Tuesday , March 19 2024
The approach seems both contrived and reasonable. Which is it?

In Your Honor: A First Impression

“In Your Honor” is the new double album from Foo Fighters. Disc 1 is devoted to the band’s hard rock personality while Disc 2 is dedicated to more of an acoustic, stripped-down approach (or at least that is what Dave Grohl says… I have not gotten to those songs yet). The approach seems both contrived and reasonable. Which is it? I guess it will depend on how good the songs are. In all likelihood it will be a little of both.

I wish I had opened a text editor and done this as a running commentary. I always think of things like that too late. So this is not going to be one of those but it is going to have a similar vibe. This is going to be a guerilla review short on details, long on vibe. First impressions can sometimes be unreliable, but here is my first impression of “In Your Honor” (I am listening to “End Over End” which is the last song on the first disc of the new Foo Fighters’ “In Your Honor”).

The verdict on the first disc, the rock disc? It is pretty good. Solid, hard rock delivered with a few hooks and some decent vocal work from Grohl. I cannot recall many of the songs specifically after one listen so there was nothing that jumped out at me as being a modern classic. However, I did not have the urge to skip any songs while listening to them. I did tap my foot and nod my head a couple of times (most notably during “In Your Honor,” “Best of You,” and “Hell”). I left the first disc with a desire to hear these songs agiain. So far… so good.

While I am listening to the first track on Disc 2 (“Still”… pretty good so far) I should take a moment to discuss the damnable copy protection situation. “In Your Honor” is indeed copy protected and you had better know this before you put the disc in your computer. If you insert the disc in your computer unaware you might find yourself in a real pisser when you try and rip the songs to your iPod. [Note: I am not advocating doing anything immoral with your CD. That is between you and your God, Higher Power, Moral Compass, or Karma.] If you own a PC, you will want to either A) turn off your autorun feature or B) hold the SHIFT key down when you insert the disc. If you own a Mac, holding the SHIFT key worked as I am now able to listen to the AAC files I ripped and put on my iPod.

There is also a DualDisc version of the album. The DD version is more expensive (as it is essentially a 2-CD set with DVD content). I have had success ripping the CD side of DDs to my iPod. I understand others have not. You have been warned.

Back to the album. “Still” was a very good song. “What if I Do?” is good but I am not liking it quite as much as I liked “Still.” “Miracle” is in the same league as “What if I Do?” which is to say not quite as strong as Disc 2-opener “Still.” “Miracle” does mix in a nice string arrangement. “Friend of a Friend” is just Grohl and an acoustic guitar and I am liking this one almost as much as “Still.” Grohl’s vocals are easy on the ear and the melody is a good one.

My first impression: I like enough of these songs enough to want to have a second impression.

First Impression: B

About Josh Hathaway

Check Also

3 body FEATURED

SXSW 2024 Film Review: ‘3 Body Problem’ – Search for Aliens and Conspiracies with David Benioff and D.B. Weiss

'3 Body Problem,' a new sci-fi series by Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and their new partner Alexander Woo debuted at SXSW.