Obscurity #3: Late! - "Pocketwatch" (feat. Dave Grohl!)

I had originally intended to post this album months ago – the draft file has been sitting in my posts folder for more than six months – but I never got around to writing the complete post (or downloading the complete album, for that matter). At any rate, here is something to finish the year out right.

In a sense, this album isn't actually as obscure as it sounds. In fact, this tape is the result of two studio sessions done by Dave Grohl. Yes, the "Godlike Genius" himself, part of the biggest rock band of the current generation (Foo Fighters) and the previous one (Nirvana), not to mention his countless other projects. Finding himself with a bit of downtime in between joining Nirvana and recording that album, Grohl sat down for two recording sessions in late 1990 and early 1991.

The result? Ten great songs that showcase Grohl's multi-instrument virtuosity and early knack for songwriting, in addition to foreshadowing the greatness that was to follow his abbreviated stint in Nirvana. Save for a backing vocal part on "Petrol CB," he recorded all of the vocals and instruments for the album himself, setting a precedent for the recording of the first Foo Fighters album. In fact, the album as a whole is essentially a Foo Fighters' "0" album, a muddy predecessor, the Bleach to the self-titled album's Nevermind.

The fresh-faced energy that dominated early Foos albums is easily recognizable throughout much of the record's music, though Grohl doesn't exactly come across as the stadium-filling frontman we have come to know and love. The intermittent vocal shakiness doesn't ever detract from the songs though; if anything, it only adds to the low-fi charm. "Pokey the Little Puppy" opens the album, the title a nod to the Little Golden Books classic, and the drum-driven instrumental track provides an excellent example of the Little Golden Boy's percussive ferocity that would soon power Nirvana's breakthrough album.

One of the album's standout tracks is "Throwing Needles," an uptempo rocker in the vein of such self-titled album songs as "Good Grief" or "Wattershed." Indeed, the song proves to be just as explosive as the heaviest of Foos tracks. Another Pocketwatch song utilizing a similar formula just as well is "Winnebago," which Foo Fighter fans might recognize as an early Foos B-Side. The re-recorded version ended up as the flipside to "Exhausted," as well as "This is a Call" and the US version of "Big Me."

This was not the only Pocketwatch track that Grohl redid for later albums, as the album's two acoustic tracks, "Color Pictures of a Marigold" and "Friend of a Friend" both popped up again in re-recorded versions. The former song, shortened to "Marigold," appeared on Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box" single just a few years later in a version recorded by Grohl and Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic. It later received the Foo Fighters treatment, along with "Friend of a Friend," on Skin and Bones, a live acoustic album. A studio version of "Friend" also ended up on the acoustic disc of 2005 two-disc album In Your Honor.

Overall, Pocketwatch is surprisingly (or maybe not surprisingly) good. Fans of Nirvana, the Foo Fighters, or any of Grohl's projects will appreciate both the sounds and the step back in time. From the introverted acoustic numbers to the Nirvana-esque noise-freakout of "Bruce," these ten tracks are an indication of great things to come and showcase Dave Grohl before he became everyone's favorite frontman.

Tracklisting:

1. Pokey the Little Puppy
2. Petrol CB
3. Friend of a Friend
4. Throwing Needles
5. Just Another Story About Skeeter Thompson
6. Color Pictures of a Marigold
7. Hell's Garden
8. Winnebago
9. Bruce
10. Milk