Happy 25th Anniversary to Foo Fighters’ second studio album The Colour And The Shape, originally released May 20, 1997.
As I often found myself in the start of my working career, late nights at work were amped by either the hyped electro in the guise of The Chemical Brothers or Daft Punk, bouncy hip-hop/R&B in the ilk of Black Eyed Peas (the early albums only, I mean, come one), or cranking it to the max with Foo Fighters’ The Colour And The Shape.
The later it got, the louder the need grew for music to pulse through my body to keep me charged, and Mr. Grohl and his—now a real band of—cohorts kept things pumping.
Despite the title being an in-joke with their tour manager at the time who justified his random purchase of a bowling pin while on the road, The Colour And The Shape is an apt take on the many hues and dimensions that reveal themselves on the album.
Having surprised perhaps everyone but himself with the vitality and urgency contained in his debut outing, 1995’s Foo Fighters album, Grohl returned to the studio spurred on by the force of having a band behind him. Not wanting to repeat the one-man-band mystique of the debut, Grohl and touring bandmates began laying down tracks in ill-fated sessions at Bear Creek studios in Washington. Not satisfied with the output, Grohl took time off to write some extra songs (“Walking After You” and “Everlong”) before the band reconvened in Los Angeles for another pass at the tracks—this time, minus drummer William Goldsmith.
What started out with Grohl doing some drum overdubs eventuated with the slate being pretty much wiped clean and he found himself back on the drum throne once more, punching out the rhythm and energy he was hearing in his head.
The album opens with the solemn “Doll,” which begins as a distant transmission that comes into clarity with an added sheen, perhaps symbolic of the transition from their debut which had a rougher sound to it, and the more in-focus shine of this album. This was due in large part to producer Gil Norton, whom Grohl sought out to give the arrangements and productions greater clarity and even a pop gloss. But it also signifies the willingness of Grohl to come front and center, to be seen in greater clarity with more intimate lyrics and vocal deliveries that range from the raucous to almost secret-sharing confessionals.
This greater sense of intimacy and connection was, as Grohl would later reflect, a journey of stripping back the bullshit and facing up to the rights and wrongs of his life: a dissolving marriage, an imploding band, and a desire to just feel ok—if not feel good—about where life was headed. Grohl has remarked that the sequence of the album almost plays through like a therapy session as the tracks journey from the fallout of divorce and the understanding of being the one to blame in the reflective “Doll,” to a sense of renewal and new starts with the pop-rock vibe of album closer “New Way Home.”
This sense of honesty results in a cohesive set of tracks that play with a sense of urgency without taking breath, like a friend trying to tell you all that is going on in their life in a rambled and hurried fashion. No sooner has one track ended then another bursts from the pack creating the non-stop journey of highs and lows that are utterly compelling.
Tracks like the blistering “Monkey Wrench” grab you by the throat and jolt you back and forth, as Grohl delivers one of the catchiest hooks in his career, wrenching (pun intended) all the angst and frustration from the post-punk arrangement.
The urgency of the rocking bounce in “Enough Space” and the grunge soft/distortion transitions in “My Poor Brain” crank up your heart and showcase how the album amps you up with its constant twists and turns.
When Grohl takes his foot off the overdrive pedal, quieter moments seep through in the jangly pop-rock of “See You,” the melancholy sweetness of “Walking After You” and the heartfelt slip into the abyss of “February Stars.”
For an album built around standouts, the two tracks that best sum up the passion and ambition of the collection are the thunderous “My Hero,” with its ordinary man as superhero narrative against a pounding backbeat, and the ethereal rock contained in the rolling boil of “Everlong” —one of the greatest rock tunes ever committed to wax.
With its shunting riff and rolling hi-hats and heart pounding rhythm, “Everlong” lays out the hope and optimism of finding a new relationship tinged with the fear of it all being fleeting and falling apart before it even begins. It’s got a big heart and an even bigger sound that had me bouncing off the walls in those late hour work sessions.
The Colour And The Shape is an album of reflection and burgeoning ambition. It functions as a blueprint for the future of Foo Fighters releases, as they allow themselves to defy expectations and drift into new worlds beyond the grunge and post-punk era that fought so hard to define them. Here, inside the grooves of The Colour And The Shape is a band finding its footing and getting ready to jump onto even grander stages of their career. And it’s just as compelling a lift off today as it was a quarter of a century ago.
Enjoyed this article? Read more about Foo Fighters here:
Foo Fighters (1995) | Concrete And Gold (2017) | Medicine At Midnight (2021)
LISTEN: