On the turntable this Sunday...The Colour and the Shape

The Colour and the Shape is the second studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters. Produced by Gil Norton, it was released through Capitol Records and the group's own Roswell Records on May 20, 1997. The record is the debut of the Foo Fighters as a group, as the band's previous record, Foo Fighters (1995), was primarily recorded by frontman Dave Grohl and friend Barrett Jones as a demo. After the project ballooned and became an international success, the group convened for pre-production in the fall of 1996 and brought in producer Norton to establish a pop sensibility for the tracks. The band strived to create a full-fledged rock record, although the music press predicted another grunge offshoot. 

Primarily inspired by Grohl's divorce from photographer Jennifer Youngblood in 1996, the lyricism on the record is substantially more introspective and the music more developed. The album's tracklisting was designed to resemble a therapy session, splitting the album between up-tempo tracks and ballads, reflecting conflicting emotions. Early sessions at Washington farm studio Bear Creek were poor and led the band to discard most of the recordings. The band regrouped without drummer William Goldsmith in early 1997 to record a second time at Hollywood's Grandmaster Recordings, with Grohl sitting in on drums instead. Goldsmith was offended and disgruntled that most of his material was re-recorded and left the band shortly thereafter.

Main singles "Monkey Wrench", "Everlong" and "My Hero" peaked within the top ten on United States rock radio, and the album charted at number three in the United Kingdom. Critics found the album a significant American rock release of the era, and it is now viewed as a seminal modern rock album. It was nominated for Grammy Award in 1998 for Best Rock Album. The Colour and the Shape is the Foo Fighters' biggest U.S. seller, having sold over two million copies according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The album was remastered and reissued in 2007 with several bonus tracks, celebrating its tenth anniversary.