Album Review: Foo Fighters – ‘Skin and Bones’

By Patrick Luce Nov 11, 2006, 22:05 GMT

Foo Fighters show their acoustic side with the release of ‘Skin and Bones.’ The album is reminiscent of all the MTV Unplugged releases of the 90s – including a great acoustic album from Dave Grohl’s former band Nirvana.

With that said, ‘Skin and Bones’ does fail to capture the magic of some past “acoustic” performances from rock bands, and instead shows some of the band’s weakness at different times in the concert.

‘Skin And Bones’ features the expanded eight-piece lineup of Foo Fighters including Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, and Chris Shiflett augmented by guest players Petra Haden (violin), Rami Jaffee (keyboards), Drew Hester (percussion) and former Foo Fighter Pat Smear (guitar). It was recorded from three sold out performances at Los Angeles' Pantages Theater. The album also debuts new live arrangements of several songs – including some of the band’s classics mixed with newer material from disc two of the platinum-plus ‘In Your Honor.’
 
Some of the best tracks on the album include stripped down versions of “My Hero,” “Times Like These,” and “Big Me.” Grohl’s scratchy voice is extremely powerful on the new version of “Best of You” – which quickly became my favorite song on the CD. ‘Skin and Bones’ also features the never-before-played Grohl-penned Nirvana B-side "Marigold."

Even with its faults and weaker moments, ‘Skin and Bones’ is another solid release from a good rock band. The concert is full of energy, and at times true emotion from Grohl. It is clear he knows how to hook his audience, and hold them in the palm of his hand. I would recommend the album to any Foo Fighter fans, or fans of acoustic performances. Although not all of the songs truly work in the new format, it will not disappoint.

‘Skin and Bones’ is now available at Amazon. Visit the music database for more information and a complete track listing.