10 Hard Rock Music Bands That Avoided The Sophomore Slump
9. The Colour and the Shape - Foo Fighters
For as successful as The Foo Fighters were right out of the gate, there was actually a lot of anxiety going into recording their next album The Colour and the Shape. Since the first record was just Dave Grohl making tunes in a studio, this would be the first with a full band arrangement and everyone contributing. While the songs turned out to be stellar, it didn't come without a fight.
Working with famed producer Gil Norton, the band slogged it out day after day in the studio, which ended with William Goldsmith quitting the band when his drum parts were being thrown out so Dave could track them instead. Aside from the harsh feelings though, this is one of the most concise Foo Fighters releases that they've ever made, making for some of the band's greatest hooks on songs like My Hero or Hey Johnny Park.
Dave also seems to be a lot more vulnerable than before on this record. Since he was coming off a divorce at the time, you can feel that kind of raw emotion on a lot of songs, with Everlong sounding like him at the end of his rope and trying desperately to feel that ecstasy one more time. Even though most post grunge at the time was more about style over substance, the post-Nirvana world was still going to be awesome with Dave behind the mic.