Dave Grohl
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The first eight or so minutes of what’s billed as a two-part minidocumentary sees Grohl musing on the nature of musical creativity and its attendant work ethic, through the views of kids at a Californian rock school. Coming across a bit like a retrospectively tacked-on justification of what follows – Grohl writing, recording and performing a 23-minute instrumental – the jump into part two is as angular as some of the transitions in the piece.
Expertly edited, with the one-man performance spliced together as a visual ensemble, Grohl’s fastidiousness, perfectionism and wide talents are writ large. When avoiding the Foos-favoured 7th chords and generic riffing, there are some quietly beautiful passages, and the drumming is spectacular throughout. The overall effect, however, is of that of a workaday Rush, and while not wholly without merit, aside from vanity, hubris and PR, it does beg the question: why?