Foo Fighters - In Your Honor

It's almost a given fact that rock stars inevitably lose their edge as they age. Whether getting older makes angst harder to cultivate or an increasingly lavish lifestyle removes the necessity to rebel, what was once sharp and seemingly reckless becomes exponentially dull and boring over time. With the exception of folks like Tom Petty, David Byrne or Johnny Cash, it seems rock 'n' roll has a half-life. When Dave Grohl was out hyping In Your Honor, the first, supposedly more in-your-face disc of the double-album was described as "the most rocking stuff we've ever worked on, ever." Grohl further stated that In Your Honor was the definitive Foo Fighters album, their Physical Graffiti. Not only are none of those claims valid, Physical Graffiti isn't even the best Led Zeppelin album. The first disc opens with the title track and a droning riff, pulled straight from "Sulk" off Radiohead's The Bends. The track builds into a less than stellar climax and serves as an omen of things to come. It seems the Foo Fighters now equate "rocking" to having Dave Grohl growl and scream over studio-polished, paint-by-numbers radio rock. Tracks like "No Way Back" and "Free Me" do their best to back up Grohl's outrageous claims and hearken back to days of old. However, tracks like "DOA," "Resolve," and the laughable single, "Best Of You," promptly quash any false hopes. The second disc, with guest appearances from Norah Jones and John Paul Jones, is a slightly different story. Perhaps it's because there were no excessive claims to become jaded about, but the disc delivers a laid-back, acoustic vibe, as advertised. The atmospheric "Still," jazzy "Virginia Moon," and haunting "Razor" all show that the Foo Fighters may now be far more comfortable and versatile in this medium. Seeing as The Colour And The Shape is arguably the best album the Foo Fighters have ever released, In Your Honor considerably falls short. Perhaps Dave Grohl bit off more than he can chew, as double-discs have an odd way of failing miserably. Or, perhaps the Foo Fighters should rethink their approach, rather than grasping onto any notion that they still play rock music. [www.foofighters.com]