Album
Concrete and Gold
Concrete and Gold is the ninth studio album by Foo Fighters, released on 15 September 2017 through Roswell and RCA. It was the first record the band made with Greg Kurstin, a pop producer who had never worked on a heavy rock album before. Sessions began in late 2016, after Dave Grohl returned from a six-month break while recovering from an injury picked up on the Sonic Highways tour. It was also their first album recorded as a six-piece, with keyboardist Rami Jaffee now a permanent member.
The band described it as a place where hard rock extremes and pop sensibilities collide, and Grohl framed its themes as hope and desperation, shaped by the tense mood around the 2016 US election. Recording at EastWest Studios in Hollywood brought in guests including Justin Timberlake and Paul McCartney. Critics welcomed the broader feel, though some wanted more of a break from earlier records. It entered at number one in the US and UK, and "Run" and "The Sky Is a Neighborhood" both topped the Mainstream Rock chart.
Concrete and Gold: tracklist, credits and charts
11 tracks · 48:04Tracklist
- 1T‐ShirtGrohl, Hawkins, Jaffee, Mendel, Shiflett, Smear1:22
- 2RunGrohl, Hawkins, Jaffee, Mendel, Shiflett, Smear5:23
- 3Make It RightGrohl, Hawkins, Jaffee, Mendel, Shiflett, Smear4:39
- 4The Sky Is a NeighborhoodGrohl, Hawkins, Jaffee, Mendel, Shiflett, Smear4:04
- 5La Dee DaGrohl, Hawkins, Jaffee, Mendel, Shiflett, Smear4:02
- 6Dirty WaterGrohl, Hawkins, Jaffee, Mendel, Shiflett, Smear5:20
- 7ArrowsGrohl, Hawkins, Jaffee, Mendel, Shiflett, Smear4:26
- 8Happy Ever After (Zero Hour)Grohl, Hawkins, Jaffee, Mendel, Shiflett, Smear3:41
- 9Sunday RainGrohl, Hawkins, Jaffee, Mendel, Shiflett, Smear6:11
- 10The LineGrohl, Hawkins, Jaffee, Mendel, Shiflett, Smear3:38
- 11Concrete and GoldGrohl, Hawkins, Jaffee, Mendel, Shiflett, Smear5:18
- Produced by
- Greg Kurstin, Foo Fighters
- Recorded at
- EastWest Studios, EastWest, Los Angeles
- Recorded
- December 2016 – May 2017
- Label
- RCA
- Length
- 48:04
Line-up
- Dave Grohl · guitar, lead vocals, percussion, acoustic guitar
- Taylor Hawkins · drums (drum set), background vocals, percussion, lead vocals
- Rami Jaffee · synthesizer, piano, mellotron, organ, keyboard, percussion, farfisa, clavinet, Wurlitzer electric piano, harmonium, reed organ
- Nate Mendel · electric bass guitar, percussion
- Chris Shiflett · guitar, percussion
- Pat Smear · guitar, percussion
- Taylor Greenwood · background vocals · guest
- Greg Kurstin · piano, synthesizer, vibraphone, bass synthesizer
- Justin Timberlake · background vocals · guest
- Kinga Bacik · cello · guest
- Rachel Grace · violin · guest
- Tom Lea · viola · guest
- Ginny Luke · violin · guest
- Alison Mosshart · background vocals · guest
- Dave Koz · saxophone · guest
- Inara George · background vocals · guest
- Jessy Greene · violin · guest
- Paul McCartney · drums (drum set) · guest
Singles
- “Run” · 1 June 2017
- “The Sky Is a Neighborhood” · 23 August 2017
- “The Line” · 1 May 2018
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · Week: 39/2017 | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 · Week: 39/2017 | 1 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 2017 | 1 |
| Austrian Albums · 2017 | 1 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2017 | 1 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 2017 | 1 |
| Czech Albums · 2017 | 1 |
| Dutch Albums · 2017 | 1 |
| Ireland 2 · Week: 39/2017 | 1 |
| New Zealand Albums · Week: 39/2017 | 1 |
All 32 charts
| Norwegian Albums · Week: 39/2017 | 1 |
| Scottish Albums · Week: 39/2017 | 1 |
| Swiss Albums · Week: 39/2017 | 1 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · Week: 39/2017 | 1 |
| US Alternative · Week: 39/2017 | 1 |
| US Hard Rock · Week: 39/2017 | 1 |
| US Top Rock Albums · Week: 39/2017 | 1 |
| Danish Albums · 2017 | 2 |
| German Albums · 2017 | 2 |
| Italian Albums · Week: 39/2017 | 2 |
| Portuguese Albums · Week: 39/2017 | 2 |
| Swedish Albums · Week: 39/2017 | 2 |
| Swiss Albums (Romandie) · Week: 39/2017 | 2 |
| Finnish Albums · 2017 | 3 |
| Spanish Albums · Week: 39/2017 | 3 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2017 | 4 |
| Polish Albums · Week: 39/2017 | 5 |
| Hungarian Albums · Week: 39/2017 | 6 |
| Slovak Albums (ČNS IFPI) · Week: 39/2017 | 9 |
| Mexican Albums · Week: 39/2017 | 13 |
| French Albums · 2017 | 14 |
| Latvian Albums (LaIPA) · Week: 39/2017 | 96 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 2017 | Platinum |
| Canada · 2017 | Gold |
| Italy · 2018 | Gold |
| New Zealand · 2023 | Platinum |
| Poland · 2018 | Gold |
| Switzerland · 2018 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2017 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
74.8
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
5.4k
ListenBrainz listeners
58k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
70k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 15 September
Every year →
More from Foo Fighters
Full discography →
Foo Fighters
1995
The Colour and the Shape
1997
There Is Nothing Left to Lose
1999
Next Year
2000
One by One
2002
In Your Honor
2005
Five Songs and a Cover
2005
Skin and Bones
2006
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
2007
Let It Die
2008
Live at Wembley Stadium
2008
Greatest Hits
2009
Wasting Light
2011
Medium Rare
2011
Sonic Highways
2014
Songs From the Laundry Room
2015
Saint Cecilia EP
2015
00020225
2019
Medicine at Midnight
2021
Hail Satin
2021
The Essential Foo Fighters
2022
But Here We Are
2023
Your Favorite Toy
2026
The best of 2017
All of 2017 →
One More Light
Linkin Park · 2017
One More Light Live
Linkin Park · 2017
Pacific Daydream
Weezer · 2017
Greatest Hits: God’s Favorite Band
Green Day · 2017
Add Violence
Nine Inch Nails · 2017
The Book of Souls: Live Chapter
Iron Maiden · 2017
The End
Black Sabbath · 2017
Machine Messiah
Sepultura · 2017
Day of the Gusano: Live in Mexico
Slipknot · 2017
Let’s Play Two: Live at Wrigley Field
Pearl Jam · 2017
Paris
Rammstein · 2017
You Should Be Happy
Goo Goo Dolls · 2017
More on RCA
The label →There Is Nothing Left to Lose
Foo Fighters · 1999
Wasting Light
Foo Fighters · 2011
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
Foo Fighters · 2007
One by One
Foo Fighters · 2002
Fear Inoculum
Tool · 2019
Sonic Highways
Foo Fighters · 2014
Medicine at Midnight
Foo Fighters · 2021
Your Favorite Toy
Foo Fighters · 2026
Saint Cecilia EP
Foo Fighters · 2015
Greatest Hits
Foo Fighters · 2009
Skin and Bones
Foo Fighters · 2006
00020225
Foo Fighters · 2019
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 15 September 2017 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 15 September 2017 | |
| Wikidata | 15 September 2017 | |
| Deezer | 15 September 2017 | |
| Apple Music | 15 September 2017 | |
| US release | 15 September 2017 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 15 September 2017 | earliest UK or European date |
11 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 September 2017 | CA | RCA | 889854560126 | original |
| 15 September 2017 | US | Roswell Records | 886446580234 | original |
| 15 September 2017 | JP | RCA | 4547366320152 | original |
| 15 September 2017 | XE | RCA | 889854560119 | original |
| 15 September 2017 | US | Roswell Records | 889854560119 | original |
| 15 September 2017 | XE | RCA | 889854560126 | original |
| 15 September 2017 | US | RCA | 889854560126 | original |
| 15 September 2017 | XW | RCA | 886446547176 | original |
| 15 September 2017 | AU | RCA | 0889854560126 | original |
| 2018 | XE | RCA | 889854560119 | other |
| 30 March 2018 | FR | RCA | 190758409412 | other |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 3000x3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 3000×3000 | native: native 3000x3000 |
| coverartarchive | 1602×1434 | rejected |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |