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Since their debut album
dropped back in 1995, the Foo Fighters have released 3 albums,
including their most recent "One By One". The Foo Fighters
have established themselves as a band with extremely strong
capabilities; however, their stay on the main stream music
scene can be described as anything, but consistent. Their self
titled debut provided the band with mixed criticism, as
critics relayed concerns in regards to the staying power of
the band. With that in mind, the Foo Fighters did manage to
create a fan base for themselves. In other words, their debut
album was not one that shined bright in everyone's mind;
however, it shined bright enough in the minds of enough people
to place the Foo Fighters on the map.
The bands sophomore release, "Colour and the Shape" proved to
be the release that caught the attention of the masses. This
release proved to everyone that the Foo Fighters were here to
stay, and with good reason. The album contained a few highly
successful singles, but more importantly the entire set list
was stable enough to allow listeners to enjoy the entire
compilation for quite some time. It wasn't long after that
garage bands began mimicking the Foo Fighter's and their hit
singles. The Foo Fighters were at this point superstars.
Two years passed until their third release,"There is Nothing
Left to Lose", hit the store shelves. The album contained
enough of a spark to light many people's minds, but I was
unimpressed with the release. I had found that their new style
had drifted too far the sound that caught my attention
originally. For that reason I cast the Foo Fighters aside and
cautiously began anticipating their next release.
It has been three (3) years since the Foo Fighters last
released an album ("There is Nothing Left to Lose"). For
whatever reason, I feel that the Foo Fighters used the extra
time very wisely. In fact, during my first listen of the album
I was impressed at not only the sound buzzing from my
speakers, but at the fact each track exhibits its own feel.
The individual tracks come together quite nicely, expressing
the passion that was present during the recording of the
album.
"One By One" is a collection of twelve (12) songs or 0:58
minutes of heart-driven rock music. During those fifty-eight
minutes you can expect to hear a solid effort driven by the
style that the Foo Fighters portrayed on their second release;
the release that stood them out from all of the ordinary rock
bands on the scene at that time. The main difference between
"One By One" and their sophomore album is the fact that this
release shows the growth of the band since 1997; both
lyrically and instrumentally. The band has evolved
significantly, while revisiting the style that many listeners
had nearly forgotten about.
There are several upsides to this album; in fact I found more
upsides than downsides. After reading the previous five
paragraphs you could almost feel certain that my rating of the
album would approach 100, but be aware that some flaws exist
(as in many albums that release today). "One By One" is filled
with a handful of stellar songs, as well as some downright
surprises. The album as a whole is concrete, significantly
better than their previous release, and packed tightly with
passion and desire. From the vocals, to the guitar rifts, to
the pounding drums, the Foo Fighters have developed into a
band worthy of sitting amongst any rock band currently on the
scene.
"One By One" is a remarkable release in the sense that the
band restates their original sound, but the album lacks a
complete set list. It is evident that the band is pouring its
heart and soul into their music, but some of the songs leave
your mind spinning circles waiting for an ending. I didn't
find the album to be boring and I did notice the depth that
the band holds within, yet I am not certain that the band
couldn't have bettered its effort. For example, Track 8 is
sung a bit off key (at times), which may have been the bands
intent, however, it just doesn't sound good. The
instrumentation sounds great and on most of the tracks the
lyrics compliment the song nicely, but some of the songs (in
general) just lack to gain the listeners attention.
In conclusion, The Foo Fighters have grown significantly as a
band, yet their newest attempt is no better than their
sophomore release; in fact it is not as good. This album
contains a handful of great tracks, but most of the tracks on
this album are simply OK. The re-playability is fairly high
because you can enjoy almost every song on "One by One", but
you wouldn't find many of these songs making it onto your
favorite mixed CDs. If you are a fan of the Foo Fighters then
be sure to pick this up, but if you are reluctant in any sense
then sample this first. I am not sure that I would use my hard
earned money to purchase this, but that is not to say that it
is not good. A lot of people are going to like this and they
should, but I will be very surprised to see this rated higher
than 90/100 on any site.
Track Listing:
01 All My Life
02 Low
03 Have It All
04 Times Like These
05 Disenchanted Lullaby
06 Tired Of You
07 Halo
08 Lonely As You
09 Overdrive
10 Burn Away
11 Come Back
12 Danny Says (Bonus Track)
Ramz Rating: 4 out of 5
Planets
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