Skin and Bones review

Skin And Bones is the first official Foo Fighters’ live album

When a loud and expressive rock band decides to turn down the overload control knobs on their amps, takes acoustic guitars instead of electric and tries to introduce their music in a new way, then you can say it for sure that such an album at the least will make a listener curious even if he knows that this album contains only band’s old songs. As a rule, a release of a live show album speaks about band’s entering a new professional level, and this is especially significant when musicians are making cover versions of their own songs. A new Foo Fighters’ album Skin And Bones concerns this very type of records. Dave Grohl’s fans may find this album to be an unexpectedness but after examining it more closely many would rather describe it as a real surprise. Skin And Bones is the result of three sold out performances at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles where Mr. Grohl and company were rocking the stage in an expanded eight piece line up. In addition to Fighters themselves the public could also see and hear violinist Petra Haden, keyboardist Rami Jaffee, percussionist Drew Hester and former Foo Fighter guitarist Pat Smear.

Skin And Bones is a set of the band’s best songs

Skin And Bones opens with Grol’s short audience greeting "How you all doing? You ready? Me too..." before his quiet beginning of the set with a solo performance of Razor, the song from Foo Fighters previous album, until the band joins him at the coda for a slow build of piano, strings, percussion, and galloping drums. It is worth saying that many of the material here are taken from last year’s album In Your Honor, but still the disc has much to offer for those who know the band by its hits. The track Big Me, the original version of which can be heard at Foo Fighters debut album, is a nice and soft variant with some piano and female backing vocals. The whole eight member line-up perfectly fits a diverse version of My Hero and represents the band’s most unexpected sounding. One of the most outstanding songs on the album is represented by a Best Of You version where Grohl makes his best in singing adding the song an extra voltage with his scratchy voice. The place for the final song was given to a classic Foo Fighters’ song Everlong, which nicely brings things to the finish.

Skin And Bones is a new level in the Foo Fighters’ music life

Though the whole band is playing acoustic instruments, nevertheless they manage to rock the stage when it is necessary. Loud bass, drums, guitar, all given room here, but this is just a good decoration to the performance of the songs that acquired some extra integrity and musicality which are represented on the heavy works in a little bit worst manner or in other words, which may probably fit this better, in a different way. It's not so much the Foo Fighters are unfamiliar with the quieter side of things. They have always thrown in some acoustic tunes here and there on record and on stage. But Skin and Bones is something entirely different. Taken from the groups 2006 acoustic tour it's not a record of acoustic music in the same vein as we are used to hearing from this group. Rather it’s some of the Foo Fighters’ best material played for depth of emotions instead of noise. Rearranged and reworked, these songs flourish in this setting whereas before they may have simply bashed you over the head with the energy. After a few listens to Skin and Bones, Foo Fighters first official live album, you may come to see this group in a whole new light.