To The Power of One (One By One - Foo Fighters)

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Product:	One By One - Foo Fighters
Date:	02.02.03 (131 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some Good Songs, They Still Rock, Slight Change in Sound

Disadvantages: Lacks real hard rock edge of first record

When Nirvana ended after the death of Kurt Cobain, no one would have expected Dave Grohl to come out from behind the drum kit and be a great songsmith in his own right. During his time in Nirvana his solo contribution was a hollow little B-Side tune called Marigold. But now he fronts the Foo Fighters and with this their fourth album he shows no signs of slowing down. The first self entitled album was a very raw affair full of grunge anthems and no sign of real production gloss in sight. The second album 'The Colour And The Shape' was a more polished affair with a mix of grungy tunes and more heartfelt songwriting. 'Nothing To Lose' was a far more mellow affair but in my opinion the Foo's best album for songwriting and quality. 'One By One' is an interesting record when you consider the bands previous output.

The record starts out with 'All My Life', this was the kind of record that the Foo's needed to come back. It starts out pretty subdued but you know that it's just about to kick off and then it does, the chorus is off course instantly one that belongs in the arena of stadium rock. "Done, Done, On to the next one.." is what Grohl howls throughout and so the record continues.

'Low' get's straight in with a good guitar riff and some thundering drums, the vocals are at a different pace, almost whispered. You know this song is going somewhere, it's building and building before it goes for another verse just when you think the chorus is about to kick in. Then it does as Grohl sings "taking you as low as you go". This is a sing that isn't too bad, it grows on you after a few listens.

'Have It All' is one of the best songs on the album, it has a great intro and a great riff. The verses are are driven by some simple guitar and blistering drums before a chorus that mellows "She drinks me when I'm empty....in too deep, she's spilling over me&q
uot;. All the while the track sucks you in with some a simple guitar riff that's sure to have them jumping at the live shows.

'Times Like These' is the second single to be released so you may have heard. It's another track that opens with a fuzzy guitar riff and great drums, it then mellows out a bit before upping the tempo slightly with the chorus. It's a song that's a real grower, at first you may find it a bit dull but stick with it.

'Disenchanted Lullaby' is a song that starts off very subdued, almost depressed. This carries on throughout the verses before Grohl kicks it up a notch with some howling vocals on the chorus before settling down to the verse again. Again it's a song that maybe won't grab you on the first few listens but give it time.

'Tired Of You' starts with a simple riff that is reverbed through it's amp. Don't expect a lot of hard rocking on this track, it's the kind of song that would be played midway through a set when the pace needs to be sloweed down and Grohl takes the song on himself. Once again it's a song that slowly grows on you.

'Halo' is another of the best songs on the album, it's one of the tracks that has more gloss on it's production. It's nicely arranged with no instruments taking the fore, the verses start at a nice pace before things ramp up nicely into the howling chorus of "Halo, god only knows. Right behind me wherever I go". I can see this being a future single.

'Lonely As You' is a song that starts out very slow like a lot of the tracks on the previous album. But then it ramps up with some guitar before rocking it's chorus up. It then moves along at a normal Foo's pace before building up a to a great finish.

'Overdrive' is one of those happy Foo's songs that has some fuzzy guitar on it's intro but it seems to be having a good time with itself. Gro
hls unmistakeable vocals take hold on the verses before you get a catchy chorus to move things along. It's a well produced track and again another contender for a future single.

'Burn Away' starts off with a riff you could swear was taken off a Green Day record. Then it moves into a more mellower pace, this is one of those songs that is alway thrown towards the end of a record. As things build into something that you can see a crowd singing along with.

'Come Back' is the perfect end to the album, it runs for over seven minutes and is a bit of an epic. It moves along with some great fuzzy guitar and not much in the way of lyrics, it then moves into more mellower territory and a change of direction in the sound before going all out rock again with the words "I will come back" then it fades out to an end.

'One By One' is another solid Foo Fighters album, personally I don't think it's the best they've released but with every record they change their sound more. This certainly misses some of the anthems that have been on previous records apart from the opening track. But then this is a record that grows on you after a few listens. The same thing happened to me with the last Foo's album. At first I wasn't too keen as it seemed far too mellow. But then I got into it and it became my favourite Foo's album. I can't say the same about this one but it's still a good record when compared to some of the dreck they call rock from the USA. If you're a fan of the band then you probably have this already, casual fans won't be disappointed either. If you can see if you can pick up a copy with the bonus dvd that features some amusing video clips as well as the 'All My Life' video.

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