There Is Nothing Left To Lose

Foo Fighters

Roswell / RCA Records, 1999

http://www.foofighters.com

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 01/17/2000

Wait a minute. Something has to be wrong -- I mean, very wrong.

Last thing I saw, There Is Nothing Left To Lose, the third album from Foo Fighters (once known as Dave Grohl's post-Nirvana project), was falling down the Billboard charts faster than Monica Lewinsky's dress size. (Insert your "protein shake" joke here.) This can't be, the music critic curmudgeon mutters -- after all, wherever you turn on the radio, "Learn To Fly" is happily playing out of the speakers.

I'm at a loss to explain why Grohl and crew's latest disc isn't lighting the charts on fire, especially when it's such a damned good disc. Take every lesson that the Foo Fighters learned on their self-titled debut effort and their last disc The Colour And The Shape -- and demonstrate that the band has learned well.

Grohl demonstrates that he has not abandoned his grunge roots, as he demonstrates at the start of this album. "Stacked Actors," which I've read is the next single off this disc, shows this immediately. The distortion-laden guitar and bass tracks pummel your senses into complacency, while Grohl delivers a fuzz-box of a vocal track. Unfortunately, this is not the strongest effort on the disc, and it might have been a mistake to lead things off with this. Then again, it puts the next track, "Breakout," into perspective.my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

"Learn To Fly" is undoubtedly the catchiest single I've heard since Smash Mouth's "Walking On The Sun" a few years ago. This quite possibly is the best that the Foo Fighters have ever sounded (and I freely admit I need to spend some more time with their other albums), and it rightfully has invaded our airwaves. (The CD comes with an enhanced portion, which includes the video for "Learn To Fly". Great video -- but if I see Grohl dressed as a woman one more time, I'm gonna throw up.)

The rest of There Is Nothing Left To Lose all begs the question, "Which is the next single?" Each track is catchy and quirky in its own way, and I mean that in a very positive manner. Were I in charge of publicity at RCA, I'd have made a push to have "Gimme Stitches," "M.I.A." or "Generator" as the next single, giving it the same push that "Learn To Fly" has gotten. Each one of these tracks screams excellence, proving to even the hardest of hearts that the Foo Fighters are no fluke or Nirvana wanna-bes.

The more you listen to There Is Nothing Left To Lose, the more you'll realize how killer of an album this really is. Tracks like "Headwires," "Live-In Skin" and "Ain't It The Life" all make me swing back and give myself a hard kick in the ass that I didn't invest in Foo Fighters albums when they first came out. It's almost like I'm coming into the movie in the middle of the picture, even though there's a lot more left to appreciate.

Some could argue that There Is Nothing Left To Lose looks like it will be a commercial disappointment - and maybe that is true. However, Grohl and company should be proud that they've put together such a solid album that should erase any doubt anyone had about this band - and, in a way, albums such as this one tend to hit their target when everyone leasts expects it to.

Rating: A-

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© 2000 Christopher Thelen and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Roswell / RCA Records, and is used for informational purposes only.