Session Information
Around the same time the band received the request to record a song for the Godzilla movie soundtrack another request came in. This time the interested party were Twentieth Century Fox who was at the time planning the production of a feature-length film of the TV series X-Files. Foo Fighters had in the past contributed a track for the sci-fi drama, recording a cover of the Tubeway Army/Gary Numan track for the 1996 soundtrack ‘Songs In The Key Of X’ and still being a big fan of the show, Dave Grohl couldn’t refuse this second request. He would also joke that “They pay! And we just go for the cheques!”
At this point of the year Foo Fighters already had one eye on writing and recording their next studio album and so with one new song already given to a soundtrack release, for this contribution, it was decided they would re-record an old track rather than ‘give away’ another new one. ‘Walking After You’ featured on their 1997 album ‘The Colour And The Shape’ but was not recorded by the whole band, instead recorded alone by Grohl during a break in their troubling recording process. It was therefore decided that the new-look Foo Fighters would have another crack at the song.
Recording took place at Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood, California, a historic studio known for recording artists such as Frank Sinatra, Lionel Richie, and Radiohead. Producing the song was Jerry Harrison, keyboardist and guitarist for New Wave pioneers Talking Heads. The group disbanded in 1991 and from that point on Harrison decided to take on production work, operating as the in-house producer at Ocean Way at the time of Foo Fighters recording.
The band elected not to change too much about the track with the new recording, although they took the opportunity to tighten the song up, shortening the runtime by almost a minute in comparison to the original. More guitar tracks were also layered on the song, giving it a much fuller sound. Whilst working with Harrison the band couldn’t resist asking him to contribute, the Talking Head adding piano to the already busy track.
In comparison to the Grohl solo recording which saw him record the vocal track in one take whilst still sat behind the drum kit, far more time and effort was put into the new recording, with Grohl noting that it had taken “seven or eight takes to get it right.” The new recording of ‘Walking After You’ was first included on the movie soundtrack released in June 1998 and was also released as a split 7” single alongside Ween’s ‘Beacon Light’, also taken from the full soundtrack.
