The Colour and the Shape

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The Colour and the Shape
Studio album by Foo Fighters
Released May 20, 1997
Recorded October - December 1996 at Bear Creek Studios, Woodinville, Washington, December 1996 at WGNS Studios in Washington, DC, January – February 1997 at Grandmaster Recorders in Hollywood, California
Genre Alternative rock, post-grunge, hard rock
Length 46:47
Label Roswell, Capitol
Producer Foo Fighters,
Gil Norton
Professional reviews
Foo Fighters chronology
Foo Fighters
(1995)		 The Colour and the Shape
(1997)		 There Is Nothing Left to Lose
(1999)
Singles from The Colour and the Shape
  1. "Monkey Wrench"
    Released: April 28, 1997
  2. "Everlong"
    Released: August 18, 1997
  3. "My Hero"
    Released: January 19, 1998
  4. "Walking After You"
    Released: August 18, 1998

The Colour and the Shape is the Foo Fighters' second album. It was released on May 20, 1997, through Roswell/Capitol Records. The album reached number three in the UK and number ten in the United States. The Colour and the Shape is the Foo Fighters' biggest U.S. seller, having sold over two million copies according to Nielsen SoundScan.[1]

The album was in total nominated for 5 VMAs in 1997 and 1998, for the videos "Monkey Wrench" and "Everlong." It was also a Grammy nominee for Best Rock Album in 1998.

Contents

[edit] Background

The album was the debut of the Foo Fighters as a band, as frontman Dave Grohl had recorded all of the first album by himself with the exception of one guitar part by Greg Dulli. The Colour and the Shape was produced by Gil Norton, who was perhaps best known for his work with the Pixies. It was loosely conceived by Grohl as a concept album which documented the beginning and end of a romantic relationship. Over the course of the making of the album, Grohl's own marriage to photographer Jennifer Youngblood ultimately ended in divorce.

After six weeks of work at Bear Creek Studios in Woodinville, Washington, the band took two weeks off from recording. Grohl returned to Virginia and wrote several new songs, recording one of them, "Walking After You", by himself at WGNS Studios in Washington, DC. The band (minus drummer William Goldsmith) relocated to Grandmaster Recorders in Hollywood, California, and re-recorded most of the album with Grohl performing the drum tracks.

Even though the Foo Fighters are an American band, the word 'Colour' in the album title is always spelled with the British spelling. This was a nod to producer Norton, who is British. To commemorate the album's tenth anniversary, it was re-released on July 10, 2007, and included six previously released B-sides, consisting of "Dear Lover", "The Colour and the Shape", and four covers, including "Baker Street".

[edit] Track listing

All songs were written by Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, and Pat Smear except where noted.

  1. "Doll"- 1:23
  2. "Monkey Wrench"- 3:51
  3. "Hey, Johnny Park!" – 4:08
  4. "My Poor Brain" – 3:33
  5. "Wind Up" – 2:32
  6. "Up in Arms" – 2:15
  7. "My Hero" – 4:20
  8. "See You" – 2:26
  9. "Enough Space" (Grohl) – 2:37
  10. "February Stars" – 4:49
  11. "Everlong" (Grohl) – 4:10
  12. "Walking After You" (Grohl) – 4:07
  13. "New Way Home" - 5:40
B-sides released as bonus tracks on expanded edition
  1. "Requiem" (Killing Joke cover) – 3:33
  2. "Drive Me Wild" (Vanity 6 cover) – 3:13
  3. "Down in the Park" (Gary Numan cover) – 4:08
  4. "Baker Street" (Gerry Rafferty cover) – 5:37
  5. "Dear Lover" – 4:32
  6. "The Colour and the Shape" – 3:23
iTunes bonus track
  1. "See You" (Acoustic) – 2:28

[edit] Track information

[edit] Doll

"Doll" is a short, quiet, ballad style song at first featuring at first one clean guitar and quiet, slightly distorted vocals. Drums, bass and a second guitar enter on the second verse, and the distortion on the vocals is removed. Grohl stated that is "basically a song about being afraid to enter into something you're not prepared for."[2]"

[edit] Monkey Wrench

"Monkey Wrench" contrasts with "Doll" as a heavy, fast-paced song, featuring distorted guitars, and loud vocals. The song is notable for its intro riff and the bridge section in which Grohl delivers a long series of lyrics in an aggressive shouting voice. Grohl stated that it was "a song about realising that you are the source of all of the problems in a relationship and you love the other person so much, you want to free them of the problem, which is actually yourself. It was a riff that turned into another riff that turned into another riff and ended up being a nice little power punk song."[3]

In another interview, Grohl stated his pride in the song, "I consider myself a natural drummer rather than a natural guitar player, even though I started playing guitar first. When I was 12 I had my little Silvertone guitar and I'd sit down with 'The Beatles Songbook' and try to figure out the songs, one by one. It was a real challenge! I started out writing songs for the same reason, just to challenge myself, to see if I could actually do it. With Monkey Wrench I remember I had the main riff, but I didn't have the little jangly riff that goes over the top of it and I thought it needed something. So I came up with the jangly riff and thought 'Oh my God this is never gonna fly! Everyone's gonna hate it'. But I was really excited the first time I heard it on the radio - it was in the middle of a load of mid-'90s grunge shit and I thought it was so killer."[4] The song was released as the first single from the album in 1997.

[edit] Hey, Johnny Park!

In this song the Foo Fighters experiment for the first time on the album with the soft verse, loud chorus dynamic which can be heard on the first album with "For All the Cows". It is notable as being a rare example of a Foo Fighters song featuring synthesisers. The first two verses feature sparse guitar lines, mixed with choruses featuring heavier instrumentation. After the second chorus the song goes into a bridge section that reprises the intro riff, and into a final verse (featuring loud distorted guitars) and then a final chorus. The lyrics to the song follow a series of different themes, as Grohl noted himself, ""Oh, my God, that song's about 15 different things! The only reason why it's called 'Hey, Johnny Park!' is because when I was young, my best friend was this kid who lived across the street from me called Johnny Park and we were like brothers from the age of 5 to 12. I haven't heard from him since I was about 14 years old and I thought if I named a song after him he might call."[5]

[edit] My Poor Brain

"Hey, Johnny Park!" segues into "My Poor Brain" with about 25 seconds of distorted guitar, backed with bass and drums. The song alternates between quiet verses featuring Grohl's falsetto register and loud riff-based choruses delivered in a shout. Grohl says of the song, "This song's an experiment with dynamics, whether it's the lyrics or the sound of the song. It's just going from dreamy vocals to screamy vocals and Jackson Five to Black Sabbath. Sling it all in there."[6]

[edit] Wind Up

A song which lyrically is said to be "the story of the relationship between the journalist and the musician." [7]

[edit] Up in Arms

This song is introduced with a slow ballad section delivered in a low, dreamy vocal style. After the first verse and chorus there is a brief pause in which a whistle can be heard, then the drums provide a fill and the song is repeated in the style of a fast-paced rock song. Of the song, Grohl said, ""A typical love song. It's almost like a Knack song, just a simple pop song." [8] In another interview Grohl stated, "I wrote that song to be a teenage makeout song. I just love the image of two teenagers making out on the beach listening to that song." [9]

[edit] My Hero

Many fans have (wrongly) speculated that this song was a tribute to Grohl's deceased friend and bandmate, Kurt Cobain. However in actual fact this song was, in Grohl's own words, "(his) way of saying that when I was young, I didn't have big rock heroes, I didn't want to grow up and be some big sporting hero. My heroes were ordinary people and the people that I have a lot of respect for are just solid everyday people - people you can rely on." [10] This was the third single to be released from the album, and is musically quite simple, using only 4 or 5 different chords in the whole song.

[edit] See You

"See You" stands out as an unusual song for the Foo Fighters at this stage of their career, featuring predominantly bluesy acoustic guitar chords played in a swing rhythm. Grohl stated this song was, "Just another pop song. It was the one song that nobody wanted to put on the record, but it's my favourite song. I think that the only reason it ended up on the record was that I re-did the drum track to make it sound like 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' by Queen."[11]

[edit] Enough Space

This song is based mainly on a single riff, which is introduced as a bassline at the beginning, then supported with guitar. The bassline forms the only backing for the verses apart from the drums, and then the guitar enters again with the same riff as Grohl screams the chorus. Apparently "(Enough Space) is actually about a movie called Arizona Dreaming, which is one of my favourite films!" [12]

[edit] February Stars

The lyrics are said to be about about "hanging on by the tips of your fingers and hoping you don't slip and fall. [13] This song begins as a quiet, slow ballad, using chord patterns and lyrics with a melancholy feel. After the second chorus, the song builds to a loud, anthemic song with shouted vocals and distorted guitars.

This song dates back to at least January 1994, when an early take of the song was recorded by Grohl and Krist Novoselic during Nirvana's last recording session.

[edit] Everlong

The song was written when the band took a 2 week break from recording after the initial sessions. Grohl wrote "Everlong" by himself at his home in Virginia. It is considered to be one of the best songs by the band and is highly acclaimed[3]. Written in the key of D major, the song opens with a quiet, clean guitar playing the chords that will form the basis of the verse. A fast drum beat enters, which is joined by the same chords played with distortion. The verses are based on the progression I-vi-IV-vi, but with key differences to the chords. The D chord is played with an added C#, making it a major 7 chord, and this C# is retained as the bass changes to B, making a B chord with a suspended second, or a Bsus 2. This is followed by a Gsus2 chord. The ambiguity created by the suspended third gives the progression its sense of mystery and leaves it undefined whether it is happy or sad. The prechorus follows the progression I-V, but with an added guitar riff adding strength to the instrumentation as Grohl's vocals rise to a shout. The chorus uses the progression vi-IV-I (V-IV), a mainstay of rock music. The song ends on the IV chord (G major), and never resolves to the tonic as expected, giving the ending a somewhat unconcluded feel.

There is an instrumental bridge to the song, with Grohl's voice whispering indecipherable lyrics. Allegedly, the sources for the words are a love letter, a technical manual, and a story about a studio technician's father.[1] Grohl himself has only confirmed the use of the technical manual.

Grohl was apparently reduced to tears after performing the song at Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit. In the words of bandmate Taylor Hawkins, it is a "powerful song." Grohl has never given a specific meaning for the song, although there is speculation that it is about his relationship with Louise Post from Veruca Salt.

[edit] Walking After You

This song was written and recorded by Grohl on his own in a studio in Washington. This version appears on the album.

The band would later re-record the song with all the members for the X-Files soundtrack. Grohl stated, "It's an emotional, sappy song about getting dumped." [14]

[edit] New Way Home

In contrast with the previous 3 songs, this song is cheerful and optimistic in tone, featuring defiant lyrics such as "I'm not scared...". It features a long build-up section which gradually rises to create the fade-out for the album, a fast driving rock rhythm with a guitar solo. According to Grohl, "That's about winding your way through all of these songs, emotions and pitfalls and ups and downs, but at the end of the day, you realise that you're not scared any more and you're gonna make it."[15]

[edit] Bonus track information

  • "Down in the Park" was recorded in January 1996 at Bob Lang's Studio in Seattle, Washington. It was originally released on Songs in the Key of X in 1996. Early takes of "My Hero" and "Enough Space" were also recorded during the session, as well as a new take of a much older Grohl composition entitled "Butterflies".
  • "The Colour and the Shape" was recorded during the sessions at Bear Creek Studios in Woodinville, Washington.
  • "Dear Lover" was recorded during the sessions at Grandmaster Recorders in Hollywood, California. It was released on the Scream 2 soundtrack, but not as a single. It was also included as a bonus track (#14) on the Japanese release of the album.
  • "Requiem", "Drive Me Wild", and "Baker Street" were recorded for BBC Radio 1 Evening Session on April 30, 1997.
  • "Walking After You" was re-recorded in 1998 by the full band (with recent additions Taylor Hawkins and Franz Stahl) and released as a single as part of the soundtrack to the X-Files movie.
  • "Everlong" and "Monkey Wrench" have appeared as playable songs in both the Rock Band and Guitar Hero series of video games. The entire album is available for the Rock Band series, but some of the songs must be purchased as downloadable content.

[edit] Production

Foo Fighters
Additional personnel
Production
  • Gil Norton – production
  • Bradley Cook, Geoff Turner – engineering
  • Ryan Boesch, Todd Burke, Don Farwell, Ryan Hadlock, Jason Mauza – assistant engineering
  • Chris Sheldon – mixing
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering
  • Bradley Cook, Geoff Turner – recording technicians
  • Jeffery Fey, Foo Fighters, Tommy Steele – art direction
  • Jeffery Fey, George Mimnaugh – design
  • Andy Engel – logo design
  • Josh Kessler – photography

[edit] Charts

[edit] Album

Chart (1997) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Albums Chart 5
Austrian Albums Chart 19
Canadian Albums 8
Finland Albums Chart 12
French Albums Chart 24
German Albums Chart 41
New Zealand Albums Chart 10
Norwegian Albums Chart 20
Swedish Albums Chart 10
Swiss Albums Chart 50
UK Albums Chart 3
U.S. Billboard 200 10
Chart (2003) Peak
position
Finland Albums Chart (re-entry) 5

[edit] Singles

[edit] Accolades

  • Kerrang! magazine "100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" - Readers Choice #10 (1998)
  • Kerrang! magazine "100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" - Editors Choice #95 (1998)

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Cohen, Jonathan. "'Patience' takes Foo Fighters to new musical ground". Reuters. August 13, 2007.
  2. ^ http://www.fooarchive.com/headwires/colourandtheshape.htm
  3. ^ http://www.fooarchive.com/headwires/colourandtheshape.htm
  4. ^ http://www.fooarchive.com/gpb/100riffs.htm
  5. ^ http://www.fooarchive.com/headwires/colourandtheshape.htm
  6. ^ http://www.fooarchive.com/headwires/colourandtheshape.htm
  7. ^ http://www.fooarchive.com/headwires/colourandtheshape.htm
  8. ^ http://www.fooarchive.com/headwires/colourandtheshape.htm
  9. ^ http://www.sheilaomalley.com/archives/004427.html
  10. ^ http://www.fooarchive.com/headwires/colourandtheshape.htm
  11. ^ http://www.fooarchive.com/headwires/colourandtheshape.htm
  12. ^ http://www.fooarchive.com/headwires/colourandtheshape.htm
  13. ^ http://www.fooarchive.com/headwires/colourandtheshape.htm
  14. ^ http://www.fooarchive.com/headwires/colourandtheshape.htm
  15. ^ http://www.fooarchive.com/headwires/colourandtheshape.htm
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