Individuals usually affiliate the Foo Fighters with area rock anthemsexplosive sound, and high-energy performances. Songs like “Everlong” and “All My Life” have come to outline the band’s signature sound. And it’s fairly simple to find out the place they bought their inspiration, as they had been impressed by quite a lot of famend rock bands that preceded them. To not point out Grohl himself is the previous drummer of Nirvana — one of many biggest grunge bands in historical past, no much less. However there was a time when the American rock band leaned right into a softer, extra melodic sound after listening to an excessive amount of Fleetwood Mac. That tune turned out to be “Ain’t It the Life,” arguably one in all their most subdued (and delightful) songs of their in any other case extra hard-rock-driven discography.
“Ain’t It the Life” Showcases a Totally different Facet of the Foo Fighters
The Foo Fighters have by no means been thought-about a people rock band; they’re usually primarily categorized as an different rock and post-grunge act. However when Grohl in the end centered on his venture with Foo Fighters, it grew to become clear that he had acquired extra artistic freedom to experiment. In some unspecified time in the future in his profession, he additionally developed an curiosity within the Nineteen Seventies music, particularly Fleetwood Mac — an affect he playfully acknowledged when writing “Ain’t It the Life.” Looking back, the 2 bands differ considerably in each sound and total aesthetic. Whereas Fleetwood Mac embraced easy and melodic preparations typical of Nineteen Seventies comfortable rock/people rock, Foo Fighters constructed their status on explosive riffs and driving rhythms that outline their different rock identification. Weirdly, Grohl himself was not, in any manner, a diehard fan of that particular sound. Explaining how the tune happened, the Foo Fighters frontman stated:
“That’s what occurs if you take heed to an excessive amount of mellow ’70s gold Fleetwood Mac-type stuff whereas recording… ‘Ain’t it the Life’ appears like an Eagles tune or one thing, and I hate the Eagles.”
From the Foo Fighters’ third studio album, There Is Nothing Left to Lose“Ain’t It the Life” stands out with its calm and tender tone. There’s no denying that this exploration past their typical type paid off, as “Ain’t It the Life” stands as one in all their most sonically distinct tracks, channeling acoustic and laid‑again parts hardly ever heard of their catalog. The tune opens with a mild sound, instantly setting a temper that alerts it’s a monitor totally different from their typical. Its affect can be heard, coming off as a nod to Fleetwood Mac’s “Goals,” but, in some way, nonetheless with Foo Fighters’ signature type. The comfortable, virtually conversational tone additionally permits Grohl’s voice to take heart stage. Apparently sufficient, it fits Grohl’s voice completely, showcasing a extra relaxed vocal supply than the band’s typical high-energy numbers.
Foo Fighters’ ‘There Is Nothing Left To Lose’ Is a Nice Album in Itself
Approaching the heels of Foo Fighters’ most commercially and critically profitable album up to now, The Color and the Form (the identical album that options hit tracks like “My Hero,” “Everlong,” and “Strolling After You”), There Is Nothing Left to Lose was type of a danger, as with the success of their sophomore effort they’d a lot extra to lose when it got here to assembly fan and significant expectations. Nonetheless, it was additionally an album the place the band felt like all bets had been off, following the departure of guitarist Franz Stahl — therefore the album title. Grohl defined: “It is about if you expertise these feelings after you’ve got been via a protracted, tough interval and also you lastly give into this sense that, fairly merely, there’s nothing left to lose. It might probably appear… constructive, determined and reckless.”
Launched in 1999, There Is Nothing Left to Lose acquired typically constructive critiques, with critics on the time praising the document for stripping down the Foo Fighters a bit. General, critics appreciated how Foo Fighters managed to evolve their sound with out dropping their identification, with the album usually described as a mature, introspective effort for the band. And whereas songs like “Study to Fly” and “Breakout” had been a number of the clear standouts, “Ain’t It the Life” offered a softer second on the album, reflecting the band’s willingness to discover a extra melodic and nuanced sound. Actually a outstanding addition to the Foo Fighters’ discography — let’s simply say, thanks, Fleetwood Mac.