Foo Fighters: Greatest Hits

iTunes Review

Kurt Cobain’s death signaled the end for Nirvana. No one expected its drummer, Dave Grohl, to leave his kit behind and front one of the most successful hard rock groups of the next decade. Yet that’s exactly what happened. Grohl’s pop sense has proven strong, drawing from the heavy but hummable roots of the Descendents and Hüsker Dü and taking them to modern rock heights. His strong sense of humor, evident in the band’s videos, pushes aside the dark, mournful tones of grunge for the evergreen pop hooks of “Everlong,” “My Hero,” “Learn to Fly” and “The Pretender.” Foo Fighters began as a solo project (“This Is a Call,” “Big Me”) with a self-titled debut album recorded at home with Grohl as its only member. Other members were signed up in order to pull off live shows and Grohl has never looked back. This retrospective includes two new cuts, the Tom Petty Americana of “Wheels” (Grohl played drums for Petty’s Heartbreakers) and the acoustic-to-electric anthem power of “Word Forward,” plus an acoustic version of “Everlong.”