Sonic Highways

This article is about the album. For the companion television series, see Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways.
Sonic Highways
Studio album by Foo Fighters
Released November 10, 2014
Recorded September 2013 – July 2014
Studio
Genre Alternative rock, post-grunge, hard rock[1]
Length 42:03
Label Roswell, RCA
Producer Butch Vig
Foo Fighters chronology

Wasting Light
(2011)		 Sonic Highways
(2014)
Singles from Sonic Highways
  1. "Something from Nothing"
    Released: October 16, 2014
  2. "The Feast and the Famine"
    Released: October 24, 2014
  3. "Congregation"
    Released: October 31, 2014
  4. "What Did I Do? / God As My Witness"
    Released: November 6, 2014

Sonic Highways is the eighth studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters, released on November 10, 2014, through RCA Records.[2] As part of a companion HBO television series, Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways,[3][4] the band recorded eight songs for the album, each in a different US city: Austin, Chicago, Joshua Tree, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.[5] It is available on CD, vinyl, and as a digital download.[6] The album's lead single "Something from Nothing" was released on October 16, 2014.

Background and writing

Despite initially announcing a break after supporting Wasting Light, Grohl later stated in January 2013 that the band had started writing material for an eighth studio album.[7] On February 20, 2013, at the Brit Awards, Grohl said he was flying back to America the following day to start work on the next album.[8] In an August 2013 interview with XFM, Grohl announced that their next album has been slated for a 2014 release, saying:

"Well, I’ll tell you, we have been in our studio writing and in the past few weeks we’ve written an album and we are going to make this album in a way that no-one’s ever done before and we’re pretty excited about it... It’s a little ways off – it’s not ready to happen right now – but I think next year is going to be a really big year for the Foo Fighters, without question."[9]

According to lead guitarist Chris Shiflett, Grohl would finish the lyrics just before recording his vocals, the last part of each song. This time the compositions would drift away from "love letters and confused relationships" to deal with the feelings Grohl had regarding each city during production.[10]

Recording

Further information: Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways

On September 6, 2013, lead guitarist Chris Shiflett posted a photo to his Instagram account that had indicated 13 songs were being recorded for the album.[11] Keyboardist Rami Jaffee has recorded parts for three songs, one of which is entitled "In The Way."[12] Butch Vig, who produced the band's prior album, Wasting Light, confirmed he produced Sonic Highways as well.[13][14] On July 30, 2014, Vig revealed that the band had finished recording and mixing the new album and it is slated to be released a month after the Sonic Highways TV series.[15] In an August 2014 press release Grohl spoke about the album, saying: "This album is instantly recognizable as a Foo Fighters record, but there's something deeper and more musical to it. I think that these cities and these people influenced us to stretch out and explore new territory, without losing our ‘sound’."[2]

Packaging

The artwork done by Stephan Martiniere [16]for the album has a cityscape amalgamating landmarks of every town used for production - Seattle's Space Needle, the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles - and a recurring motif of the number eight, marking both the Foo Fighters' eighth album and infinity (∞).[2] The vinyl pressings of the album are packaged in nine different covers, depicting each of the eight cities and the "Forever" building shaped like the infinity symbol.[5] Most retailers will not guarantee which cover the purchaser receives, and album art is "randomly selected" for orders from the band's official website.[6][17]

Promotion

On January 16, 2014, a picture was posted to the Foo Fighters Facebook page with several master tapes, some labeled "LP 8".[18] On May 15, 2014, it was announced that the band's eighth album would be released in November 2014 and that the Foo Fighters would commemorate the album and their 20th anniversary with an HBO TV series directed by Dave Grohl entitled Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways.[19] On August 11, 2014, it was announced that the album would be titled Sonic Highways and released on November 10, 2014.[20]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 68/100[21]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [22]
The A.V. Club B–[23]
Chicago Tribune [24]
Consequence of Sound C–[1]
Entertainment Weekly B[25]
The Guardian [26]
The Observer [27]
NME 7/10[28]
Pitchfork Media 5.6/10[29]
Rolling Stone [2]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 68, based on 31 reviews indicating "generally favorable reviews".[21] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic says the album "celebrates not the coiled fury of underground rock exploding into the mainstream, the way the '90s-happy Wasting Light did, but rather the classic rock that unites the U.S. from coast to coast."[22] Philip Cosores at Consequence of Sound stated "the album plays out more like a bonus feature, something that can enhance the series’ enjoyment or simply further inform the experience".[1]

Patrick Doyle from Rolling Stone noted that some of the album's songs are among "the band's most ambitious moments yet".[2] Stuart Berman of Pitchfork Media was more critical of the album, stating "Foo Fighters completely demystify their own creative process, effectively turning the Sonic Highways project into a glorified homework assignment—educational, perhaps, but laboriously procedural."[29]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, with sales of 190,000 copies in the United States.[30] As of February 2015, it has sold 430,000 copies there.[31]

Track listing

No. TitleRecording location Length
1. "Something from Nothing" (featuring Rick Nielsen)Electrical Audio, Chicago 4:49
2. "The Feast and the Famine" (featuring Peter Stahl and Skeeter Thompson)Inner Ear Studios, Arlington County, Virginia 3:49
3. "Congregation" (featuring Zac Brown)Southern Ground Studios, Nashville, Tennessee 5:12
4. "What Did I Do? / God As My Witness" (featuring Gary Clark, Jr.)Studio 6A, Austin, Texas 5:44
5. "Outside" (featuring Joe Walsh)Rancho De La Luna, Joshua Tree, California 5:15
6. "In the Clear" (featuring the Preservation Hall Jazz Band)Preservation Hall, New Orleans 4:04
7. "Subterranean" (featuring Ben Gibbard)Robert Lang Studios, Seattle 6:08
8. "I Am a River" (featuring Tony Visconti and Kristeen Young)The Magic Shop, New York City 7:09
Total length:
 42:03

Personnel

Foo Fighters
Additional musicians

Charts

Album charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[33] 1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[34] 3
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[35] 1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[36] 4
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[37] 3
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[38] 4
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[39] 5
French Albums (SNEP)[40] 18
German Albums (Official Top 100)[41] 2
Greek Albums (IFPI)[42] 39
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[43] 35
Irish Albums (IRMA)[44] 5
Italian Albums (FIMI)[45] 7
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[46] 2
New Zealand Albums (Recorded Music NZ)[47] 2
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[48] 3
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[49] 10
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[50] 8
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[51] 9
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[52] 5
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[53] 2
UK Albums (OCC)[54] 2
US Billboard 200[55] 2
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[56] 1
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[57] 1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[58] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2014) Position
Australian Albums Chart[59] 16
Belgium (Flanders) Albums Chart[60] 20
Italian Albums Chart[61] 72
New Zealand Albums Chart[62] 18
UK Albums Chart[63] 26
US Billboard 200[64] 99
US Billboard Alternative Albums [65] 13
US Billboard Hard Rock Albums[66] 5
US Billboard Rock Albums[67] 20

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[68] Platinum 70,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[69] Platinum 80,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[70] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[71] Gold 100,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Singles charts

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications
US
[72]		 US
Air
[73]		 US
Alt
[74]		 US
Main
[75]		 US
Rock
[76]		 AUS
[77]		 AUT
[78]		 BEL
[79]		 CAN
[80]		 GER
[81]		 JPN
[82]		 NLD
[83]		 NZ
[84]		 PT
[85]		 UK
[86]		 UK
Rock
[87]
"Something from Nothing" 2014 —[A] 84 1 1 8 53 75 42 63 100 63 57 32 45 73 1
"The Feast and the Famine" — — — — 37 — — — — — — — — 27 — 4
"Congregation" — — 6 1 21 — 73 12[B] — 97 — — — 38 — 4
"What Did I Do? / God As My Witness" — — — — 37 — — — — — — — — 33 — 6
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label
United States[6] November 10, 2014
RCA

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cosores, Philip (November 7, 2014). "Foo Fighters - Sonic Highways". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Grow, Kory (11 August 2014). "Foo Fighters Name New Album 'Sonic Highways,' Reveal Track List". RollingStone.com. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  3. ↑ "Foo Fighters premiere new single "Something From Nothing" — listen". Consequence of Sound. October 16, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  4. ↑ Camp, Zoe; Phillips, Amy (October 16, 2014). "Foo Fighters Release "Something From Nothing" From New Album Sonic Highways". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Foo Fighters Announce 'Sonic Highways' Track List, Share Artwork billboard.com. Retrieved 11 August, 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Sonic Highways: Foo Fighters: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  7. ↑ "Dave Grohl Says Foo Fighters 'Have A Plan' For Their Next Album". MTV.com. 2013-01-23. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
  8. ↑ "Dave Grohl: 'Foo Fighters to begin work on new album this week' | News". Nme.Com. 2013-02-21. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
  9. ↑ "Foo Fighters Finish Writing New Album". Loudwire.com. 2013-08-19. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
  10. ↑ Peixoto, Mariana (2014-09-27). "Guitarrista do Foo Fighters fala sobre novo disco em entrevista exclusiva". Estado de Minas (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2014-10-18.
  11. ↑ Sarah Smith (6 November 2013). "You'll never believe what Foo Fighters take on tour". Faster Louder. Faster Louder Pty Ltd. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  12. ↑ "Equipment photograph". Distilleryimage7.s3.amazonaws.com. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
  13. ↑ Darren Levin (26 August 2013). "Butch Vig teams up with Foo Fighters for "KILLER new songs"". Faster Louder. Faster Louder Pty Ltd. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  14. ↑ Rosen, Craig. "The 10 Most Anticipated Albums of 2014". Yahoo. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  15. ↑ Stolman, Elissa (July 30, 2014). "Foo Fighters Finish Eighth Album". spin.com. Spin. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  16. ↑ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/foo-fighters-sonic-highways-cover-20141119
  17. ↑ "'Sonic Highways' vinyl preorder". FooFighters.com. 4 December 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  18. ↑ "Foo Fighters - Tijdlijnfoto's". Facebook. 2014-01-16. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
  19. ↑ "Foo Fighters To Commemorate Eighth Album & 20th Anniversary With HBO Series Documenting Eight-City Recording Odyssey". FooFighters.com. Retrieved 2014-05-15.
  20. ↑ "Twitter / foofighters: Sonic Highways. Out Worldwide". Twitter. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Critic Reviews for Sonic Highways". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Sonic Highways - Foo Fighters - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  23. ↑ Warwick, Kevin (November 11, 2014). "Foo Fighters aim for the moon but come up a bit short on Sonic Highways". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  24. ↑ Kot, Greg (November 7, 2014). "Foo Fighters 'Sonic Highways' doesn't lead to anywhere new". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  25. ↑ Ryan, Kyle (November 7, 2014). "Sonic Highways Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
  26. ↑ Jonze, Tim (November 7, 2014). "Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways review – a high-concept tour with middling music". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
  27. ↑ Carnwath, Ally (November 9, 2014). "Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways review – familiar full-throttle pop-rock". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  28. ↑ Nicolson, Barry (November 5, 2014). "Foo Fighters – 'Sonic Highways'". NME. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Berman, Stuart (November 10, 2014). "Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  30. ↑ "Taylor Swift's '1989' No. 1 for Third Week on Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  31. ↑ Brown, Matt (February 12, 2015). "Metal by Numbers 2/12: Blind Guardian go above and beyond". Metal Insider. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Foo Fighters HBO doc puts Preservation Hall on national stage". 21 August 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  33. ↑ "Foo Fighters – Sonic Highways". Australiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  34. ↑ "Foo Fighters – Sonic Highways" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  35. ↑ "Foo Fighters – Sonic Highways" (in Dutch). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  36. ↑ "Foo Fighters – Sonic Highways" (in French). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  37. ↑ "Foo Fighters Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Foo Fighters. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  38. ↑ "Foo Fighters – Sonic Highways". Danishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  39. ↑ "Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  40. ↑ "Foo Fighters – Sonic Highways". Lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  41. ↑ "Foo Fighters – Sonic Highways". Officialcharts.de. GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  42. ↑ "Official IFPI Charts - Top-75 Albums Sales Chart - Εβδομάδα: 47/2014" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on December 1, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  43. ↑ "Top 40 album-, DVD- és válogatáslemez-lista – 2014. 46. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. LightMedia. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  44. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 46, 2014". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  45. ↑ "Artisti - Classifica settimanale WK 46 (dal 10-11-2014 al 16-11-2014)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  46. ↑ "Foo Fighters – Sonic Highways" (in Dutch). Dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  47. ↑ "Foo Fighters – Sonic Highways". Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  48. ↑ "Foo Fighters – Sonic Highways". Norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  49. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  50. ↑ "Foo Fighters – Sonic Highways". Portuguesecharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  51. ↑ "Foo Fighters – Sonic Highways". Spanishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  52. ↑ "Foo Fighters – Sonic Highways". Swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  53. ↑ "Foo Fighters – Sonic Highways". Swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  54. ↑ "2014-11-22 Top 40 UK Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
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  56. ↑ "Foo Fighters Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for Foo Fighters. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  57. ↑ "Foo Fighters Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums for Foo Fighters. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  58. ↑ "Foo Fighters Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Top Rock Albums for Foo Fighters. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
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  68. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2014 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
  69. ↑ "Gold/Platinum". Music Canada. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  70. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Foo Fighters – Sonic Highways". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  71. ↑ "British album certifications – Foo Fighters – Sonic Highways". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 14, 2014. Enter Sonic Highways in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
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  73. ↑
  74. ↑ "Foo Fighters Album & Song Chart History – Alternative Songs". Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
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  78. ↑ "Discographie Foo Fighters" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 2014-11-15.
  79. ↑ Discography Foo Fighters". Ultratop Belgian Charts. Retrieved 2014-11-15.
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  86. ↑
  87. ↑
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