The album that Dave Grohl said is his favorite of all time

The singer and multi-instrumentalist Dave Grohl is certainly a versatile musician and one of the few ones who were able to be successful more than once. Because he first achieved fame as the drummer for Nirvana and then, after the band tragically came to an end, he formed his own group, Foo Fighters, which became one of the most successful and praised groups from the past decades. But this time he occupied mainly the vocals and the guitar in the band, although he did play the drums many times in concerts and records.

Although his sound was more focused first on Grunge and then on modern Rock and Roll, he always had a really broad musical taste. That can be seen in the album that he once said is his favorite of all time.

The album that Dave Grohl said is his favorite of all time

The album that Grohl told British GQ back in 2018 that was his favorite is actually a movie soundtrack. The Foo Fighters leader chose the soundtrack of the movie “Paris, Texas” released in 1984 as his favorite album of all time. It was scored by the praised American guitarist Ry Cooder, who is best known for his slide guitar work.

Grohl first explained why he loves the soundtrack composed by Ry Cooder after revealing that Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page is one of his favorite soloists alongside Cooder. “Jimmy Page, I think, is my favorite soloist. I love the way that he was always teetering on the edge of total chaos. But he knew how to place every note in a space that really drew emotion.”

“So when you watch a movie like ‘The Song Remains the Same,’ or any live footage from 1971 or 1973, or 1975, and even the earlier stuff, he’s just going for it. It’s that sort of fearlessness that I respect most in musicians. Not perfection or any sort of clean technical proficiency.

He continued:

“I really like to see musicians right on the edge of falling apart. He did that in the most beautiful way. That being said, there is an instrumental record by an American legend named Ry Cooder. He scored a movie called ‘Paris, Texas’ in the ’80s. The soundtrack to that film is my favorite album of all time.”

“It sort of paints this sort of barren desert landscape. But he does it with a slide guitar. It’s just so simple and emotive, and amazing. So one of those two,” Dave Grohl said.

Cooder released many solo studio albums and worked as session musician with many famous artists. Some of them are Neil Young, Rolling Stones, The Everly Brothers, Doobie Brothers, Eric Clapton and John Lee Hooker.

He also scored many other famous movies like “Streets Of Fire” (1984), “Crossroads” (1986), “Last Man Standing” (1996) and “Primary Colors” (1998).

He said that he discovered that album touring in Italy back in 1988

From 1986 to 1990, Dave Grohl was the drummer of the American Hardcore Punk band Scream. As he recalled in an interview with CN Traveller in 2020, it was when touring in Italy with the band that he discovered the “Paris, Texas” soundtrack album.

“I’ve got a really good one. The number one of all time is Ry Cooder’s Paris, Texas soundtrack. I remember discovering that record while I was on tour in Italy in 1988, driving along the coast. I recommend it to anybody who has a long car or train ride. Because it will soothe your soul,’” Dave Grohl said.

Ry Cooder’s most recent solo album is “The Prodigal Son” released in 2018.