FOO FIGHTERS - WASTING LIGHT

I love this album. The Foo Fighters' Wasting Light is one of their best LPs, certainly their best album since 1997's The Colour and The Shape.

Recorded on all analog tape (a piece of the actual master is included in the album if you pre-ordered, I have one) in Dave Grohl's garage (a "ballad-free" zone) it is loud and rocking. When the band recorded two new songs for their Greatest Hits album in 2009, Dave reunited with Nevermind producer Butch Vig.  I guess they enjoyed working together ("Wheels" is a great song, albeit 100% different from what they've done here), so they decided to do a full album.

Pat Smear, who was a member of the original Foo Fighters band, rejoined as a touring member after the release of 2007's Echoes, Silence Patience and Grace, and now he's back in the band full time... but Chris Shiflett is still in the band also, so they now have a muscular three guitar attack.

Grohl comes from a hardcore punk background, but his great sense of melody comes through on every song he writes.  So even when the guitars and drums are crashing down, there's still great melodies, his songs are memorable.  Some of the recent Foo Fighters albums have had a bit of filler - this album has none. If I write about highlights, I'll end up mentioning every song on the album. Seriously.  But I will mention "Dear Rosemary," which features Bob Mould on guitar and vocals. Grohl is always really cool about citing his influences, and lately he's been saying that without Bob's old band, Husker Du, he wouldn't be doing what he's doing. I think the band's lineup is maxed out at five members, but I'd love to see Bob join the band! Also, Krist Novoselic plays bass and accordion on "I Should Have Known."  It's a great song that will kick ass when they do it live.

It's been a long time since I've said that a Foo Fighters release would be one of my favorite albums of the year, but this will be in the running for my top 10.

ON iTUNES: FOO FIGHTERS GREATEST HITS EP

Tomorrow sees the release of the Foo Fighters' Greatest Hits album. A deluxe version will have a DVD of the band's videos. But iTunes will have a cheapter EP version, which will just have the two new songs, "Wheels" and "Word Forward," as well as the acoustic version of "Everlong" and a cover of Paul McCartney's "Band On The Run" which is exclusive to the EP. Dave Grohl and Sir Paul are total bros: Dave played drums for Paul at the Grammys last year (and I think he joined them for "Band On The Run" at one of Paul's shows in the summer of '08). I watched part of the Foo Fighters exclusive Facebook show on Friday night, and it was pretty cool.

Of course, that's probably the last we'll see of the band for a while, since Dave is about to spend the next few months with Them Crooked Vultures. I imagine the other Foos - drummer Taylor Hawkins and guitarist Chris Shiflett - will do solo stuff, and bassist Nate Mendel may work with Sunny Day Real Estate again.