Warham
09-24-2007, 07:47 PM
Review of Foo Fighters' 'Echoes, Silence, Patience'
Glenn Gamboa | DROPS
September 25, 2007
Considering all the turmoil of his previous band, it only makes sense that Dave Grohl tries hard to minimize drama in the Foo Fighters.
On "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace" (RCA), Grohl and the Foos stick to their tried-and-true formula of brainy, loud-soft-loud rock and thoughtful, catchy power ballads, subscribing to the ain't-broke-no-fixing theory of band development.
There's nothing wrong with being alt-rock's most dependable band - carrying an even stronger guarantee for quality than the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Green Day, who have both taken more chances and ended up with bigger successes and bigger failures.
The first single, "The Pretender," is classic Foo, a soft opening, a chorus of Grohl's raging vocals and guitar roar, a bit of a rest, then even more rage and roaring. "But Honestly" follows a similar pattern, which does make you wonder if no matter how soft a song starts out whether it ends up rocking out at the end. (It doesn't on "Home," by the way.)
Grohl does add a few more '70s rock touches over the course of "Echoes," and "Cheer Up Boys, Your Makeup Is Running" does beefily put the more fragile of the emo-wannabe bands in their places.
But mostly, "Echoes" is simply a reworking of past Foo successes - one that goes down easy and rocks out hard.
ECHOES, SILENCE,PATIENCE & GRACE. The Foo Fighters formula rocks on. In stores Tuesday. Grade: B.
Glenn Gamboa | DROPS
September 25, 2007
Considering all the turmoil of his previous band, it only makes sense that Dave Grohl tries hard to minimize drama in the Foo Fighters.
On "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace" (RCA), Grohl and the Foos stick to their tried-and-true formula of brainy, loud-soft-loud rock and thoughtful, catchy power ballads, subscribing to the ain't-broke-no-fixing theory of band development.
There's nothing wrong with being alt-rock's most dependable band - carrying an even stronger guarantee for quality than the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Green Day, who have both taken more chances and ended up with bigger successes and bigger failures.
The first single, "The Pretender," is classic Foo, a soft opening, a chorus of Grohl's raging vocals and guitar roar, a bit of a rest, then even more rage and roaring. "But Honestly" follows a similar pattern, which does make you wonder if no matter how soft a song starts out whether it ends up rocking out at the end. (It doesn't on "Home," by the way.)
Grohl does add a few more '70s rock touches over the course of "Echoes," and "Cheer Up Boys, Your Makeup Is Running" does beefily put the more fragile of the emo-wannabe bands in their places.
But mostly, "Echoes" is simply a reworking of past Foo successes - one that goes down easy and rocks out hard.
ECHOES, SILENCE,PATIENCE & GRACE. The Foo Fighters formula rocks on. In stores Tuesday. Grade: B.