A major criticism of the Foo Fighters' self-titled debut was its supposed lack of, you know, passion among the well-crafted songs and well-crafted rock. This time out, if it's wreckage you want, it's wreckage you get. The Colour & the Shape grows deeper the more it's played, with the band's ripping power more than matched by Dave Grohl's fascinating examinations of pain and divorce. There's even a convincing long slow ballad, "November Stars," whose intensity should win over doubters. If that doesn't work, then the screaming "My Hero" will. --Rickey Wright

Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. 2007.

Japanese Limited Edition Issue of the Album Classic in a Deluxe, Miniaturized LP Sleeve Replica of the Original Vinyl Album Artwork. Includes the Bonus Track Dear Lover.

I had the pleasure of getting to shake Dave Grohl's hand behind the stage at Summerfest (Milwaukee, WI) on the Colour and the Shape tour on July 5, 1997. I was keenly aware that TCATS was an amazing album at the time, but the perspective of another 10 years passed has revealed just how incredible the record is from start to finish. Never again have the Foos really recaptured the feeling, the lyric qualities, and the ability to rock with emotion found on this album (though Echoes is a close second).

With unforgettable songs like "Monkeywrench" and "Everlong" and a slew of amazing songs that never saw the light of day on the radio but were indeed radio-worthy especially compared with the junk out there today, The Colour and the Shape is a solid album. Anyone who's followed the band from the beginning will quickly point to the Colour and the Shape as their best album, without reservation. It's a cd you should have on your shelf.

The re-release in 2007 included the B-sides that were included with the singles accompanying the original release, and re-mastered versions of the LP. This was not necessary, and although the B-sides saw a fair amount of radio play, they're distracting from the classic original. If you don't have the album, you are better served getting the extra songs in the re-release, but I feel sorry for you having missed the boat with the original release and the coveted place it has on my shelf.

Who would have thunk it? The tragic suicide of Kurt Cobain was supposed to be the death knell for grunge music let alone Nirvana and yet out of the ashes Dave Grohl the drummer decides to form the Foo Fighters and after a decent first effort goes on to show with this the follow-up that the Foo Fighters is no fluke in what would be an even better album. Grohl shows he learned a lot from Cobain's compositions as the same "formula" of alternating loud and soft dynamics is used on track after track. Grohl as did Cobain knew that to make songs sound interesting you can't just have non-stop loud or soft music going on throughout and that alternating hard with tender spots in songs makes them much more interesting for the human ear to behold and just like Cobain, Grohl has a very good ear for melody. The standout tracks here are "Everlong", "My Hero" and "Monkey Wrench" although the rest of the tracks in no way even closely resemble album filler and have their own merits.

This version of the album though is extremely expensive despite coming in a mini-lp replica sleeve (mlps) format which is poorly assembled with very thin and poor quality cardboard. Two 12-page booklets are included which have the lyrics in both English and Japanese and there is a bonus track included as well: "Dear Lover". The sound quality is very good which is a redeeming factor although it's not remastered. This means that you can get the same cd a lot cheaper albeit without the poor quality mlps design sleeve. Although the content of the album is blameless and represents the Foo Fighters at their best it is hard to justify the very high price you have to pay for this version though. Get this album by all means but just not this extremely expensive version.

ya dave was the drummer for nirvana but he still went on to form his own band and make GREAT music. he is a true musical talent. on the inside sleeve of this album it states he does vocals, drums and guitars! (with the exception of bass). that is a true musician. surprisingly his voice is pretty good. the big hit here is monkey wrench but they are all pretty good.

Great album, catchy but not overtly so, from soft silly vocals on "doll" to the semi metal screams of "enough space". Even though my hero and everlong have been played millions of times they're still great songs and all the other songs on the album are just as good, if not better. Play it right through, there's no slow spots.

This album it is the beginnig of the big success of this band, you will find songs like MY HERO and EVERLONG, Foo Fighters mix the fun with rock with sad love history, if you like an alternative rock music buy this album