October 22, 2002 - One By One

Two weeks after my last release and three years since their last album "There Is Nothing Left To Lose", Foo Fighters released their fourth album "One By One" on October 22, 2002. Foo Fighters return to a four-piece on this album with the addition of new guitarist Chris Shiflett and he and Dave Grohl split the lead and rhythm guitarist duties. This is also Foo Fighters heaviest album so far as the band really tried to capture the energy of their live performances with some louder, more aggressive music.  Sounds good to me, let's check it out!

The album kicks off with it's lead single "All My Life" and it's driven by a pretty simple rhythm guitar riff and Grohl sings a nice light verse overtop, until the rest of the band comes slamming in. There's some cool drums by Taylor Hawkins, some cool lead guitar by Shiflett and a nice louder verse sung by Grohl. The chorus is super catchy and pretty solid with some more cool guitars and it's no surprise at all this became a pretty huge single. After another solid round they set up nicely for a nice headbanging finish with Grohl yelling pretty loudly and sounding pretty sweet! They definitely came out firing on this album, a wonderful way to start things off! The next three songs would all become singles as well and up next is "Low" which has some nice fast drums by Hawkins, some solid bass by Nate Mendel and some fast, heavy guitars by both Grohl and Shiflett that makes for a pretty cool main riff. Grohl's verse is decent but it's pretty light, a little too light for the music in my opinion. The chorus has some more fast guitars that sound good and Grohl sings a more pop-y chorus overtop. Not Dave's best vocal performance, but a good song nonetheless. Track 3 is "Have It All" and it's got a super catchy main riff that drives things along and the other guitarist comes in and out for emphatic louder parts that add a nice extra oomph. Grohl and Shiflett play off each other really nicely on this song and Grohl sings a nice loud verse, followed by another lighter, pop-y chorus, albeit still with some solid guitars. They stick to the main drag for most of this one, but they do end things on a nice heavy note. The next track is "Times Like These" and it's easy to see why it's one of their biggest hits with Grohl and Shiflett playing two different guitar riffs that are both pretty damn catchy, and combined it makes for a no-brainer of a single, it's done so smoothly! Grohl sings a bouncy verse that matches the mood perfectly and the chorus is super smooth and pop-y, how could you not bop your head along?! It comes complete with a "whoa-ohhhh" sing-along part and this song was made for giant stadiums, a pretty perfect rock and roll single. Track 5 is "Disenchanted Lullaby" and it's easily the slowest song so far. Hawkins plays a nice drum beat and Shiflett and Grohl combine two different light guitar riffs nicely in the verse. Grohl nicely belts out the chorus overtop some hard-hitting guitars as they nicely spice things up before settling down for another slow verse. That pretty much sums up this one! Up next is "Tired Of You" and Grohl plays a quiet, pretty simple guitar riff to keep the pace and sings a quiet, light verse to match the mood. This song actually has guest guitar by Brian May from Queen, but you wouldn't know it, the guitar is super simple and light the whole way through. I think it's easily the worst song on the album, it's just very bland, what waste of May's talents! Track 7 is "Halo" and we're back to some pretty catchy and smooth guitar to drive another catchy verse with some solid bass by Mendel and another smooth verse sung by Grohl. Things start to pick up as they reach the chorus when the guitars get louder and Grohl holds some nice long yells. After a couple rounds there's an instrumental break where a solo could have gone, but they're happy to just jam out the main riff and stick to the main drag. The next track is "Lonely As You" and Grohl starts us off with a light but solid verse overtop some similarly light but solid guitar. After one quiet verse the rest of the band nicely fills in the rest of the riff for another catchy main riff. The chorus is super catchy and groovy and it's hard not to get into it! After another solid round Shiflett and Grohl each get a chance to show off a bit in a cool part then Grohl belts out the final chorus in a pretty solid finish! Track 9 is called "Overdrive" and one guitarist plays a speedy rhythm riff that keeps the pace nicely while the other plays a slower lead guitar riff that catchily drives things along. The chorus is pretty repetitive and not their most exciting, but it's still a decently catchy tune that keeps your toe tapping away. Up next is "Burn Away" and one guitarist plays a solid main riff, and the rest of the band nicely comes in and out with a loud, thundering rhythm section. Grohl sings a soft verse and as they like to do they move into a loud, heavier chorus with some solid louder singing by Grohl as well. He does a nice yelling part towards the end and although the pace was slow, it was a solid tune. The final song on the album is the near eight minute track "Come Back" and it's driven by a pretty cool main guitar riff and a nice rhythm section that matches the mood with some solid bass by Mendel. Grohl sings a light verse that rolls perfectly overtop this main riff and things roll very smoothly into a loud and catchy chorus. Grohl just shouts "I will come back" over and over, but he sounds pretty good doing it and the guitars sound heavy and solid. After a couple rounds everything stops but an acoustic guitar riff by Grohl and it sounds pretty epic and cool and the rest of the band starts to build around it, including a cool drum beat by Hawkins. After several minutes things have built up and Shiflett is playing some cool lead guitar. They eventually make their way back to a final chorus and then nicely finish off the song and album on a nice heavy note.

That is the end of "One By One" and I thought it was a pretty good album! It was a huge step up from their mostly light last album and this album was filled with lots of super catchy riffs and verses. Dave Grohl just churns out some nice hard-rock, but radio-friendly stuff and there were a couple parts that were really good indeed! I think it easily surpasses the self-titled debut as well, but "The Colour And The Shape" was also a good album. It's a little more pop-y so I give the nod to this latest album as their best one yet! Keep it rolling Foo Fighters!