Foo Fighters Album: “There Is Nothing Left to Lose”

We'll start in the beginning: Stacked Actors, the controversial song said to be about Courtney Love, is probably one of the heaviest songs that the Foo Fighters ever wrote. It ranks up there with I'll Stick Around, Weenie Beenie, and Monkey Wrench. Breakout was my favorite song before I got the album because it was so nice. This song sounds very poppy, but it's punkish at the same time. Learn To Fly, the current hit, is wonderful. 3 chord songs don't ALWAYS suck, as this one demonstrates. The beginning Gimme Stitches sounds sort of like "Slow Ride" by Foghat. Great song. Generator, my guess on the first single, employs the talkbox, made famous by Peter Frampton. It sounds like Garbage's "When I Grow Up" in the middle. I didn't expect that from this, but it's very pleasant. Aurora is beyond description. The music is magical, the vocals are beautiful, everything. Definitely the opus of the album. Live-In Skin is one of the underappreciated songs, but it's great nonetheless. It sounds like old Rush stuff. Next Year, I'm convinced, is a Christmasy sounding song. Very well put together. Headwires, my other favorite, is also Rush-esque, but newer sounding. 'Tis on the same plane with Learn To Fly, except this is more of a "sit back and listen to the tunes" tune rather than "rock out and scream" song. Ain't It The Life is a VERY country-influenced song, but it's wonderful. Interesting steel guitar solo in the middle. Then M.I.A. is very good in the typical Foo Fighters album closer mindset. It is a powerful and charming song. If you are an open-minded Foo Fighters fan, get this album. And make sure you put the disc in your comp and try out the ECD stuff!

If you've made up your mind not to purchase a Foo Fighters CD that fails to live up to the glory of "The Colour and the Shape", then (1) you won't buy this CD, and (2) you're missing out on some great music. It will be hard for Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters to ever match the mastery of their 2nd release, but their 3rd is still a cut above most of the music being made today. If you fell for the catchy pop melodies of "Learn to Fly", then you'll fall again--over and over--for songs like "Aurora", "M.I.A.", "Breakout", "Next Year", and "Aint It the Life". "Stacked Actors" downright blows and doesn't really belong on the CD, but after that, every song is priceless!

How could I not give this album five stars? Not only is it great musically, but if you happen to slip it into your PC and not your CD player, then there is an extra treat for you: you get to see the video for "Learn to Fly", which is so funny! Musically, however, it is also strong, with a diverse range of songs, from the energetic Stacked Actors, to the more tranquil aurora. Personally, this is my favourite Foo Fighters album to date, better even than "The Colour and the Shape".

This is a solid release for the Foo Fighters. This perhaps stands as one of their best albums, from the totally awesome opening song "Stacked Actors" to the slower concluding song "MIA", I say this isn't a "boring and predictable" album. What, did the person below me know every single chord Dave was going to play in advance? Please, it doesn't matter if you have 2000 or 2000000 CDs, anyone with a remote taste for rock music should like at least 3 songs on TINLTL.

Like I mentioned above, the opening song "Stacked Actors" is truely amazing, with it's head-banging chorus and soft and dreamy verses. "Breakout" is also fast-paced, and of course it's followed by the big single "Learn To Fly", which is how I was introduced to the Foo Fighters. Actually, every song on here I like, so I won't bother naming any more. Indeed, it's a rare thing for me to be able to enjoy listening to a whole ablum without skipping any songs.

As a whole, I think the Foo Fighters are a very mature band, and I appreciate the fact that they don't need to swear every 3 words in order to have cool songs. And don't be fooled: Nirvana was an entirely different kind of band than the Foo Fighters. Dave Grohl is awesome on drums, though, I must admit. So anyways, the Foo Fighters are worth getting into, because they always have solid releases and are just fun to listen to. Pick this one up, you'll like it.

The Foo Fighters certainly had a lot to prove when they released this gem back in 99'. Avoiding the sophmore slump in a big way, Dave and the gang released one of the top albums of the 90's (and of all time in many rock fan's eyes). Would "There Is Nothing Left to Lose" compare to "The Colour and the Shape", or would it be a dissapointment. Well, although the album hasn't been heralded over time as TCATS has, it certainly deserves to be. Every track here is a fantastic blend of pop and rock, from Stacked Actors to M.I.A. The highlight is of course Aurora, a little love song Dave wrote about his life in Seattle, that just happens to be this Foo Fighter fanatics favorite of all time. The truth is this isn't the Colour and the Shape. However TINLTL certainly deserves to be recognized as one of the greatest albums of the 90's, and one of Dave Grohl's most wonderful achievements.