| Green Day - American Idiot | Label: Warner Brothers Records Release: 2004 Tracklisting: 1. American Idiot 2. Jesus of Suburbia 3. City Of The Damned 4. I Don't Care 5. Dearly Beloved 6. Tales Of Another Broken Home 7. Holiday 8. Boulevard Of Broken Dreams 9. Are We Waiting 10. St. Jimmy 11. Give Me Novacaine 12. She's a Rebel 13. Extraordinary Girl 14. Letterbomb 15. Wake Me Up When September Ends 16. The Death Of St. Jimmy 17. East 12th St. 18. Nobody Likes You 19. Rock and Roll Girlfriend 20. We're Coming Home Again |  (View Larger Image) 
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Average Blamo User Rating:  (118 votes) |
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| CD Review by Krisp (View Other Reviews by This Person) | |
| Like any other Green Day album, it starts with a barrage of power chords. But before long, a guitar solo somehow seeps in to the mix and you get a feeling that while the opening song “American Idiot,” sounds like Green Day in nature, the album might prove to be something different.
Green Day originally set out to record a new album a few years ago but an unknown thief stole the original recordings. During the initial re-recordings of the work, the band decided to record something completely different. To add commentary to the crazed state of America due to the elections, they recorded a song called “American Idiot,” and set the bar for the album that every song would have to measure up. Then, news of a concept album and the phrase “Rock Opera,” entered into the media and gave the band the biggest media frenzy they had known since they released Dookie. The opera starts out on “Jesus of Suburbia,” which mashes 5 songs into one in the space of 9 minutes and includes everything from the usual 3-chord rock styling they rode to success to piano driven songs to one of the most least used rock concepts Green Day have ever encountered...lead guitar. The closing “The Death of St. Jimmy” then closes the opera. Green Day find themselves exploring new ground on very much the entirety of the album. It comes best on “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” and “Wake Me Up When September Ends.” These two acoustic-guitar driven songs, which make the pseudo-emotional ballads of Warning seem lame with every listen, serve as the albums best offerings. The reason, possibly, is because Billy Joe Armstrong, while penning emotional material in the past, has never opened up quite like he has on this album. He now seems comfortable to let his emotions take the forefront, rather than masquerading pain with humor (a Green Day staple if you ask me). For Green Day’s core fans, there is also “American Idiot,” “St. Jimmy,” and “She’s A Rebel,” to satisfy your needs. Overall this album caters to Green Day’s entire fan base, whether you started listening at “Basketcase,” or “Good Riddance.” Reviewer Rating of CD : | |
