by Joe Jamnitzky
Whenever a band or artist become huge over the years, sometimes it can result in the general public forgetting the impact of their debut. Such is the case with Foo Fighters’ self-titled debut.
Let’s face it, everybody knows who Dave Grohl is. The man’s reputation is everywhere, and with almost 30 years in the business, it shows no signs of slowing. The body of work he has put together, from his time in Nirvana up to the Sound City documentary and soundtrack, and everything in between, as well as playing with everyone from Paul McCartney to John Paul Jones, is the sort of thing most musicians only dream of. While the argument could be made that it all started with Nirvana, I personally feel it started here.
Shortly after Nirvana disbanded, Grohl almost quit music. He didn’t want to be just a drummer in another band. Eventually he decided to start his own project, so, armed with a backlog of songs that he had, he booked some studio time and went about recording.
Now, there are a number of things that make this album stand out from subsequent Foo Fighters albums. For one, the recording of it. At this point, he had not yet formed an actual band; as a result, he played everything himself. Literally. With the exception of one guitar part, the debut album finds Grohl playing all drums, bass, guitars, and vocals. The results were certainly eye-opening; at the time (1995), this wasn’t as common a practice as it is now, and it showed just how much talent actually resided within the man. Secondly, the entire album was recorded in a week. Yup, a week. Nowadays we’re lucky if our favorite artist manages to record one part of a song in a week, let alone 16 songs total (four of those were B-sides, but still).
Then there was the buildup to the release. Rather than put his name on it, he decided to hide his identity by naming it “Foo Fighters”, and pressed 100 LPs and 100 cassettes, solely to give to friends for feedback. Obviously, his identity would soon be found out, and a bidding war took place between major labels. It was only after he signed a deal that the album was given a proper mix for release. Once a release was imminent, Grohl finally put a band together, consisting of former Germs and Nirvana guitarist Pat Smear, along with bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith, both from Sunny Day Real Estate, in order to perform live. As many know, the lineup wouldn’t last (if anything, it would take 6-7 years before Foo Fighters would end up having a solidified lineup).
When the album came out, it immediately garnered positive reviews. Despite critics drawing comparisons to Nirvana (understandable given how recent everything with them was), upon closer listen the comparisons don’t really hold up. This is a much different beast. For one thing, there is a much more pop aspect to it. Dave Grohl is an out and out rocker, without a doubt, but he’s one that knows how to craft rock into something that everyone can enjoy. One listen to “Big Me”, and the Mentos-inspired video that promoted it, showed that he was more than capable of coming up with straightforward, catchy tunes, as well as having a sense of humor that would become one of the most notable aspects of both himself and the band.
Then there’s the fact that, again, this album was the work of one man, while every following album would see recording done by the band as a whole. This causes the album to stand out due to having a sound all its own. It isn’t as clearly defined or produced as all subsequent albums, but that’s part of the appeal; no Foo Fighters album would ever sound like this one, due to the quickness in recording and mixing.
Overall, this is an album that is, in my opinion, excellent from start to finish. I love when I can’t pick any standout tracks in a case like this, because the entire album is just that good. If you need a reminder of just how things started, watch the video for “I’ll Stick Around” below; not only was it their very first video, but it’s a song that people always remember as soon as they hear it. Try to get them to remember it only by name, though, and it can be a bit difficult.
That’s not their fault, though. With the massive success that both Foo Fighters and Dave Grohl would go on to have, we sometimes forget where it all started, especially when it’s an album that was released almost 20 years ago. Fortunately for us, it is still there to be revisited and rediscovered, and stands as one of the most surprising and excellent debut albums from a man who would go on to prove just how much talent he has.
We all gotta start somewhere….
gdlr_rp
