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The Foos can sometimes feel like a bit of a chore if they lean too heavily in one direction--as they do here, where despite the conscious blend of acoustic and electric tunes, the rockers weigh down Echoes more than they should, enough to make this seem like just another Foo Fighters album instead of the consolidation of strengths that it was intended to be.
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They're sounding less and less relatable, leaving us pining not just for the days of a little grunge trio from Seattle, but for the relentlessly catchy and charismatic Dave Grohl of the Foos' still-fantastic self-titled debut and the better half of "The Colour and the Shape."
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On the last Foos album, "In Your Honour" rock and acoustic music were exiled to different discs. Here, a satisfactory compromise is brokered between the two: the excellent 'Summer's End' is easy on the ear, easier still on the brain, and sets him up in the radio-friendly 'Wonderwall' district one imagines is his spiritual home.
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Grohl and Company sound like Bob Seger fronting for your garden variety modern hard rock group.
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MojoIt's charming, understated and has to be heard in context. [Oct 2007, p.100]
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Q MagazineEach of these tracks makes the case for Foo Fighters' horizons successfully expanding, in the way the acoustic side of "In Your Honor" didn't. [Oct 2007, p.87]
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By and large this is as consistent a record as the Foo Fighters have ever made.
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This is an anthology of strong new songs by a great bunch of bands, all calling themselves Foo Fighters.
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This is another fine album from Grohl and company.
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The Foos' sixth and most accomplished album sees the band comfortable with arena tricks such as wistful Led Zeppelin-y acoustic guitars and choruses to learn and scream.
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Foo Fighters are now flabby, creaky, and worst of all past it.
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Echoes has some characteristic Foo Fighters rockers, but even they sound quieter: Producer Gil Norton keeps the guitars, along with everything else, subdued. And without the usual standout hits (though 'Long Road To Ruin' is solid), Echoes will probably leave fans wanting.
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Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace is another quality entry in a fantastically average career.
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The record sounds lush and epic, with a variety of genres and sounds all peeking their heads through the band’s established heavy-melodic-rock sound. There are mellow, intimate tunes and amps-to-11 anthems alike, and plenty that split the difference.
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Entertainment WeeklyIt isn't long before you realize how frickin' right it all sounds, how damn near flawless the tone of the whole set feels. [28 Sep 2007, p.104]
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Echoes sounds pretty business-as-usual.
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The album is just standard rock/alternative affair.
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Dave Grohl and company have assembled a strong assortment of the band's familiar, well-built tuneage, from muscular rockers and sinuous ballads to good-natured power-pop and riff-heavy radio anthems.
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This is not the best Foo Fighters record, but it’s the shrewdest one.
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BlenderThroughout, the Foos are as tight as ever, even if the songs are mostly unmemorable. [Oct 2007, p.108]
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What remains are incredibly sharp and distorted fist-pumpers, chock full of guitars and monstrous drums, and a handful of slower numbers that fall short of matching the impact of songs like 'Everlong' and 'Learn to Fly.'
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The remainder of Echoes is considerably more diffuse, engaging in levels of genre-hopping that might seem a little desperate were it not for the fact that most of the songs hold up.
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On their sixth album, Foo Fighters have renewed their membership in the "if it ain't broke . . ." school of songwriting. And essentially, there's nothing wrong with that.
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There's no getting away from the fact that the goofy guy who used to play drums for Nirvana just made a classic album.
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Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace sticks to what it's good at: undemanding arena rock that's just--just--leftfield enough not to jar alongside Grohl's previous incarnation.
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Grohl often shows off his sky-high vocal range, award-winning ear for bridges and choruses and penchant for ending opuses with dark, pitch-perfect shrieks.
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Foo Fighters’ sixth studio album is a transitional rather than definitive piece of work, but one that sees them growing older with 'patience and grace'.
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Ten years later, they've regrouped with Norton for a disc that's more sophisticated and diverse, if a tad less rockin'.
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Grohl is hookier than Nickelback, which is saying something.
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The instrumental "Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners" showcases Grohl's acoustic guitar chops, while the piano-driven "Home" provides a lovely ending to an excellent album.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 132 out of 156
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Mixed: 13 out of 156
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Negative: 11 out of 156
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Dec 11, 2012
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Dec 21, 2011
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Mar 8, 2013