There Is Nothing Left to Lose
Foo Fighters' third album, first Grammy winner.
There Is Nothing Left to Lose is the third studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters, released on November 2, 1999, through Roswell and RCA Records. It won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 2001, the band's first Grammy win. The album marked the first studio credit for drummer Taylor Hawkins, though frontman Dave Grohl also played drums on some songs.
Quick Facts
- Artist
- Foo Fighters
- Released
- 2 November 1999
- Recorded
- March – June 1999
- Studio
- Dave's House (Alexandria, Virginia); Conway (Los Angeles)
- Genre
- Alternative rock
- post-grunge
- heartland rock
- grunge
- Label
- Roswell; RCA
- Producer
- Foo Fighters; Adam Kasper
Facts from the source article.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stacked Actors | 4:16 |
| 2 | Breakout | 3:21 |
| 3 | Learn to Fly | 3:55 |
| 4 | Gimme Stitches | 3:42 |
| 5 | Generator | 3:48 |
| 6 | Aurora | 5:49 |
| 7 | Live-In Skin | 3:52 |
| 8 | Next Year | 4:36 |
| 9 | Headwires | 4:37 |
| 10 | Ain't It the Life | 4:15 |
| 11 | M.I.A. | 4:03 |
| Total length | 46:16 | |
Track listing from the source article.
Background
The Foo Fighters entered their third album as a three-piece after guitarist Franz Stahl was let go following roughly a year with the band. Dave Grohl felt Stahl had never truly settled in, so the lineup for the record was just Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, and new drummer Taylor Hawkins. Grohl was worn out from the grueling sessions for the previous album, The Colour and the Shape, which had also cost the band two members. To avoid that pressure, he bought a house in Alexandria, Virginia, and set up a basement studio with no record company involvement during recording. This independence was made easier by the Foo Fighters’ departure from Capitol Records after label president Gary Gersh left. Grohl called the home studio 606, initially saying the number just kept appearing in his life. He later revealed on Instagram in 2020 that 606 was his father’s apartment number, tied to a 1985 conversation when his father grilled him about his future and Grohl finally expressed his full commitment to music. This album marked Hawkins’ first appearance with the band. He played most of the drum parts, leaving the faster songs for Grohl. The liner notes don’t credit who played what, but Hawkins has said “Aurora” and “M.I.A.” showcase his style, and he handled the jazzier drumming.
Title and artwork
The title emerged to Grohl as he talked to a friend about emotions after a long, difficult period and giving into the feeling that there is nothing left to lose, which could seem positive, desperate, and reckless. He said it represented the band's mood during production: they wrote off and played like all bets were off, with no one forcing them to be there. The cover art features the band's initials on the back of Grohl's neck.
Release and promotion
The band had already finished the album when they signed a deal with RCA Records to handle distribution. The label’s promotional strategy centered on building the Foo Fighters’ public profile: they launched the band’s official website and booked TV appearances and events like the Gravity Games. The album came out as an Enhanced CD, which included the music video for the first single “Learn to Fly,” plus lyrics and photos. Even though the album was cut by just three musicians, Dave Grohl decided he needed another guitarist for touring. The band held open auditions and tested 35 players before picking Chris Shiflett. Grohl said Shiflett was the best guitarist and singer who tried out, and that he fit in well with the group, especially because of his punk rock background. In September 1999, the band played club shows in New York and Los Angeles to introduce the new songs and see how Shiflett performed live. The tour for the album kicked off in 2000, and the North American dates overlapped with the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Californication Tour. The first batch of CDs came with a temporary tattoo like the one on the album cover. In 2001, a special Australian two-CD edition was released. It included a second VCD with four videos and a bonus track called “Fraternity,” plus a different cover showing Australian Olympic swimmer Michael Klim with the temporary tattoo on his shoulder.
Critical reception
Reviews for There Is Nothing Left to Lose were generally positive. Rolling Stone's Greg Kot rated the album three-and-a-half out of five stars, noting that the first thirty seconds are a bridge to Grohl's past and that his punk background makes him allergic to string sections, but that the album marks a departure with greater emphasis on melody and actual singing. In a retrospective review, AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated it four out of five stars, explaining that it is the first Foo Fighters album that sounds like the work of a unified, muscular band and the first one that rocks really hard, with a stripped-down sound and immediate attack that makes even poppier numbers rock hard. He concluded that the band makes it sound easy and fun, getting better as they lose members and grow older. A Sputnikmusic reviewer rated it 3.5 out of 5 points, calling it consistent with sufficient highlights, noting that 'Stacked Actors' successfully uses cool guitar effects and the quiet/loud formula, and 'Breakout' is a satisfying mix of melody and rock. However, he stated that 'Headwires' begins like a mediocre mid-80s radio-rock effort and lacks the necessary grunt to salvage it later. Comparing it to The Colour and the Shape, he said the newer album is more consistent but a number of tracks are straightforward and lack the memorable factor of its predecessor.
More in Songs & Singles
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