Album
Sonic Highways
Sonic Highways is the eighth studio album by Foo Fighters, released on 10 November 2014 through Roswell and RCA. It followed Wasting Light, and the band again worked with producer Butch Vig. The record is built around a neat idea: eight songs, each tied to a different American city.
Dave Grohl travelled to each place and interviewed musicians, engineers, producers and others about the local musical history, then drew on those conversations for his lyrics. The band and Vig recorded each track in a studio in the city it was about, with guests who had links to that city's scene. The whole journey was filmed for an HBO series, so the album is well worth hearing alongside the story of how it was made.
Sonic Highways: tracklist, credits and charts
8 tracks · 42:10Tracklist
- 1Something From NothingGrohl, Hawkins, Mendel, Ruthenberg, Shiflett4:49
- 2The Feast and the FamineGrohl, Hawkins, Mendel, Ruthenberg, Shiflett3:50
- 3CongregationGrohl, Hawkins, Mendel, Ruthenberg, Shiflett5:12
- 4What Did I Do? / God as My WitnessGrohl, Hawkins, Mendel, Ruthenberg, Shiflett5:44
- 5OutsideGrohl, Hawkins, Mendel, Ruthenberg, Shiflett5:14
- 6In the ClearGrohl, Hawkins, Mendel, Ruthenberg, Shiflett4:04
- 7SubterraneanGrohl, Hawkins, Mendel, Ruthenberg, Shiflett6:08
- 8I Am a RiverGrohl, Hawkins, Mendel, Shiflett, Smear7:09
- Produced by
- Foo Fighters, Butch Vig
- Recorded at
- Electrical Audio (Chicago), Inner Ear (Arlington), Southern Ground (Nashville), KLRU-TV, Studio 6A, Rancho De La Luna (Joshua Tree), Preservation Hall (New Orleans), Robert Lang (Seattle), Ocean Way Recording, Magic Shop (New York City), 6A (Austin)
- Recorded
- September 2013 – July 2014
- Mixed by
- James Brown
- Mixed at
- Atomic Sound
- Engineered by
- James Brown, Don Zientara, Mathias Schneeberger
- Label
- RCA
- Length
- 42:10
Line-up
- Dave Grohl · guitar, lead vocals, background vocals, other vocals, acoustic guitar, cymbal, ebow
- Taylor Hawkins · drums (drum set), background vocals, other vocals
- Rami Jaffee · clavinet, organ, mellotron, piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, other vocals, keyboard
- Nate Mendel · bass guitar
- Rick Nielsen · baritone guitar · guest
- Chris Shiflett · guitar, electric guitar, other vocals
- Pat Smear · guitar
- Peter Stahl · other vocals · guest
- Skeeter Thompson · other vocals · guest
- Zac Brown · electric guitar, background vocals · guest
- Drew Hester · percussion, tambourine
- Gary Clark Jr. · electric guitar · guest
- Joe Walsh · electric guitar · guest
- Chris Goss · background vocals · guest
- Mark Braud · trumpet · guest
- Charlie Gabriel · clarinet · guest
- Benjamin Jaffe · tuba · guest
- Ronell Johnson · tuba, other vocals · guest
- Frederick Lonzo · trombone · guest
- Clint Maedgen · saxophone, other vocals · guest
- Preservation Hall Jazz Band · guest
- John Lousteau · other vocals · guest
- Jim Rota · other vocals · guest
- Barrett Jones · ebow · guest
- Benjamin Gibbard · background vocals · guest
- Los Angeles Youth Orchestra · strings · guest
- Kristeen Young · background vocals · guest
Singles
- “Something from Nothing” · 16 October 2014
- “The Feast and the Famine” · 24 October 2014
- “Congregation” · 31 October 2014
- “What Did I Do? / God as My Witness” · 6 November 2014
- “Outside” · 4 August 2015
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 2014 | 2 |
| US Billboard 200 · 2014 | 2 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 2014 | 1 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2014 | 1 |
| US Alternative · 2014 | 1 |
| US Hard Rock · 2014 | 1 |
| US Top Rock Albums · 2014 | 1 |
| Dutch Albums · 2014 | 2 |
| German Albums · 2014 | 2 |
| New Zealand Albums · 2014 | 2 |
All 28 charts
| Scottish Albums · 2014 | 2 |
| Swiss Albums · 2014 | 2 |
| Austrian Albums · 2014 | 3 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 2014 | 3 |
| Norwegian Albums · 2014 | 3 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2014 | 4 |
| Danish Albums · 2014 | 4 |
| Finnish Albums · 2014 | 5 |
| Irish Albums · 2014 | 5 |
| Swedish Albums · 2014 | 5 |
| Italian Albums · 2014 | 7 |
| Portuguese Albums · 2014 | 8 |
| Spanish Albums · 2014 | 9 |
| Polish Albums · 2014 | 10 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 2014 | 12 |
| French Albums · 2014 | 18 |
| Hungarian Albums · 2014 | 35 |
| Greek Albums (IFPI) · 2014 | 39 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 2014 | Platinum |
| Austria · 2015 | Gold |
| Canada · 2015 | Platinum |
| Germany · 2015 | Gold |
| Italy · 2017 | Gold |
| Netherlands · 2015 | Gold |
| New Zealand | Platinum |
| United Kingdom | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
74.8
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
4.2k
ListenBrainz listeners
64k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
96k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 10 November
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
Songs From the Laundry Room
2015
Saint Cecilia EP
2015
Concrete and Gold
2017
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 2014
All of 2014 →
The Hunting Party
Linkin Park · 2014
.5: The Gray Chapter
Slipknot · 2014
The Endless River
Pink Floyd · 2014
Rock or Bust
AC/DC · 2014
The Hunting Party: Acapellas + Instrumentals
Linkin Park · 2014
Everything Will Be Alright in the End
Weezer · 2014
A Light That Never Comes (remixes)
Linkin Park · 2014
Monuments to an Elegy
The Smashing Pumpkins · 2014
Live at the Rainbow ’74
Queen · 2014
Queen Forever
Queen · 2014
Recoiled
Nine Inch Nails · 2014
Appetite for Democracy: Live at the Hard Rock Casino - Las Vegas
Guns N’ Roses · 2014
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
Concrete and Gold
Foo Fighters · 2017
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 | 10 November 2014 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 10 November 2014 | |
| Wikidata | 10 November 2014 | |
| Deezer | 10 November 2014 | |
| Apple Music | 10 November 2014 | |
| US release | 10 November 2014 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 10 November 2014 | earliest UK or European date |
20 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | US | RCA | 888750379320 | other |
| 2014 | US | RCA | 888430900813 | other |
| 10 November 2014 | US | RCA | 888430900813 | original |
| 10 November 2014 | US | RCA | 888750296313 | original |
| 10 November 2014 | US | RCA | 888430900813 | original |
| 10 November 2014 | AU | RCA | 888430900820 | original |
| 10 November 2014 | US | RCA | 888750296016 | original |
| 10 November 2014 | US | RCA | 888430900813 | original |
| 10 November 2014 | US | RCA | 888430900813 | original |
| 10 November 2014 | XW | RCA | 886444654234 | original |
| 10 November 2014 | US | RCA | 888750296818 | original |
| 10 November 2014 | US | RCA | 888430900813 | original |
| 10 November 2014 | US | RCA | 888750296412 | original |
| 10 November 2014 | US | RCA | 888430900813 | original |
| 10 November 2014 | US | RCA | 888430900813 | original |
| 10 November 2014 | US | RCA | 888750296214 | original |
| 10 November 2014 | XE | RCA | 888750187925 | original |
| 10 November 2014 | US | RCA | 888430900820 | original |
| 10 November 2014 | XE | RCA | 888430900820 | original |
| 12 November 2014 | CA | RCA | 888430900820 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 3000x3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 3000×3000 | native: native 3000x3000 |
| itunes | 3000×3000 | native |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |