Concrete and Gold is the ninth studio album by the Foo Fighters, released on September 15, 2017, through Roswell and RCA Records. It is the band’s first album to be produced alongside Greg Kurstin. Described by the band as an album where “hard rock extremes and pop sensibilities collide”, Concrete and Gold concerns the future of the United States from the viewpoint of the band’s frontman and lead songwriter Dave Grohl, with the heated atmosphere of the 2016 elections and the presidency of Donald Trump cited as major influences by Grohl. Juxtapositions serve as a common motif in both the album’s lyrical and musical composition, with Grohl further describing the album’s overall theme as “hope and desperation”.
Writing and recording of Concrete and Gold started in late 2016, after Grohl ended a self imposed six month hiatus from music while recovering from an injury sustained on the Sonic Highways World Tour. Working off a set of twelve or thirteen ideas for songs conceived by Grohl, the band enlisted the help of Kurstin, a pop music producer, who had never worked on a heavy rock record previously. The studio at which the band chose to record Concrete and Gold, EastWest Studios in Hollywood, California, fostered collaborations with various other artists who were also working at the studio at the time, including Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men, Justin Timberlake, and Paul McCartney. It is the first Foo Fighters studio album to feature long-time session and touring keyboardist Rami Jaffee as a permanent member.
Concrete and Gold was received positively by music critics, who praised the album’s more expansive feel, both musically and lyrically. Modest criticism was aimed at the perceived lack of musical deviation from the band’s previous albums. The album became the band’s second to debut at number one on the Billboard 200, moving 127,000 album-equivalent units and selling 120,000 copies in its first week in the United States. The album also debuted at number one on twelve other national album charts, such as the United Kingdom Official Albums Chart and Australian ARIA Albums Chart. Singles from the album also found success; Run and The Sky Is a Neighborhood both peaked at number one at the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart. An eponymous headlining tour to promote the album ran through the second half of 2017.
Tracklist:
- T-Shirt
- Run
- Make It Right
- The Sky Is a Neighborhood
- La Dee Da
- Dirty Water
- Arrows
- Happy Ever After (Zero Hour)
- Sunday Rain
- The Line
- Concrete and Gold
Foo Fighters
Dave Grohl: lead vocals (tracks 1–8, 10, 11), guitar (1–7, 9–11), acoustic guitar (8), percussion (2, 8)
Chris Shiflett: guitar (all tracks), percussion (2, 8)
Pat Smear: guitar (all tracks), percussion (2, 8)
Nate Mendel: bass (all tracks), percussion (2, 8)
Taylor Hawkins: drums (tracks 1–8, 10, 11), percussion (2, 6, 8), lead vocals (9), background vocals (1, 3, 4, 7, 10)
Rami Jaffee: piano (tracks 1, 5, 10), synthesizer (1, 6, 9), Mellotron (2, 7, 10, 11), Casio SK-1 (2), organ (2, 9), percussion (2, 8), Farfisa organ (3, 7), ARP String Ensemble (3), clavinet (5), Reface (5), Wurlitzer (6, 9), vibraphone (7), harmonium and pump organ (8), B3 organ (10), Moog (11)
Guest musicians
Greg Kurstin: piano (tracks 2, 7), synthesizer (6, 9), vibraphone (7, 10), ARP String Ensemble (7), bass synth (10)
Taylor Greenwood: background vocals (track 1)
Justin Timberlake: background vocals (track 3)
Alison Mosshart: background vocals (tracks 4, 5)
Kinga Bacik: cello (track 4)
Thomas Lea: viola (track 4)
Ginny Luke: violin (track 4)
Dave Koz: saxophone (track 5)
Inara George: background vocals (track 6)
Jessy Greene: violin (tracks 8, 10), cello (11)
Greg Sierpowski: Optigan (track 8)
Paul McCartney: drums (track 9)
Shawn Stockman: background vocals (track 11)
Production
Greg Kurstin: production
Foo Fighters: production
Darrell Thorp: mixing, engineering, mastering
Alex Pasco: engineering
Julian Burg: engineering
Samon Rajabnik: engineering
Brendan Dekora: engineering
Chaz Sexton: assistant engineer
David Ives: mastering
Taylor Hawkins (February 17, 1972 March 25, 2022).
