Greatest Hits -Deluxe CD/DVD-

It's just skin and bones
While diehard fans often grumble about compilations, they're usually not the target demographic anyway. It's for casual fans, or those who want a nice introductory overview of a band's history (as such, I never like it when the songs are out of chronological order, as it is here). In that regard, it delivers, and if it brings in a whole new set of fans, all the better. So for them, maybe this is 4 stars. For the rest of us, it's 2. It's always hard not to grumble. Perhaps the most frustrating thing about greatest hits albums is how they often don't fill up an entire disc, especially when a band easily has enough songs to do so. In this case, about four more probably could've been squeezed in, and there's plenty of more singles to choose from. "I'll Stick Around," "Walking After You," "Next Year," and the solo acoustic "Times Like These" are found on the DVD at least. While some may dismiss the Foo Fighters as a singles band, a lot of their best work are album tracks which could've made for a solid second disc, even if only as part of a separate package. As a result, a lot of casual fans will never know just how great the Foos can be outside of their trademark power pop sound, and will thus miss out on (frankly) beautiful songs like "February Stars," "A320," "Aurora," "Ain't It the Life," "Virginia Moon," and "Cold Day in the Sun.". They've also done some memorable unlikely covers, such as "Down in the Park," "Baker Street," "I Feel Free," and "Band on the Run." Older fans will likely get this only for the DVD, which unfortunately is also lacking in some areas. One of my favorite videos was the bridge one for "Times Like These" (only the studio acoustic version is included here). "Breakout" is also missing. Lesser known alternates such as the green-screen "Times Like These" and the Davy Grolton Band-only "Long Road to Ruin" also would've been nice to have. "No Way Back" is included as an easily found easter egg, as is a rendition of "Home." "The "sampler" set of live performances is a nice touch. As was probably expected, Grohl has expressed disappointment in the album, saying it was only a contractual obligation and that the band had no input on it. His statement that they wanted to wait until the band was retired, and that they still hadn't written their best songs, can be a bit presumptuous (even contemporaries like Green Day and Chili Peppers had their greatest hits albums long ago). Still, Grohl does provide a classy write-up in the liner notes, which otherwise consists only of your usual candid photos. In it, he mentions how this is strictly a greatest hits package, and not their best or favorite songs. That'll probably have to wait until their retirement, which hopefully will be a long time from now anyway, though Grohl has hinted that a hiatus will continue. (As for the new songs, "Wheels" is catchy but does sound a bit too much like "Learning to Fly" at times, and it gets repetitive at the end - one of my few Grohl pet peeves. "Word Forward" is a bit better, with a more bouncy "Let It Die" feel to it.)

Sound compressed way too much
Someone please comment if they hear what I'm hearing. It sounds like they took great recordings, and ran them through a mega-compressor to get rid of all of the noise. The cymbals are muted, the guitars are slicker with no growl, and it seems designed to lay Dave's vocals ahead of everything, but it doesn't rock. Are they trying to appeal to a group of people that are growing older that think can't tolerate the noise of rock music? I'll take the original recordings over these any day. I hate compression! I'm not too old to rock!!! Dave, I want you guys to blow my head off on the next record!!!

New Package + 2 New Songs...
... but wait, I already own 14 of these songs. I can hear Cobain moaning in his grave. He never wanted a Nirvana Greatest Hits, and now the Foo Fighters have sold out too. Perhaps it's the easiest way to release the only two tracks the band has recorded lately. Go listen to the Pocketwatch Album, and the Foo demos back when Dave was young, aggresive, and mostly rockin'! ... or buy this album and listen to it with your niece.

Sounds Familiar
Good compilation from a reliably good band. "Wheels" is basically a remake of Tom Petty's "Learning to Fly" with a few tempo changes thrown in for good measure...

So-so compilation, better if you get the videography
FIrst off, it's always disappointing that bands are required by their labels to release a greatest hits compilation, especially with such a great band as the Foo Fighters who have enough solid albums that they don't really need a greatest hits compilation. This disc is great for people who want an introduction to the past decade + of Foo Fighters music but in all honesty, with the catalogue the Foo Fighters have, they should have had a double-disc Greatest Hits. From this is missing the singles: Walking After You, I'll Stick Around (yeah I know the Foos don't care for it, but truth is, it was a single), For All The Cows, The One, Generator, Tired of You, Low, and No Way Back. The bonus tracks are highly disappointing as I was pumped to hear them after the Foo Fighters website was promoting them as the Foos next giant arena rock tunes. And the Everlong acoustic version is a bit unnecessary. The best acoustic version of that song recorded was from the 2 Meter Sessions; I would suggest checking it out on Youtube if you've never seen it. The Videography is nice and long sought after for my personal collection. The Foo Fighters have always had fun and artistic videos to compliment their songs. So yeah, overall, unless you're buying the Deluxe edition with the videography, the CD isn't really worth the time for true fans and might be worth it for new listeners! Greatest Hits (Deluxe CD/DVD)