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MINI REVIEW: GREEN DAY "AMERICAN IDIOT"



Artist: Green Day
Album Title: American Idiot
Genre: Rock/Punk
2004
Reprise Records

When did I buy it?: I bought it the week after my birthday in late April of 2005.

Why did I buy it?: I had heard all the hype about the album and read about Green Day's ambitions for the album and what they tried to do with it. I knew it won a Grammy for Best Rock Album. I had also heard most of the songs on VH1's "Storytellers" program and was very impressed. Also, I was in the mood for some loud rock music. In short, I wanted to see what the fuss was about and buy the most talked about rock album of the past year.

What are the best songs?: The album starts off with the hyper political punk rock anthem title track, "American Idiot." This was the first single off the album and I was very impressed with it and still am. The lyrics initially turned me off, but they get deeper and more meaningful the more I listen. The other singles so far, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and "Holiday" are solid songs as well. "Boulevard" might have been overplayed but it's still a powerful song that balances sadness with rock energy and has deceptively simple lyrics. "Holiday" is one of the most political songs on the album and is just a damn good song and easy to sing along with.

The two multi-part songs "Jesus of Suburbia" and "Homecoming" are probably the most intriguing and catchy things on the whole album. "Jesus" in particular is full of tempo changes, snappy statements about modern life and, most of all, insanely catchy melodies anchored by thundering guitars. Pianos also make a few appearences. "Homecoming" is similar but a little weaker because of a couple lackluster parts.

There really isn't a single bad song on the album, but other standout tracks include "St. Jimmy," "Extraordinary Girl" and "Letterbomb."

Any bad stuff?: My least favorite thing about "American Idiot" is the lack of fast paced, punkish songs off which Green Day made their reputation. There are really only a few true "punk" songs and the rest range from tender ballads to singalong anthems. This is a new direction for Green Day and not particularly bad, but don't go looking for a lot of songs for your pissed off soundtrack. Also, the supposed rock opera storyline isn't really all that clear as you listen to the album. A few paragraphs about the attempted story would have been very welcome in the liner notes. Rock opera or not, the songs can at least stand alone and be understood as mini-stories on their own.

Overall thoughts: This album deserved the Grammy it won. It may not be "Dookie," but it's certainly ambitious and full of surprises. Even if you don't care for the rock opera attempt or the semi-political lyrics that sound rather cliched at times, you'll at least be hearing the well crafted melodies in your head long after you've stopped playing the disc. For the catchiness alone, this album deserves your dollars unless you simply can't stand punk rock or Green Day.

Album Score: 4.5 out of 5