** 1/2 Foo Fighters, “There Is Nothing Left to Lose,” Roswell/RCA.

Dave Grohl is a loud man. He is gifted. Earlier this decade, he was merely a great drummer in a great, influential band. (Remember Nirvana?) He then reemerged slashing at an electric guitar as leader of Foo Fighters, crafting memorable radio hits--”This Is a Call,” “I’ll Stick Around”--that combined buzz-saw guitars with a knack for emotional hooks.

Which makes Grohl a continual surprise. But the biggest surprise is that for all his accomplishment in crafting individual songs, he has yet to complete a full album up to that same standard. While “There Is Nothing Left to Lose” (due Tuesday) is his most consistent collection so far, it still fails to soar beyond the usual cache of worthwhile tracks already destined for endless airplay on modern rock radio.

“Learn to Fly” is a charged, romantic rocker, built on melody but not abandoning the loud guitars. There is even a light, Beatles-esque hook beneath the words of hope and yearning on “Next Year.” But the wistful “Aurora” ultimately lags, its energy strangely subdued.

Grohl is not only the band’s mastermind, but also the only Foo Fighters member to actually appear on all three albums. And he remains a talented singles rocker. Which means the best album Grohl has in him may be that inevitable greatest-hits collection.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.