Friend of a Friend (Foo Fighters song) explained

Friend of a Friend
Artist:Foo Fighters
Album:In Your Honor
Released:1992, 1998, 2005, 2006
Recorded:1990/1997/2005/2006
Genre:Acoustic rock
Length:3:13
Label:Simple Machines (1992)
Melody Maker (1998)
RCA (2005 and 2006)
Producer:Barrett Jones, Geoff Turner (1990), Simon Askew (1997), Nick Raskulinecz, Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Taylor Hawkins, Chris Shiflett (2005), Gil Norton (2006)

"Friend of a Friend" is an acoustic song by Foo Fighters, featured on their 2005 album In Your Honor. The song is performed solely by Foo Fighters' guitarist/lead vocalist Dave Grohl.

An earlier version of this song was recorded in 1990, after Grohl had joined the band Nirvana.

Song history

"Friend of a Friend" was the first acoustic song Dave Grohl had ever written.[1]

The song was written by Grohl in 1990 (and recorded in secret the same year), and it was about his first impressions of new Nirvana bandmates Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic.[2] He first wrote it in Kurt's Olympia apartment when Grohl stumbled upon an acoustic guitar owned by Cobain (referring to the lyrics "It was his friend's guitar"). The recorded song was released in 1992 in a collection of songs (entitled Pocketwatch) under the pseudonym 'Late!'

On April 30, 1997, the song was recorded for a BBC Evening Session. In 2005, Grohl revisited the song, recording it again for the acoustic disc of the Foo Fighters' In Your Honor. The song was also included on the band's live album Skin and Bones.

Reception

Uncut praises the song, calling it an "uncharacteristically spiked critique of slackerdom that bears an eerie Cobain influence".[3]

Recording and release history

Studio versions

Date recordedStudioProducerReleasesPersonnel
1990 WGNS Studios or Upland Studios, USBarrett Jones, Geoff TurnerPocketwatch (1992)
  • Dave Grohl

vocals, guitars

April 30, 1997BBC Radio 1, UKUnknownAired on BBC Evening Session in 1997. Later released on Melody Maker & BBC Radio 1 present Steve Lamacq's Bootleg Session cassette free with the March 7th 1998 issue of Melody Maker.
  • Dave Grohl: vocals, guitars, drums and bass
January–March 2005Studio 606 West, Northridge, Los AngelesIn Your Honor (2005)
  • Dave Grohl: vocals, guitar

Live versions

Notes and References

  1. Web site: In Your Honor : Dave Grohl's Guide To Every Song . Foo Archive . 2011-11-22.
  2. http://www.fooarchive.com/gpb/qinterview05.htm
  3. Web site: Foo Fighters - In Your Honour - Review . Uncut.co.uk . 2011-11-22.
  4. News: Barlow . Eve . August 16, 2019 . Dave Grohl: 'I never imagined myself to be Freddie Mercury' . . August 22, 2019.