In Your Honor
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In Your Honor is the fifth album by the Foo Fighters, released on June 14, 2005. It is the band's second best selling album behind 1997's The Colour and the Shape.
Development
Much of the album's theme and content came after Grohl spent time on the campaign trail with John Kerry during the 2004 Presidential Election. "We'd pull in to small towns, and thousands of people would come to be rescued by this man," said Grohl. "It's not a political record, but what I saw inspired me."[1]
Dave Grohl has stated that the song, "Friend of a Friend", was written about former Nirvana bandmate Kurt Cobain, during the time they shared an apartment together in 1990. Contrary to the somber tone of the song, it was written before Cobain's death in 1994.[2]
In Your Honor features a number of special guests on its second, mellower disc, such as, for example, Norah Jones, John Paul Jones (of Led Zeppelin fame) and Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age. Dave Grohl has described John Paul Jones' guest appearance as the "second greatest thing to happen to me in my life."
On an episode of Making the Video on MTV, for the single "Best of You", Grohl said that he hopes that the Foo Fighters are most remembered for this album.
Release
The album was leaked on the internet in late May 2005.
There is also a special edition DualDisc set that contains a "making of" documentary, and the second disc in 5.1 surround sound.
In the U.S., the MediaMax CD-3 copy protection system is used. This copy protection only appears on the standard CD version of the album, but not on the DualDisc version.
Reception
Described by leader Dave Grohl as the "ultimate" Foo Fighters album, In Your Honor was generally met with receptive reviews. It entered the U.S. and UK charts at #2 behind Coldplay's X&Y with the strongest initial sales of their entire career thus far. In Your Honor sold 310,500 copies in its first week of release in the U.S. and as of October 2006 stands at 1,261,000 units sold.
This album was the third Foo Fighters album to have a song reach the top of the Modern Rock Tracks, and the first to top the chart with two songs, "Best of You," and "DOA," the band's sixth studio album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace achieved the feat as well with "The Pretender" and "Long Road to Ruin." It continued the pattern of every Foo Fighters album to have more weeks at the top of the chart than the one before it. (There Is Nothing Left to Lose - 1 week, One By One - 10 weeks, In Your Honor - 13 weeks, Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace - 22 weeks).
Track listing
All songs written by Foo Fighters, except as indicated.
Disc one
- "In Your Honor" – 3:50
- "No Way Back" – 3:17
- "Best of You" – 4:16
- "DOA" – 4:12
- "Hell" – 1:57
- "The Last Song" – 3:19
- "Free Me" – 4:39
- "Resolve" – 4:49
- "The Deepest Blues Are Black" – 3:58
- "End Over End" – 5:56
UK/Vinyl bonus track
- "The Sign" – 4:01 UK/Vinyl bonus track
Disc two
- "Still" – 5:13
- "What If I Do?" – 5:02
- "Miracle" – 3:29
- "Another Round" – 4:25
- "Friend of a Friend" (Dave Grohl) – 3:13
- "Over and Out" – 5:16
- "On the Mend" – 4:31
- "Virginia Moon" – 3:49
- "Cold Day in the Sun" – 3:20
- "Razor" (Dave Grohl) – 4:53
Personnel
Band line-up during recording
- Dave Grohl – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Chris Shiflett – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Nate Mendel – bass
- Taylor Hawkins – drums, percussion, vocals
Additional musicians
- Joe Beebe – guitar on "Virginia Moon"
- Danny Clinch – harmonica on "Another Round"
- Petra Haden – violin on "Miracle"
- Josh Homme – guitar on "Razor"
- Rami Jaffee – keyboards on "Still", "What If I Do?", "Another Round", "Over and Out", "On the Mend" and "Cold Day in the Sun"
- John Paul Jones – piano on "Miracle", mandolin on "Another Round"
- Norah Jones – vocals and piano on "Virginia Moon"
- Nick Raskulinecz – double bass on "On the Mend", bass on "Cold Day in the Sun"
Production
- Nick Raskulinecz – production
- Foo Fighters – production
- Mike Terry – engineering
- Nick Raskulinecz – mixing (disc one)
- Elliot Scheiner – mixing (disc two)
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
Artwork
- Dan Winters – photography
- Danny Clinch – photography
- Brett Kilroe – additional art and "Crest" concept
- Robin C. Hendrickson – additional art and "Crest" concept
- Kevin Reagan – art direction
- Kevin Reagan – design
- Bret Healey – design
Album charts
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Official Sweden Albums Chart | 1 |
| 2005 | Official Finland Albums Chart | 1 |
| 2005 | Official Australian Albums Chart | 1 |
| 2005 | Official New Zealand Albums Chart | 1 |
| 2005 | Billboard Top 200 | 2 |
| 2005 | Official UK Albums Chart | 2 |
| 2005 | Official Norway Albums Chart | 2 |
| 2005 | Official Irish Albums Chart | 2 |
| 2005 | Official Canadian Albums Chart | 3 |
| 2005 | Official Belgium Albums Chart | 3 |
| 2005 | Official German Albums Chart | 4 |
| 2005 | Official Austrian Album Charts | 5 |
| 2005 | Official Holland Albums Chart | 5 |
| 2005 | Official Denmark Albums Chart | 5 |
| 2005 | Official Switzerland Albums Chart | 7 |
| 2005 | Official Holland Albums Chart | 11 |
| 2005 | Official Greece Albums Chart | 19 |
| 2005 | Official Italian Albums Chart | 20 |
| 2005 | Official Portugal Albums Chart | 20 |
| 2005 | Official French Albums Chart | 21 |
| 2005 | Official Spanish Albums Chart | 31 |
| 2005 | Official Czech Republic Albums Chart | 34 |
| 2005 | Official Brazil Albums Chart | 37 |
| 2007 | Official UK Rock Albums Chart | 1 |
Charting singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Best of You" | Official UK Singles Chart | 4 |
| 2005 | "Best of You" | Official Australian Singles Chart | 4 |
| 2005 | "Best of You" | U.S. Modern Rock Tracks | 1 |
| 2005 | "Best of You" | U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 |
| 2005 | "Best of You" | Billboard Hot 100 (U.S.) | 18 |
| 2005 | "Best of You" | Official Irish Singles Chart | 20 |
| 2005 | "Best of You" | Official Italian Singles Chart | 36 |
| 2005 | "Best of You" | Official New Zealand Singles Chart | 38 |
| 2005 | "Best of You" | Official Sweden Singles Chart | 41 |
| 2005 | "Best of You" | Official Holland Singles Chart | 94 |
| 2005 | "DOA" | Official UK Singles Chart | 25 |
| 2005 | "DOA" | U.S. Modern Rock Tracks | 1 |
| 2005 | "DOA" | U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks | 6 |
| 2005 | "DOA" | Official Australian Singles Chart | 39 |
| 2005 | "DOA" | Official Irish Singles Chart | 40 |
| 2005 | "DOA" | Official Holland Singles Chart | 33 |
| 2005 | "DOA" | Official New Zealand Singles Chart | 34 |
| 2005 | "DOA" | Billboard Hot 100 (U.S.) | 68 |
| 2005 | "DOA" | Official Holland Singles Chart | 86 |
| 2005 | "Resolve" | BBC Radio 1 Chart | 2 |
| 2006 | "Resolve" | Official UK Singles Chart | 32 |
| 2006 | "Resolve" | Official New Zealand Singles Chart | 39 |
| 2006 | "Resolve" | Official Holland Singles Chart | 82 |
| 2006 | "No Way Back" | U.S. Modern Rock | 2 |
| 2006 | "No Way Back" | U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks | 6 |
| 2006 | "No Way Back/Cold Day in the Sun" | Official UK singles Chart | 64 |
Grammy Nominations
Although it was the band's first album since The Colour and the Shape to not receive a Grammy, it got the most nominations, with 5 (which has since been tied by the album's successor, Echoes, Silence, Patience, & Grace). Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace however, won two of the Grammys it was nominated for, (Best Rock Album and Best Hard Rock Performance for "The Pretender."
- Best Rock Album
- Best Rock Song - "Best of You"
- Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals - "Virginia Moon"
- Best Surround Sound Album
- Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal - "Best of You"
Notes
- ^ [1] "Foos Reclaim Their Honor" - Dave Grohl interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, 2005
- ^ [2] "Everyone Has Their Dark Side" - Dave Grohl interview with Q Magazine, 2005
