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.”
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Dave Grohl has 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.
Introducing…the Dee Gees!!!
HAIL SATIN – coming to a local record store & dance party near you July 17th!!! https://t.co/tBmhSkPpMm #RSDDrops #RSD21 @recordstoreday pic.twitter.com/j0g6Kh5jSj
— Foo Fighters (@foofighters) June 17, 2021
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.
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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+ series From Cradle To Stage, Grohl says that his disco influence runs deep.
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“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 Band and 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.
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“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.”
‘Waiting On A War’ out now. ?
Listen here: https://t.co/9uyPXIqYBd#MedicineAtMidnight pic.twitter.com/cVBn4H5oMW— Foo Fighters (@foofighters) January 14, 2021
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.
Important information about the July 17th Forum show. pic.twitter.com/9EwtDorRDx
— Foo Fighters (@foofighters) July 15, 2021
You can get tickets to future shows here and see tour dates along with the tracklisting for Dee Gees/Hail Satin below.
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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
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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
