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Foo Fighters (album)

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Foo Fighters is the debut album by the Foo Fighters. It was released in 1995 through Roswell and Capitol Records. It was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 1996 Grammy ceremony, but it lost to Dave Grohl's former band's album MTV Unplugged In New York by Nirvana.

History

Nearly all of the album's instrumental parts are performed by Dave Grohl. (The lone exception is a guitar part on "X-Static" provided by Afghan Whigs member Greg Dulli, with whom Grohl had performed as part of an all-star band on the 1994 Backbeat soundtrack.)

The Foo Fighters band, originally consisting of bassist Nate Mendel, guitarist Pat Smear, and drummer William Goldsmith, was formed by Grohl after the completion of the album in order to promote it on tour. Despite not appearing on the album itself, the band is featured in the liner notes and was paid royalties for the album.

Grohl had been recording his own music for years prior, releasing a cassette called Pocketwatch (under the moniker "Late!") during his time in Nirvana. The album was recorded in October 1994 in Robert Lang's Studio in Seattle with friend/producer Barrett Jones. This was the same studio where Nirvana recorded its last session just nine months prior.

The gun featured on the cover is the "XZ-38 Disintegrator Pistol," which was originally released in 1935 as a tie-in toy for the Buck Rogers comic strip and radio show. The guns were originally manufactured by Daisy, best known for their line of youth BB guns, and today remain sought-after collector's items.

The cover was shot by Grohl's then-wife, photographer Jennifer Youngblood, and, like the name of his band, reflects his interest in science fiction.

Foo Fighters reached #3 in the UK and #23 in the US, selling over one million copies in the US.

On Foo Fighters' 2005-2006 live set with Weezer, the band brought "Big Me" back into their live setlist after Weezer covered the song at several shows, as Weezer have been longtime fans of the Foo Fighters. In 1995 Dave Grohl sent Weezer leader Rivers Cuomo a copy of the Foo Fighters debut with a note saying he really liked the The Blue Album.


The album won the band their first and only MTV VMA for "Big Me."

"This Is a Call" is available as a downloadable track for the music video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

Track listing

(All songs written by Dave Grohl)

  1. "This Is a Call" – 3:53
  2. "I'll Stick Around" – 3:52
  3. "Big Me" – 2:12
  4. "Alone + Easy Target" – 4:05
  5. "Good Grief" – 4:01
  6. "Floaty" – 4:30
  7. "Weenie Beenie" – 2:45
  8. "Oh, George" – 3:00
  9. "For All the Cows" – 3:30
  10. "X-Static" – 4:13
  11. "Wattershed" – 2:15
  12. "Exhausted" – 5:45

Japanese bonus tracks

  1. "Winnebago" – 4:14
  2. "Podunk" – 3:03

Australian Tour Pack bonus CD

  1. "Winnebago" – 4:14
  2. "How I Miss You" – 4:56
  3. "Podunk" – 3:03
  4. "Ozone" – 4:17
  5. "For All the Cows (Live)" – 3:34
  6. "Wattershed (Live)" – 2:15

Personnel

  • Dave Grohl – guitar, vocals, bass guitar, drums
  • Greg Dulli – guitar on "X-Static"
  • Producers: Foo Fighters, Barrett Jones,
  • Engineer: Steve Culp
  • Mixing: Tom Rothrock, Rob Schnapf
  • Mastering: Stephen Marcussen
  • Art direction: Tim Gabor
  • Design: Tim Gabor
  • Paintings: Jaq Chartier
  • Photography: Curt Doughty, Charles Peterson, Jeff Ross, Jennifer Youngblood
  • Cover photo: Jennifer Youngblood

Chart positions

Album

Chart (1995) Peak
position
Austrian Albums Chart 13
Finland Albums Chart 21
German Albums Chart 33
New Zealand Albums Chart 2
Swedish Albums Chart 18
UK Albums Chart 3
U.S. Billboard 200 23
Chart (2003) Peak
position
Finland Albums Chart (re-entry) 3

Singles

  • "Exhausted" (1995)
  • "This Is a Call" (1995)
  • "I'll Stick Around" (1995)
  • "For All the Cows" (1995)
  • "Big Me" (1996)

Accolades

  • Kerrang! magazine "100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" - Editors Choice #19 (1998)
  • Kerrang! magazine "100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" - Readers Choice #34 (1998)
  • 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, edited by Robert Dimery (2006)
  • Rolling Stone ranked the album #2 in the Albums of the Year Critic Picks of 1995.

References

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