Foo Fighters drop Record Store Day album, ‘Dee Gees/Hail Satin’–listen
Foo Fighters have released Dee Gees/Hail Satin, their latest funk-filled album featuring a mixture of covers and live originals. The album was originally released July 17 as a Record Store Day special. Staying true to the era, the vinyl is packed in a “dazzling rainbow mylar sleeve.” Read more: For Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington, […]
Foo Fighters have released Dee Gees/Hail Satin, their latest funk-filled album featuring a mixture of covers and live originals.
The album was originally released July 17 as a Record Store Day special. Staying true to the era, the vinyl is packed in a “dazzling rainbow mylar sleeve.”
Dave Grohlhas been a world-touring grunge drummer, the devil and a world-famous rock frontman. In his new iteration as the frontman for Foo Fighters alter ego band “the Dee Gees,” the musical virtuoso finds himself taking a stab at the funk giants of old.
The A-side of Dee Gees/Hail Satin features covers of disco giants Andy Gibb and the Bee Gees. The tracks aren’t rock or grunge reimaginings but more of an exposé on how the band can take on any genre and still make it kick ass.
Five covers are included on the first half of the album, such as “Night Fever” and “More Than A Woman.” Grohl ebbs and flows between his characteristically dynamic baritone and striking falsettos that ring out smoother than a velvet butter saxophone. The singer told BBC Radio 2 about the simplicity of singing the lyrics and his regret for not trying out this approach sooner.
“I have never, ever in my life sung like that, but it was the easiest song I have ever sung in my entire life,” Grohl says. “It was like six minutes, and I was done. I should have been singing like this for the last 25 years!”
Longtime fans of Foo Fighters may not have predicted such a departure from their typical sound. However, in the new Paramount+seriesFrom Cradle To Stage, Grohl says that his disco influence runs deep.
“Stop saying that I’m a good drummer because I’m the most basic fucking drummer,” Grohl says. “If you listen to Nevermind, the Nirvana record, I pulled so much stuff from the Gap Bandand Cameo and Tony Thompson [of CHIC] on every one of those songs…. It’s all disco. That’s all it is. Nobody makes the connection.”
Live versions of five original songs appear after the tributes, such as the single “No Son Of Mine” from their early 2021 album Medicine At Midnight. The originals keep pace with the disco cuts, especially considering Grohl’s wish for Medicine to be more of a dance album.
Also included is the more reflective track “Waiting On A War.” Similar to the Bee Gees, the song is reminiscent of the lead singer’s childhood and details generations of shared experiences between Grohl and his daughter, Harper.
“As a child growing up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., I was always afraid of war,” he says. “I had nightmares of missiles in the sky and soldiers in my backyard, most likely brought upon by the political tension of the early 1980s and my proximity to the nation’s Capitol. My youth was spent under the dark cloud of a hopeless future.
“Last fall, as I was driving my daughter to school, she turned to me and asked, ‘Daddy, is there going to be a war?’” he continues. “My heart sank as I realized that she was now living under the same dark cloud that I had felt 40 years ago.
I wrote ‘Waiting On A War’ that day. Every day waiting for the sky to fall. Is there more to this than that? Is there more to this than just waiting on a war? Because I need more. We all do. This song was written for my daughter, Harper, who deserves a future, just as every child does.”
To celebrate the return of live music, the band have scheduled a North American tour for late summer 2021. The band will play a few shows in the fall and winter, take a break and return for a European tour with guest appearances by Greta Van Fleet and Weezer. Recently, the band had to cancel their first show of the tour due to one of their members contracting COVID-19 but announced their intention to reschedule the event at a future date.
What do you think of Dee Gees/Hail Satin by Foo Fighters? Give the album a listen and drop a comment below!
Dee Gees/Hail Satin tracklist:
“You Should Be Dancing” “Night Fever” “Tragedy” “Shadow Dancing” “More Than A Woman” “Making A Fire” “Shame Shame” “Waiting On A War” “No Son Of Mine” “Cloudspotter”
Foo Fighters tour dates:
07/28 – Cincinnati, OH @ Icon Festival Stage at Smale Park 07/30 – Milwaukee, WI @ American Family Insurance Amphitheater 08/01 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza 08/03 – St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre 08/05 – Bonner Springs, KS @ Azura Amphitheater 08/07 – Oklahoma City, OK @ The Zoo Amphitheatre 08/09 – Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater 08/17 – Anchorage, AK @ Dena’ing Center 08/19 – Anchorage, AK @ Dena’ing Center 08/21 – Fairbanks, AK @ Carlson Center 09/03 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music + Arts Festival 09/05 – Napa, CA @ Bottlerock Napa Valley 10/08 – New Orleans, LA @ New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 11/10 – Mexico City, MX @ Foro Sol
11/12-13/22 – Monterrey, MX @ Tecate Pal Norte 05/27-29/22 – Boston, MA @ Boston Calling Music Festival 06/08/22 – Berlin, DE @ Flughafen Tempelhof 06/10/22 –Nickelsdorf, AT @ Nova Rock Festival 06/12/22 – Milan, IT @ I-Days 06/14/22 – Basel, CH @ St. Jakob-Park 06/16/22 – Valencia, ES @ Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias 06/18/22 – Lisbon, PT @ Rock in Rio Lisbon 06/20/22 – Madrid, ES @ Wanda Metropolitano Stadium 06/22-23/22 – Nimes, FR @ Festival de Nimes