I was such a big Green Day fan in the day. And per follower janis!'s request, I did a retrospective on them a long while back. I pretty much tipped my hand on how I felt on all their records via that post - but I'll try to go into more detail on the individual ones when I get to them. I think everyone knows their style, so I won't get too much into that. What the casual fan may not remember or know - Green Day took a really long break before this record. If memory serves me correctly, it was 5 years after 'American Idiot' to this drop. The band had also been taking it on the chin from casual fans, saying their music wasn't as "raw" and as great as their earlier works. That they'd focused too much on politics. While I typically hate when bands get into the political game, I didn't feel their music was any less punk or hard then it was a decade ago. Maybe not as good, but still had that signature Green Day sound. Lyrics aside, the music was still there. Now, when I first got this album, I listened to it three or four times and couldn't have been more annoyed. I don't really even know why. The music, the album - it seemed so poor to me. Lazy and sloppy. I felt like five LONG years would have given me this immediate reaction as though they just made 'Abbey Road' or something. Completely unfair. I set it aside for a month or two - and I came back to it. And when you objectively listen to this, it's actually quite good. Better than good even. Better all around album than 'Dookie' in many ways. Now don't get me wrong - nothing will ever overthrow that as my favorite album by them. But top to bottom, they really are doing more with this album. They are more than just 3 chords and fun lyrics on this album. They are doing so much more. Genre wise, still punk/alt rock - but they mix it up - which makes it a nice listen. There are a couple tracks I still skip - but all in all, it's solid. Solid enough I'm going to listen to it all day today. Don't go that far, but check it out today.
TRACK LISTING:
1. Song of the Century
2. 21st Century Breakdown
3. Know Your Enemy
4. Viva la Gloria!
5. Before the Lobotomy
6. Christian's Inferno
7. Last Night on Earth
8. East Jesus Nowhere
9. Peacemaker
10. Last of the American Girls
11. Murder City
12. ¿Viva la Gloria?
13. Restless Heart Syndrome
14. Horseshoes and Handgrenades
15. Static Age, The
16. 21 Guns
17. American Eulogy: A. Mass Hysteria/B. Modern World
18. See the Light
Listen To Samples
Top 3 Tracks:
1. Restless Heart Syndrome
2. Last Night On Earth
3. 21 Guns
FINAL RATING:
3.5 out of 5 stars
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