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Foo
Fighters
One By One
label: RCA
released: 10.22.01
our score: 3.0 out of 5.0
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After three
highly successful albums, it became pretty obvious Dave Grohl
and his Foo Fighters had a bit more going for them than simply
being a band to rise from the ashes of Nirvana. Still, as the
albums progressed (and this is most notable with There Is
Nothing Left To Lose), the Foos began to appear as more and
more a novelty act than a real rock band with any substance. Their
videos, while amusing, rarely took anything seriously and this
attitude started to flow over into the music. Nothing
was the biggest culprit here, oftentimes indulging in a bit more
pop sensibility than rock credibility.
One By
One is setting the record straight: Foo Fighters are
a rock band. Maybe it had something to do with Grohl's stint recently
with Queens of the Stone Age, maybe it didn't - but there's no
denying the obvious tendency toward harder-edged rock. It's much
more akin to their self-titled debut and bits of The Color
and the Shape (or even more like Nirvana).
The album starts
out strong enough, with the debut single "All My Life"
following the rock formula Grohl's gotten so accustomed to using
(whisper a few words, then sing, then scream. Repeat). And while
this formulaic approach to songwriting may tend to lead to a feeling
of repetition and monotony, each song does stand extremely well
in the context of the album as well as individually. "Have
It All" and "Halo" are proof enough of this. And
then there's the ballad-esque and jaded "Disenchanted Lullaby"
- it's one of the finer points on the disc, if for no other reason
that it helps to break things apart a wee bit.
No, Foo Fighters
aren't ever going to take over for Nirvana as some people keep
hoping (whether they admit it or not) each time an album comes
out. And no, they're not going to save rock either. But like always
they've put forth a rock-solid album. Only this time it's built
from granite, not sandstone.
06-Nov-2002
6:52 PM
If you
liked One By One...
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Tracklist:
1.
All My Life
2. Low
3. Have It All
4. Times Like These
5. Disenchanted Lullaby
6. Tired
7. Halo
8. Lonely As You
9. Overdrive
10. Burn Away
11. Come Back
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