"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.
| "Friend of a Friend" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Foo Fighters | |
| from the 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) |
| Songwriter(s) | Dave Grohl |
| Producer(s) | Barrett Jones, Geoff Turner (1990), Simon Askew (1997), Nick Raskulinecz, Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Taylor Hawkins, Chris Shiflett (2005), Gil Norton (2006) |
An earlier version of this song was recorded in 1990, after Grohl had joined the band Nirvana.
Song history
edit"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
editUncut praises the song, calling it an "uncharacteristically spiked critique of slackerdom that bears an eerie Cobain influence".[3]
Accolades
edit| Year | Publication | Country | Accolade | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | The Guardian | United Kingdom | Dave Grohl's Landmark Songs[4] | N/A |
Recording and release history
editStudio versions
edit| Date recorded | Studio | Producer | Releases | Personnel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | WGNS Studios or Upland Studios, US | Barrett Jones, Geoff Turner | Pocketwatch (1992) |
|
| April 30, 1997 | BBC Radio 1, UK | Unknown | Aired 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. |
|
| January–March 2005 | Studio 606 West, Northridge, Los Angeles | Nick Raskulinecz | In Your Honor (2005) |
|
Live versions
edit| Date recorded | Venue | Releases | Personnel |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 29–31, 2006 | Pantages Theatre, Los Angeles | Skin and Bones (2006) |
|
Notes
edit- ^ "In Your Honor : Dave Grohl's Guide To Every Song". Foo Archive. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
- ^ [1] "Everyone Has Their Dark Side" - Dave Grohl interview with Q Magazine, 2005
- ^ "Foo Fighters - In Your Honour - Review". Uncut.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
- ^ Barlow, Eve (August 16, 2019). "Dave Grohl: 'I never imagined myself to be Freddie Mercury'". The Guardian. Retrieved August 22, 2019.