the mostly-melodic track "Let It Die". The album progresses from hard rock to melodic rock, back and forth, until the track "Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners", an instrumental that seems influenced by southern rock (it sounds like banjos) and reminds me of all the pictures from the late 1800s/early 1900s that I've seen of coal miners (being from Pennsylvania and all).

Following "Ballad" is "Statues", an unexpected twist involving pianos and a more easy-listening side of the Foo Fighters that I never thought I'd hear.

Grohl's voice is well-suited to sing these piano-driven ballad-like melodies, and really makes these songs sound, in a sense, romantic. The range and dynamic nature of music that the band has been able to harness is a true testament to their long and illustrious careers in the music biz, and more so to the diversity that Grohl has been able to show through his mastery of both voice, drums, and guitar.

If you have diverse tastes in music, I would highly recommend this album; there is something for everyone, regardless of your favorite genre.