I thought I’d take a look at Green Day. This band is particularly special because they were the first real rock band I got into. I can remember hearing songs off Dookie in fourth grade. So this one definitely will take me back. Anyway here we go……..
39/Smooth- I had heard so much about this album but never really listened to it until a lot later. The sound can best be described as that pop punk sound. I guess even early on, they were always destined to be a pop punk banod. Now this album is actually pretty good. Do I think it’s a perfect debut album? No but that’s fine because they’re still such a young band at this stage and the songs are not bad. I give this one 7/10
Standouts: At the Library, 409 in Your Coffee Maker, Going To Pasalacqua
Kerplunk- I will say that this is the third album I bought by them and production wise it sounds the same as the last album. Listening to it now, the songs aren’t quite as good as I remember but do keep in mind I was in elementary school when I first heard songs off of this album. One thing I do remember was in the cd booklet, there was some story of a girl who kills her parents just to hang out with the band which I thought was a pretty funny read. The album itself is jut ok though and not as good as I remember it but it does have some pretty good songs. I give this 7/10
Standouts: 2000 Lightyears Away, Android, My Generation
Dookie- now here’s where we get to the good stuff. I also remember picking this album up at Blockbuster Music (yes I’m old) and putting it on my CD player and couldn’t take it out for almost a month straight. I think I was in fifth grade when I got this album. How do I feel about it now? Well let’s say it’s been a very longtime and I still like this album however a few songs are so overplayed. That being said, this album is a classic and for good reason. I give this one 10/10
Standouts: Burnout, Coming Clean, F.O.D.
Insomniac- so I have always said that there were two CDs that I bought with my allowance and this is one of them. The other is the first album by The Presidents of The United States of America. I actually really like this album even to this day I’ll still listen to songs off of it. This album is the perfect follow up to Dookie and the songs even venture into heavy rock territory. It’s a really good album and my favorite. I remember seeing the video for Walking Contradiction on MTV (again I know I’m old af). I give this 10/10
Standouts: Walking Contradiction, Bab’s Uvula Who?, Brat
Nimrod- this album I think I still have on cassette somewhere in storage. After two solid albums this one definitely takes a nose dive. This album loses me after the third song. I would say it’s like a runner is running the two mile race and starts out sprinting and then runs out of breath at around the third lap and it’s funny because I feel the same way about this album now as I did back when I first heard it. I give this 7/10
Standouts: Nice Guys Finish Last, Hitchin a Ride, The Grouch
Warning- this is the album that should’ve come after Insomniac but that’s not saying a lot. Yes I think this is a much better album than Nimrod but the songs are softer compared to Insomniac. However, there is still promise here on this album as this is a lot better than Nimrod. Definitely a step up and kind of an underrated record. I give this one 7/10.
Standouts: Blood, Sex, and Booze, Minority, Jackass
American Idiot- so I remember when this album came out people were saying how long it had been since there was a new album. Looking at when Warning came out to when this one came out, it really wasn’t that long. Warning came out in 2000 and American Idiot came out in 2004 so that’s only 4 years. People are morons. Anyway what do I think of the album? Well let’s just say that when I bought it, it was the same day I decided to buy a new copy of Rage Against The Machine’s Battle of Los Angeles and I think this album spent a total time of 1 hour in my CD player before Rage went back in. To make matters worse, I had never seen Green Day live before and I happened to get tickets to the 2004 KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas that year and Green Day was headlining. I think they went on after Velvet Revolver(who by the way along with Social Distortion were the best bands of the night) and as soon as they went on, Billie Joe Armstrong says that they would play this entire album. I sat through their entire set and then they only played one classic which was Longview. I was so disappointed. This album itself is just ok it’s nothing special and in my opinion has moments but it’s the start of a downward trend. And yes I find this album extremely overrated. I give this one 6/10
Standouts: Holiday, Jesus of Suburbia, Wake Me Up When September Ends
21st Century Breakdown- ok seriously what the hell is going on here? This is a huge departure from their last album. So far this is the softest album that they’ve done. The songs are so boring on this and I found myself fast forwarding through some of them. Plain and simple this album sucks. I hate it and hope that they do better on the next album. I give this one 0/10
Standouts: none this is a shitty album
Uno!- so I guess they decided to release a trilogy of albums and this is the first one. Well it’s better than the last album that’s for sure however I found that there were songs that had potential but they fall flat. They do seem to be trying to somewhat return to form here a little bit but the songs just don’t have the same impact as say stuff off Dookie or even Warning. I give this 1/10 only for the fact that there is some sort of potential on the songs and it’s a step up from 21st.
Standouts: [maybe the first song] Nuclear Family [and I’m trying to be generous here]
Dos- so the second album in the trilogy and it’s a lot like the first album. There’s potential for a lot of the songs and it has moments but that’s pretty much it. I mean this isn’t anything special and there is a ton of filler on this record however that can also be said about the last album as well. It seems as if they are going for a pop band direction and losing their sort of punk edge that they once had. Again potential but it’s not great. I give this 0/10
Standouts: nothing
Tre- the last album in the trilogy is about the same as the other two albums. A lot of potential but nothing great. I mean they are clearly going for a different sound than they used to have. Like the last two albums, this ones not very good and by now they all kind of sound the same. They’re either fast pop songs or slow pop songs. I give this 0/10
Standouts: again nothing the songs are not good
Revolution Radio- to me this is the album that should’ve followed American Idiot. It just has that sort of vibe /sound to it. I don’t know I can’t explain it I just feel like it does. It just feels like a diet version of American Idiot. It’s a little better than the last couple albums but that’s it. It’s just generic modern Green Day and the only really good song on the album is the title track. If the rest of the album was like this, then it might have some potential. I give it 2/10
Standouts: Revolution Radio
Father of All Motherfuckers- ok so here we are at the newest album and wow what can I say?! This album is terrible I mean it’s god awful. Is this really the same band that did the albums Dookie and Insomniac. I mean the opening track sounds nothing like them at all. It could be mistaken for a Fall Out Boy or Panic At the Disco song. I mean I had to double check to make sure I was listening to the right band. I mean one of the songs samples the chorus from a Joan Jett song. They’ve completely lost it here and I’ve got to know what we’re they thinking? Like how could they have thought this was good. I’m glad that this album is their shortest because I’m not sure how much more I could’ve taken. I’m going to do something I’ve never done before and that’s to give this a score of -0/10
Standouts: nothing and I mean nothing at all this album is terrible.
Well what can I say except it’s not normal that bands start strong and then suck later on but I suppose that all depends on who you ask. Although if anyone were to say that an album like 21st Century Break Down is better than say Dookie I would seriously question their decision making and wonder if they were in some sort of accident where they received a head injury. It’s really too bad that a band that I grew up listening to sold out this way. The worse part is that now they’ll probably play newer songs live and not many older stuff. That being said, their earlier stuff is much better and we’ll always have that. Hopefully one day they’ll make another album like Insomniac or Dookie. I will say that it was fun revisiting the older material because it really did take me back to the 90’s.
Final Grade: D
Album Rankings:
- Insomniac
- Dookie
- Warning
- Kerplunk
- 39/Smooth
- American Idiot
- Nimrod
- Revolution Radio
- Uno
- Dos
- Tre
- 21st Century Break Down
- Father of All Motherfuckers
Sinister Reviews 