American rock and roll. There truly is nothing like it. Steve Miller Band, Joe Walsh, The Eagles, Jimi Hendrix, Kansas…and the list goes on and on with American bands and artists that have made history with albums that have inspired the next generations to keep on rocking. And no, rock is not dead!
Here in this modern era of music, we have been privileged to some truly amazing rock music. Pearl Jam, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Gaslight Anthem to name a very few. From all this I think it is safe to say that so much of the music we enjoy today may not have the same edge if it wasn’t for Dave Grohl’s first gig; Nirvana.
Like it or not, Nirvana is our generation’s Led Zeppelin. Pure and simple. Hard hitting and too shortly lived due to the death of Kurt Cobain, they were “IT.”
After Nirvana ended, what was an agnst-filled 90’s rocker to do? Well, obviously completely self write, play, and record an entire album all on your own. Thus we were given the Foo Fighter’s first 1995 album. No one believed it was the work of one man. Since then we have been thoroughly impressed with the hit albums that Grohl and his band have written.
Wasting Light was probably their best album of the seven, but their eighth and newest is evidently so much better. How?
You have probably heard of the way in which they went about recording Sonic Highways; traveling to eight different cities to record the eight songs in eight different world famous studios. I personally have to catch up on the chronicling documentary, but it says to me that they were searching for something…perhaps trying to catch the soul reminiscent of the Muscle Shoals sessions?
Well if there is one word that I can use to sum up Sonic Highways it would be SOUL. Grohl has tapped into the spirit and the inspiration of American rock and roll – the history, the grit, and the beauty of it. Amazingly done in just eight songs, but when you sit and listen that is all the Foo Fighters need to make their statement that rock is not even close to dead. If it was, they just charged up their defibrillator paddles in the form of turned up guitars and gave rock a 30,000 volt shock to the chest! The first track and single “Something From Nothing” is a guitarists dream! The three six strings the Foo Fighters already have, add the legendary Rick Nielsen to amp up the energy even more and you have a classic!
The riffs and beats that make up the rest of the Sonic Highways are heavy and fast, soft and impactful. The lyrics are picturesque and thankfully full of what may sit inside Grohl’s head as he ponders what modern rock music should even be. But he obviously does not need to ponder too hard because this album seemed to come together quite organically. I fully realize that the Foo Fighters are an extremely well known and popular band, and for that reason maybe not everyone’s cup of tea; but I believe that is because they have stuck to their guns and have continued to produce great rock music. No gimmicks, nothing too crazy, and retaining a simplicity that carries rock music through American history as maybe one of the most colorful pieces of our violent history.
From old hits like “Free Bird” to “Carry On Wayward Son” to “Old Time Rock and Roll,” you could ask yourself where have those kinds of songs gone? Is rock dead? Did it die when The Who called it quits for good? When the Rolling Stones are done with their last 50 shows after 50 years? Well may I suggest to follow the lead of the Foo Fighters and just let it live on. Sonic Highways helps rock live on with a very beautiful sounding collection of songs, born in some of America’s most historically laden studios. Rock is alive and well my friends. Alive and well.
Rating: 5/5