One By One
by Foo Fighters
  • Record Label: RCA
  • Release Date: Oct 22, 2002
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. E! Online
    91
    Here, Grohl consistently puts forth straightforward, stripped-down rock that is neither ironic nor pandering--a fine line between Cheap Trick and cheap tricks.
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    91
    The Foo Fighters' One by One, the band's first album since 1999, is densely packed with glum song titles, grinding beats, and moaned vocals. The result? Unexpected exhilaration.
  3. Austin Chronicle
    89
    Let's just hope it doesn't take another near-death experience for their next album to be this good.
  5. Stylus Magazine
    80
    There is no denying the power of this album.
  6. Billboard
    80
    One by One, in all its thunderous angst and desperate expressions of hope, represents a full-on exploration of the Foos '70s influences.
  7. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    Everything they had, they still have - but now every note is ten times more focused and urgent.
  8. Uncut
    80
    The joyous hooks and choruses remain, but they're tempered by a welcome moodiness. [Dec 2002, p.129]
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  9. CDNow
    80
    Arguably its most cohesive and dynamic effort yet.
  10. Rolling Stone
    80
    It's rock that draws power from its determination to struggle onward.
  11. Mojo
    80
    They may have just failed to make a Great Rock Album--though it has many moments of greatness--but they have unquestionably become a Great Rock Band. [Album of the Month, Nov 2002, p.90]
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  12. PopMatters
    70
    [It's] tight and competent in both musical and production value, lyrically intelligent, rhythmically driving, and yet -- like the boyfriend who seems perfect but just doesn't give you butterflies -- ultimately unsatisfying.
  13. Playlouder
    70
    Quite simply, only the Chili Peppers are even in this class now, and it took them a lot more than four albums to get there.
  14. The A.V. Club
    60
    One By One is mostly middling, sticking to slick, pounding, functional rock that doesn't dig much deeper than the usual spleen-venting and loud-quiet brooding-to-bluster formula.
  15. Blender
    60
    Grohl's every intense metal rave-up quickly passes into a sweet, breezy melody that makes it hard to take most of the songs all that seriously. [#11, p.137]
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  16. AllMusic
    60
    It's hard not to wish that the songs stuck in your head the way they used to, even if it's still enjoyable as a whole.
  17. Ink 19
    60
    One By One, the latest album from the Foo Fighters, rocks. Problem is, that is about all it does.
  18. Neumu.net
    60
    A solid album, turgid and at times stormy.
  19. Q Magazine
    60
    While One By One starts like the best Foo Fighters album ever it doesn't deliver track-upon-track. [Nov 2002, p.110]
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  20. Pitchfork
    54
    With every album, the Foos get slicker than before; the passion behind their songs waxed off by an ever-thickening veneer of overproduction. Right now, the Foos are so polished you can see right through them.

Awards & Rankings

44
#44 Most Discussed Album of 2002
51
#51 Most Shared Album of 2002

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 80 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 70 out of 80
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 80
  3. Negative: 1 out of 80
  1. Dalmx
    Mar 23, 2021
    7
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  2. Charlyrockstar
    Apr 8, 2014
    10
    the second best foo fighters album since All My Life till Come Back, real rock, & a great album that have the worth listening & why not, havethe second best foo fighters album since All My Life till Come Back, real rock, & a great album that have the worth listening & why not, have it in the private collection, a great album of a great band… Full Review »
  3. SteveBackMeta
    Nov 9, 2013
    4
    Sorry I don't mind the Foo Fighters but I found this to be a very sterile and uninspired album. For a band of this type hard-rockingSorry I don't mind the Foo Fighters but I found this to be a very sterile and uninspired album. For a band of this type hard-rocking crowd-pleasers these songs try their best to tear town walls but just sound stilted thanks to the smooth, slippery-slick production and formulaic songwriting. Even "One By One" doesn't do as much as penetrate the eardrum. These melodies just don't amplify. "Low" in particular is just horrible.

    Ironically, it's where the Foos sit back and run on autopilot that the best track on this album comes about. "Time Like These" is by far the catchiest song on here and doesn't actually TRY to shatter the room. It is just a well-constructed power-ballad that hits the mark. The rest, though, is so polished you can't keep hold of it.    … Full Review »
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