Wasting Light

***Wasting Light*** is the seventh studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters. It was released on April 12, 2011 on Roswell and RCA Records. It was the first Foo Fighters album with guitarist Pat Smear playing on it since *The Colour and the Shape* (1997) as a member. He did play on *Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace* (2007) as a guest.

When making the album, the band did not want to use digital recording as they wanted to sound how they did in their first albums. The album was made in the garage of Dave Grohl, the lead singer and guitarist of the band. The house was in Encino, California. The album was made on only analog equipment. It was produced by Butch Vig. Vig had worked with Grohl in 1991 and 1992 to produce Nirvana's album *Nevermind*. There were also guests who played on the album, such as Bob Mould, Krist Novoselic, Jessy Greene, Rami Jaffee and Fee Waybill. *Wasting Light* went straight to number one on the albums charts of twelve countries. Critics said mainly good things about the album, mainly about the production and songwriting. In 2012, *Wasting Light* won four Grammy Awards, including Best Rock Album.

## Background
After the *Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace* concert tour ended in 2008, the Foo Fighters went to Grandmaster Recorders in Hollywood, California to record 14 songs. They wanted to release these quickly, without advertising or promoting them. They then changed their mind and took a break instead. Three of these songs were released: "Wheels", "Word Forward", and "Rope". The first two were released as part of the *Greatest Hits* album and "Rope" was released on *Wasting Light*. "Wheels" and "Word Forward" were produced by Butch Vig, which is what made Dave Grohl decide to work with him to make a new album. Grohl had worked with Vig when he was in Nirvana to make the album *Nevermind*.

Dave Grohl had the idea of making a new album in 2010, while he was touring in Australia with Them Crooked Vultures. He wanted to make a documentary of making the album. He also didn't want to make it in an expensive studio with new equipment, but instead wanted to use the same equipment used in the 1990s. He later also said he didn't want it to be the best album they had made, but he wanted it to be the one people would know them for best. He said it would be a lot like *Back in Black* for Amy Winehouse or *The Black Album* for Metallica.

The album was made using only analog equipment. Digital equipment was only used after the album was made. Vig then said that the band would have to play very well. This is because mistakes on analog tape cannot be fixed. The same equipment that was used to make *There Is Nothing Left to Lose* and *One by One* in Grohl's house in Alexandria, Virginia were used to make *Wasting Light*.

## Track listing
## Personnel
**Foo Fighters**
*Dave Grohl – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar on "White Limo"
*Pat Smear – rhythm guitar, lead guitar, baritone guitar
*Nate Mendel – bass
*Taylor Hawkins – drums, backing vocals, percussion
*Chris Shiflett – lead guitar, backing vocals, tenor guitar, rhythm guitar on "White Limo"

**Additional musicians**
*Bob Mould – guitar and backing vocals on "Dear Rosemary", backing vocals on "I Should Have Known"
*Krist Novoselic – bass and accordion on "I Should Have Known"
*Rami Jaffee – keyboards on "Bridge Burning" and "Rope", mellotron on "I Should Have Known", organ on "Walk" and "Dear Rosemary"
*Jessy Greene – violin on "I Should Have Known"
*Fee Waybill – backing vocals on "Miss the Misery"
*Butch Vig − percussion on "Back & Forth", production
*Drew Hester − percussion on "Arlandria", hidden cowbell strike on "Rope"

**Production**
*Alan Moulder – mixing
*Joe LaPorta – mastering
*Emily Lazar – mastering
*James Brown – engineer

**Artwork**
*Morning Breath Inc. – art direction and design
*Steve Gullick – photography

## References