In Your Honor
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In Your Honor is the fifth studio album by Foo Fighters, released on June 14, 2005 on BMG. It is the band's second-best-selling album in the United States behind 1997's The Colour and the Shape. It consists of two discs. All of the tracks on the second disc are acoustic.
Development
Much of the album's theme and content came after Grohl spent time on the campaign trail with John Kerry during the 2004 presidential election. "We'd pull in to small towns, and thousands of people would come to be rescued by this man," said Grohl. "It's not a political record, but what I saw inspired me." [1]
Grohl has stated that the song "Friend of a Friend" was written about himself and his former Nirvana bandmate Kurt Cobain during the time they shared an apartment together in 1990. Grohl also recorded the song under the pseudonym 'Late!', which was released on Pocketwatch. Despite the sombre tone of the song, it was written before Cobain's death in 1994.[2]
In Your Honor features a number of special guests on its second, mellower disc, including Norah Jones, John Paul Jones (of Led Zeppelin fame) and Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age. Dave Grohl has described John Paul Jones' guest appearance as the "second-greatest thing to happen to me in my life."
On an episode of Making the Video on MTV, for the single "Best of You," Grohl said that he hopes that the Foo Fighters are most remembered for this album.
Release
There is also a special edition DualDisc set that contains a "making of" documentary, and the second disc in 5.1 surround sound.
In the U.S., the MediaMax CD-3 copy protection system is used. This copy protection only appears on the standard CD version of the album, but not on the DualDisc version.
Reception
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Described by leader Dave Grohl as the "ultimate" Foo Fighters album, In Your Honor was generally met with receptive reviews. It entered the U.S. and UK charts at #2 behind Coldplay's X&Y (the worldwide best selling album of 2005) with the strongest initial sales of their entire career thus far. In Your Honor sold 310,500 copies in its first week of release in the United States and as of October 2006 stands at 1,261,000 units sold.
This album was the third Foo Fighters album to have a song reach the top of the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart, and the first to top the chart with two songs, "Best of You" and "DOA".
In Your Honor found the most success in Canada where it is certified 3 X Platinum, making it their best seller there as well.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel and Chris Shiflett except where noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "In Your Honor" | 3:50 |
| 2. | "No Way Back" | 3:17 |
| 3. | "Best of You" | 4:16 |
| 4. | "DOA" | 4:12 |
| 5. | "Hell" | 1:57 |
| 6. | "The Last Song" | 3:19 |
| 7. | "Free Me" | 4:39 |
| 8. | "Resolve" | 4:49 |
| 9. | "The Deepest Blues Are Black" | 3:58 |
| 10. | "End Over End" | 5:56 |
| 11. | "The Sign" (iTunes/vinyl/UK bonus track) | 4:01 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Still" | 5:15 |
| 2. | "What If I Do?" | 5:02 |
| 3. | "Miracle" | 3:29 |
| 4. | "Another Round" | 4:25 |
| 5. | "Friend of a Friend" (Grohl) | 3:13 |
| 6. | "Over and Out" | 5:16 |
| 7. | "On the Mend" | 4:31 |
| 8. | "Virginia Moon" (featuring Norah Jones) | 3:49 |
| 9. | "Cold Day in the Sun" | 3:20 |
| 10. | "Razor" (Grohl) | 4:53 |
Personnel
Band line-up during recording
- Dave Grohl – lead vocals, backing vocals, rhythm guitar, drums on "Cold Day in the Sun"
- Chris Shiflett – lead guitar
- Nate Mendel – bass
- Taylor Hawkins – drums, percussion, lead vocals on "Cold Day in the Sun"
Additional musicians
- Joe Beebe – guitar on "Virginia Moon"
- Danny Clinch – harmonica on "Another Round"
- Petra Haden – violin on "Miracle"
- Josh Homme - guitar on "Razor"
- John Paul Jones - mandolin on "Another Round" and piano on "Miracle"
- Rami Jaffee – keyboards on "Still", "What If I Do?", "Another Round", "Over and Out", "On the Mend" and "Cold Day in the Sun"
- Norah Jones – vocals and piano on "Virginia Moon"
Production
- Nick Raskulinecz – production
- Foo Fighters – production
- Mike Terry – engineering
- Nick Raskulinecz – mixing (disc one)
- Elliot Scheiner – mixing (disc two)
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
Artwork
- Dan Winters – photography
- Danny Clinch – photography
- Brett Kilroe – additional art and "Crest" concept
- Robin C. Hendrickson – additional art and "Crest" concept
- Kevin Reagan – art direction
- Kevin Reagan – design
- Bret Healey – design
Album charts
|
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Australian Albums Chart | 1 |
| 2005 | Austrian Albums Chart | 5 |
| 2005 | Belgium Albums Chart | 3 |
| 2005 | Canadian Albums Chart | 3 |
| 2005 | Czech Republic Albums Chart | 34 |
| 2005 | Denmark Albums Chart | 5 |
| 2005 | Finland Albums Chart | 1 |
| 2005 | French Albums Chart | 21 |
| 2005 | German Albums Chart | 4 |
| 2005 | Greece Albums Chart | 19 |
| 2005 | Holland Albums Chart | 5 |
| 2005 | Irish Albums Chart | 2 |
| 2005 | Italian Albums Chart | 20 |
| 2005 | New Zealand Albums Chart | 1 |
| 2005 | Norway Albums Chart | 2 |
| 2005 | Portugal Albums Chart | 20 |
| 2005 | Spanish Albums Chart | 31 |
| 2005 | Sweden Albums Chart | 1 |
| 2005 | Switzerland Albums Chart | 7 |
| 2005 | U.S. Billboard 200 | 2 |
| 2005 | UK Albums Chart | 2 |
| 2007 | UK Rock Albums Chart | 1 |
Charting singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Best of You" | UK Singles Chart | 4 |
| 2005 | "Best of You" | Australian Singles Chart | 5 |
| 2005 | "Best of You" | U.S. Modern Rock Tracks | 1 |
| 2005 | "Best of You" | U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 |
| 2005 | "Best of You" | Billboard Hot 100 (U.S.) | 18 |
| 2005 | "Best of You" | Irish Singles Chart | 20 |
| 2005 | "Best of You" | Italian Singles Chart | 36 |
| 2005 | "Best of You" | New Zealand Singles Chart | 38 |
| 2005 | "Best of You" | Sweden Singles Chart | 41 |
| 2005 | "Best of You" | Holland Singles Chart | 94 |
| 2005 | "DOA" | UK Singles Chart | 25 |
| 2005 | "DOA" | U.S. Modern Rock Tracks | 1 |
| 2005 | "DOA" | U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks | 6 |
| 2005 | "DOA" | Australian Singles Chart | 39 |
| 2005 | "DOA" | Irish Singles Chart | 40 |
| 2005 | "DOA" | Holland Singles Chart | 33 |
| 2005 | "DOA" | New Zealand Singles Chart | 34 |
| 2005 | "DOA" | Billboard Hot 100 (U.S.) | 68 |
| 2005 | "DOA" | Holland Singles Chart | 86 |
| 2005 | "Resolve" | BBC Radio 1 Chart | 2 |
| 2006 | "Resolve" | UK Singles Chart | 32 |
| 2006 | "Resolve" | New Zealand Singles Chart | 39 |
| 2006 | "Resolve" | Holland Singles Chart | 82 |
| 2006 | "No Way Back" | U.S. Modern Rock | 2 |
| 2006 | "No Way Back" | U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks | 6 |
| 2006 | "No Way Back"/"Cold Day in the Sun" | UK Singles Chart | 64 |
Grammy nominations
Although it was the band's first album since The Colour and the Shape to not receive a Grammy, it got the most nominations with 5. (This has since been tied by the album's successor, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace)
- Best Rock Album
- Best Rock Song - "Best of You"
- Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals - "Virginia Moon"
- Best Surround Sound Album
- Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal - "Best of You"
Song use in media
- "No Way Back" was a song included in Madden NFL 06.
- "DOA" was released on 12/23/08 as DLC for the Rock Band video game series.
- "Miracle" has appeared in episodes of Scrubs, The West Wing And Cold Case. "Resolve" also appeared in the same West Wing episode.
Notes
- ^ [1] "Foos Reclaim Their Honor" - Dave Grohl interview with Rolling Stone, 2005
- ^ [2] "Everyone Has Their Dark Side" - Dave Grohl interview with Q Magazine, 2005.
