Untitled |
---|
The Colour and the Shape is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Foo Fighters, released on May 20, 1997. The record marked the first time
Background
editAfter recording the band's self-titled debut album all by himself—except for a guitar part on one song—Grohl put together a touring band consisting of Pat Smear on guitar, Nate Mendel on bass and William Goldsmith on drums. Foo Fighters undertook a month-long American tour in April 1995, before the release of their first album, opening for Mike Watt, then embarked on their first headlining tour in the US with Shudder to Think and Wool in July. After the tour ended in September, the band continued touring until the end of the year, visiting England, Europe, Australia and Indonesia.
The band already debuted new songs at concerts
Recording and production
edithttp://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/features/5470992.html
http://www.fooarchive.com/features/ap96.htm
http://www.fooarchive.com/features/metalhammer96.htm
http://www.fooarchive.com/features/torontostar.htm
http://www.fooarchive.com/features/bigo96.htm
http://www.fooarchive.com/features/mm96.htm
http://www.fooarchive.com/features/blahblahblah96.htm
http://www.fooarchive.com/features/inyoureye.htm
http://www.fooarchive.com/features/q96.htm
http://www.fooarchive.com/features/rage.htm
http://www.fooarchive.com/features/mmfeb97.htm
http://www.fooarchive.com/features/melodymaker0497.htm
Themes
editRelease
editThe Colour and the Shape was released on May 20, 1997, selling more than 71,000 copies in its first week.[1] It peaked at #10 on the Billboard 200, and spent 74 weeks on the chart. The album was certified gold in less than 3 months later on August 8, 1997;[2] since then it has gone double platinum in the United States.[3] All three singles released from the album entered the top ten of both Billboard rock charts. "Everlong" was the most successful out of the three, peaking at #3 on the Modern Rock Tracks, and #4 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.[4] It was also certified gold on March 31, 2006.[5]
Critical reception
editThe album gained generally positive reviews from critics, although it did not receive such high praise as the band's debut album. Blender gave it four stars out of five, praising the overall sound which "draws on arena rock as much as the apoplectic riff-thrash [Grohl] can conjure at will" http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=4992 Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic also noted the album's "glossy, arena-ready sound" as a result of "Norton's big, shiny production". http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gbfrxqthldae~T1 Jon Pareles of The New York Times felt the album "eradicates the tentativeness" of 1995's Foo Fighters, and "ring[s] with passion" as "Grohl balances power and tenderness, whipsaw riffing and wistful tunes" He also went on to praise Grohl's stronger vocals and drum work, as well as Norton's production. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D02E4D91E39F93BA25756C0A961958260
The Colour and the Shape appeared on several end-of-year best album lists. Kerrang! magazine named it album of the year, while Metal Hammer and Eye Weekly placed the album 4th and 12th respectively. The record was placed in Guitar magazine's "Albums of the Year" list, and included in the year-end list of Melody Maker and NME at 21st and 46th place respectively.[6][7] The Colour and the Shape also ranked 42nd on Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.[8] The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Rock Album category in 1998.[9]
David Browne http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,288016,00.html Grohl's musical growth loose-knit collection of songs that trace, in more straightforward language than standard alt-rock ellipticism, the start and finish of a relationship brawny, metallic, able to shift gears and tempos on a dime Dinosaur Jr with a bigger brain
Keith Moerer http://www.houstonpress.com/1997-05-22/music/rotation/ the band uses Nirvana's sonic formula (soft verse, loud chorus) a little too often it's disarming how good he is at writing and singing ballads A good album, The Colour and the Shape won't stand the music industry on its head It's not even the equal of Foo Fighters
Cheryl Botchick http://prod1.cmj.com/articles/display_article.php?id=3550 His songs and their execution reveal a new breadth that's like an emergence from a cocoon, breaking free of the heavy burden his former band's legend and coming into its own, utterly delightful form Gil Norton, producer for such alternative classics as Pixies' Doolittle, is behind the board here, and you'll feel his keep-it-in-the-red style on every one of this record's delectable, plaster-cracking riffs packed with fantastic songs
Robert Christgau http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=468&name=Foo+Fighters a solidly satisfying formal exercise follows a vaguely vacant one
Ryan Schreiber http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/17809-the-colour-the-shape overcommercialized imposter lacking all the melody and charisma This album is slicker than the debut, the emphasis on gloss rather than chords. It's also louder, which is either your thing or it's not most of these songs sound virtually identical The Colour & The Shape is like opening a time capsule from 1992 and realizing that the things you thought would transcend time had just become a bad joke
http://www.staticmultimedia.com/music/features/recycled_goods_~51~_january_2008~
Legacy
edithttp://www.staythemuse.com/writing/ataris.html
http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A216828
( http://www.punknews.org/review/2716 )
http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/06/cook-and-grohl.html
http://www.troublebunchmusic.com/fromfirsttolastinterview.html
Accolades
editThe information regarding accolades attributed to The Colour and the Shape is in part adapted from AcclaimedMusic.net.[10]
Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kerrang! | United Kingdom | "100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die"[11] | 1998 | 95 |
Visions | Germany | "The Most Important Albums of the 90s"[12] | 1999 | 16 |
Platekompaniet | Norway | "Top 100 Albums of All Time"[13] | 2001 | 58 |
Q | United Kingdom | "Q Magazine Readers' 100 Greatest Albums Ever"[14] | 2003 | 86 |
Classic Rock & Metal Hammer | United Kingdom | "The 200 Greatest Albums of the 90s"[15] | 2006 | * |
(*) designates unordered lists.
Track listing
editAll songs were written by Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters, except where noted.
- "Doll" – 1:23
- "Monkey Wrench" – 3:51
- "Hey, Johnny Park!" – 4:08
- "My Poor Brain" – 3:33
- "Wind Up" – 2:32
- "Up in Arms" (Grohl) – 2:15
- "My Hero" – 4:20
- "See You" – 2:26
- "Enough Space" (Grohl) – 2:37
- "February Stars" – 4:49
- "Everlong" (Grohl) – 4:10
- "Walking After You" (Grohl) – 5:03
- "New Way Home" – 5:40
- Japanese edition
- "Dear Lover" – 4:32
- Australian Tour Pack bonus disc
- "Down in the Park" (Tubeway Army cover) – 4:07
- "Drive Me Wild" (Vanity 6 cover) – 3:14
- "Baker Street" (Gerry Rafferty cover) – 5:39
- "Requiem" (Killing Joke cover) – 3:33
- 10th Anniversary Edition bonus tracks
- "Requiem" (Killing Joke cover) – 3:33
- "Drive Me Wild" (Vanity 6 cover) – 3:14
- "Down in the Park" (Tubeway Army cover) – 4:07
- "Baker Street" (Gerry Rafferty cover) – 5:39
- "Dear Lover" – 4:32
- "The Colour and the Shape" – 3:22
- "See You" (acoustic, iTunes bonus track) - 2:27
Personnel
edit- Dave Grohl – guitar, drums, vocals
- Nate Mendel – bass guitar
- Pat Smear – guitar
- William Goldsmith – drums, handclapping
- Gil Norton – producer
- Lance Bangs – handclapping
- Chris Bilheimer – handclapping
- Ryan Boesch – handclapping, assistant engineer
- Todd Burke – assistant engineer
- Bradley Cook – engineer, recording technician
- Andy Engel – logo design
- Don Farwell – assistant engineer
- Jeffery Fey – art direction, design
- Foo Fighters – art direction
- Ryan Hadlock – assistant engineer
- Josh Kessler – photography
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
- Jason Mauza – assistant engineer
- George Mimnaugh – design
- Chris Sheldon – mixing
- Tommy Steele – art direction
- Jeff Turner – engineer, recording technician
Chart positions
editAlbum
editChart | Peak position |
---|---|
Billboard 200[16] | 10 |
Austria[17] | 19 |
Canada[18] | 8 |
Belgium[19] | 7 |
Finland[20] | 12 |
France[21] | 24 |
Germany[22] | 41 |
Netherlands[23] | 39 |
New Zealand[24] | 10 |
Norway[25] | 20 |
Sweden[26] | 10 |
Switzerland[27] | 50 |
UK[28] | 3 |
Singles
editYear | Single[4] | Chart | Peak position |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | "Monkey Wrench" | Modern Rock Tracks | 9 |
1997 | "Monkey Wrench" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 9 |
1997 | "Everlong" | Modern Rock Tracks | 3 |
1997 | "Everlong" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 4 |
1998 | "My Hero" | Modern Rock Tracks | 6 |
1998 | "My Hero" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 8 |
Notes
edit- ^ Harris, Chris (2005-06-22). "Coldplay Fight Off Foo Fighters And Backstreet Boys To Hold #1". MTV. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database – Search Results – The Colour and the Shape". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
- ^ "New Foo Fighters CD On the Way". Guitar World. 2007-07-09. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ a b "Artist Chart History - Foo Fighters - Singles". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database – Search Results – Everlong". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
- ^ "Melody Maker Albums Of 1997". Melody Maker. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "NME Albums Of The Year". NME. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Pazz & Jop 2004 - search - 1997 - albums - Foo Fighters". Village Voice. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
- ^ "List of Grammy award nominations". CNN. 1998-01-06. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
- ^ "The Colour and the Shape accolades". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
- ^ "100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". Kerrang!. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "The Most Important Albums of the 90s". Visions. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Top 100 Albums of All Time". Platekompaniet. Archived from the original on 2004-04-05.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Q Magazine Readers' 100 Greatest Albums Ever". Q. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "The 200 Greatest Albums of the 90s". Classic Rock & Metal Hammer. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "The Colour and the Shape charting". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Discographie Foo Fighters" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
- ^ "Foo Fighters > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
- ^ "Discography Foo Fighters". Ultratop Belgian Charts. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
- ^ "Discography Foo Fighters". Finnish Charts. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
- ^ "Discography Foo Fighters". Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
- ^ "Foo Fighters album chart history" (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
- ^ "Discografie Foo Fighters" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
- ^ "Discography Foo Fighters". New Zealand charts online. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
- ^ "Discography Foo Fighters". VG-lista. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
- ^ "Discography Foo Fighters" (in Norwegian). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
- ^ "Swiss charts" (in German). Swiss Singles Top 100. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
- ^ "UK Music charts". EveryHit.com. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
External links
editWeezer (1994 album)
Pinkerton (album)
Surfer Rosa
Blood Sugar Sex Magik