The Colour and the Shape is the Foo Fighters' second album. It was released May 20, 1997 through Roswell/Capitol Records.

The album was the debut of the Foo Fighters as a band, as frontman Dave Grohl had recorded all of the first Foo Fighters album by himself with the exception of one guitar part by Greg Dulli. The Colour and the Shape was produced by Gil Norton, who was perhaps best known for his work with the Pixies. It was loosely conceived by Grohl as a concept album which documented the beginning and end of a romantic relationship. Over the course of the making of the album, Grohl's own marriage to photographer Jennifer Youngblood ultimately ended in divorce.

After six weeks of work at Bear Creek Studios in Woodinville, Washington, the band took two weeks off from recording. Grohl returned to Virginia and wrote several new songs, recording one of them, "Walking After You", by himself at WGNS Studios in Washington, DC. The band (minus drummer William Goldsmith) relocated to Grandmaster Recorders in Hollywood, California, and re-recorded most of the album with Grohl performing the drum tracks. (Several segments from the Bear Creek sessions with Goldsmith on drums appear on the finished album, including the entirety of "Doll".)

The album reached number three in the UK and number ten in the United States. The Colour and the Shape is the Foo Fighters' biggest U.S. seller, having sold over two million copies according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Even though the Foo Fighters are an American band, the word 'Colour' in the album title is always spelled with the British spelling. This was a nod to producer Norton, who is British. To commemorate the album's tenth anniversary, it was re-released on July 10, 2007. The re-release includes six previously released B-sides, consisting of "Dear Lover", "The Colour and the Shape", and four covers, including "Baker Street".

The album was in total nominated for 5 VMAs in 1997 and 1998, for the videos "Monkey Wrench" and "Everlong." In addition to this, it was also a Grammy nominee for Best Rock Album in 1998.

"Walking After You" was re-recorded in 1998 by the full band (with recent additions Taylor Hawkins and Franz Stahl) and released as a single as part of the soundtrack to the X-Files movie.

This would be the band's last collaboration with Gil Norton for 10 years, until the release of Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace in 2007.