Maps of Music

Concrete and Gold (2017)

Where the lyrics of Concrete and Gold take you, and where it was really made.

The album was made with a pop producer who had never worked on a heavy rock record, inside a busy Hollywood studio where other artists were recording at the same time.

Key places

Recorded at EastWest Studios in Hollywood (2017)

Recording site EastWest Studios — The band chose EastWest Studios in Hollywood, California, to record the album. Other artists working in the same building often collaborated with the band during these sessions. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Concrete and Gold is the ninth studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters
• Released September 15, 2017, through Roswell and RCA Records
• First Foo Fighters album produced alongside Greg Kurstin
• The band describes it as an album where "hard rock extremes and pop sensibilities collide"
• Concerns the future of the United States from the view of frontman Dave Grohl
• Overall theme given by Grohl: "hope and desperation"
• Juxtaposition is a common motif in both the lyrics and the music
• The 2016 elections and the presidency of Donald Trump are cited as major influences
• Singles "Run" and "The Sky Is a Neighborhood" both reached number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart

Background

• Early plan: build a studio on the Hollywood Bowl and record live before 20,000 people
• Grohl dropped that plan after learning PJ Harvey had recently done the same thing
• Grohl fell off the stage and broke his leg at a June 2015 concert in Sweden during the Sonic Highways tour
• He finished the tour from a self-designed "throne" chair, then recorded the Saint Cecilia EP
• Early 2016: the band announced an indefinite hiatus
• Grohl set himself a goal of staying away from music for a year
• He cancelled that plan at six months, when he began writing the lyrics to "Run"

Recording

• Writing and recording started in late 2016
• Grohl first wrote alone, working on twelve or thirteen rough song ideas
• The band enlisted Kurstin, a pop producer who had never worked on a heavy rock record
• Recorded at EastWest Studios in Hollywood, California, a building full of other working musicians
• Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men sang on the title track and the album closer
• Paul McCartney played drums on "Sunday Rain"
• Rami Jaffee became an official band member here, having toured and played sessions with the band since 2005

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in Seattle in 1994 as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl.
• Grohl recorded the debut album mostly alone in six days after Nirvana disbanded.
• Recruited bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith of Sunny Day Real Estate, and guitarist Pat Smear.
• The band made its first public performance in February 1995, five months before the debut album's release.

Members

• Current members: Dave Grohl (vocals, guitar), Nate Mendel (bass), Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett (guitars), Rami Jaffee (keyboards), Ilan Rubin (drums).
• Taylor Hawkins died in March 2022; Josh Freese served as drummer from 2023 to 2025 and Rubin from 2025 onward.

Career

• Released twelve studio albums, the twelfth, Your Favorite Toy, in April 2026.
• Won 15 Grammy Awards, including Best Rock Album five times.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021, their first year of eligibility.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Critics received the album positively, praising its more expansive feel musically and lyrically
• Modest criticism pointed to little musical deviation from the band's earlier albums
• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine said the band embraced the logical conclusion of Grohl's allegiance to real rock values
• Classic Rock's Mark Beaumont called it the most cohesive album to listen to in one sitting by Foo Fighters in a decade
• Newsday's Glenn Gamboa praised Kurstin's production
• The New York Times' Jon Pareles praised the band for making something new from its many influences
• The Guardian's Alexis Petridis gave a more reserved review, saying it nudges at the band's boundaries rather than breaking through them
• DIY's Emma Swann gave it three out of five stars

Reappraisal

• Metacritic average of 72 out of 100, based on 29 mainstream critic reviews, which indicates generally favorable reviews

Records

• Debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 127,000 album-equivalent units, 120,000 of them album sales
• Second Foo Fighters US number-one album, after Wasting Light
• Debuted at number one on twelve other national album charts
• UK: number one with 61,000 album-equivalent units, the band's fourth UK number one
• Australia: seventh ARIA number one, certified gold for 35,000 units
• "Run" and "The Sky Is a Neighborhood" both peaked at number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The Hollywood Bowl live-recording idea was dropped after PJ Harvey had already done something similar for her 2015 sessions.
• Grohl rented an Airbnb in Ojai, California, to focus on writing, and said he sat there with a case of wine and a microphone for about five days.
• Justin Timberlake sang backing vocals on the track "Dirty Water" after Grohl had first refused to name the star he had announced.
• Paul McCartney recorded two drum tracks for "Sunday Rain" without hearing the song first, playing from Grohl's acoustic version played on the spot.
• Grohl said that "La Dee Da" was written about a childhood friend who introduced him to underground music.
• The album credits list EastWest Studios as the recording location.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact