Dave Grohl says he considered re-recording the Foo Fighters’ debut album to mark its 20th anniversary.
Foo Fighters launched in July 1995, with Grohl recording the majority of the album solo. And he reveals he thought re-recording the record with the band’s current lineup would be a fun project – although drummer Taylor Hawkins didn’t share his enthusiasm.
Grohl tells NME: 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.’ Because the first record isn’t the Foo Fighters – it’s just me.
“So what if, for the 20th anniversary, we went in and re-recorded the first record – the same songs, same arrangements, in sequence – but as the Foo Fighters 2014? Taylor was like, ‘Are you out of your fucking mind? That’s the worst idea ever – people would fucking hate it.’ And Pat Smear said, ‘That’s exactly why we should do it!’”
The frontman is also critical of artists who tour solely to support an album’s anniversary, saying he thinks it’s presumptuous and lazy.
He continues: “I don’t like it when a band’s tour is just to play one past record. I fucking hate that – it’s presumptuous, it’s lazy. I don’t mind playing a lot of those old songs to revisit. But the best way to celebrate our 20th anniversary isn’t to focus on 20 years ago, but to focus on the last 20 years.”
The Foos release Sonic Highways on November 10. They’ve just made album track Congregation available to stream, while their album documentary series is currently airing via BBC Four and BBC iPlayer in the UK.
