Foo Fighters almost celebrated their 20th anniversary by re-recording their debut album. Dave Grohl has revealed that he proposed revisiting the act’s 1995 debut by covering its songs with the group’s current lineup. The only obstacle? His own band.
“At one point I thought, ‘You know what would be really funny? To re-record the first Foo Fighters record as the band we are now,’” Grohl recently told NME. “Same songs, same arrangements, in sequence – but as the Foo Fighters 2014.”
That first, self-titled album was made almost entirely by Grohl. He wrote all the songs, sang and played guitars, took care of drums, and even co-produced the LP with Barrett Jones. That work – and Grohl’s Nirvana pedigree – was enough to take Foo Fighters to No 3 on the UK albums chart and to spawn four top 40 singles.
By 1996, Grohl had formed a band, which has stayed relatively steady for more than a decade. One member of the current lineup had some serious opinions about the covers idea, however. “[Drummer] Taylor [Hawkins] was like, ‘Are you out of your fucking mind?! That’s the worst idea ever! People would fucking hate it!’” Grohl recalled. “And [guitarist Pat [Smear] said, ‘That’s exactly why we should do it!’”
For now at least, the Foo Fighters remake seems to be off the table. Neither does Grohl have any plans to celebrate their debut by covering the album at gigs. “I don’t like it when bands do that,” he said. “It’s presumptuous. It’s lazy ... The best way to celebrate our 20th anniversary isn’t to focus on 20 years ago, but to focus on the last 20 years, meaning two years ago and six years ago and eight years ago.”
Sonic Highways, Foo Fighters’ eighth studio album, will be released on 10 November.
