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One of the most bizarre spectacles of the American Presidential election of 2004 was undoubtedly the sight of Democratic Presidential hopeful John Kerry sharing a stage with Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool, collectively known as Green Day, a punk band who had previously demonstrated a very limited knowledge of politics, preferring instead to sing anthems about marijuana and masturbation. The answer to how this came about lies with the band's captivating, rather political album 'American Idiot'.
After their under-appreciated and relatively unsuccessful 'Warning' (2000) album, Green Day seemed like they had come to the end of their natural lifespan. Legend has it that they began working on a follow-up to 'Warning' but the master tapes mysteriously vanished, and a whole lot of songs disappeared down the drainpipe. Undeterred, Armstrong, now writing in a much more intense cultural climate what with the election of George W. Bush, the terrorist attacks of September 11th and the subsequent war on Iraq, went back to the drawing board with a new concept upon which to base the new album - voila, 'American Idiot' was born. There was some trepidation from the expectant masses when it was announced that 'American Idiot' would be a concept album detailing the dark heart of the American Dream, as since when do punk bands do concept albums? Thankfully, Green Day quickly allayed such fears by releasing an album of immense brilliance and importance, avoiding the portentous statements of albums such as 'Another Brick In The Wall' or 'The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway', but instead something more reminiscent of The Who, minus the pomposity.
The state-of-the-art title track, a quite obvious and provocative stab at the 'redneck' Dubya
(the 'President Gasman'), was predictably the first sing cheery-picked off the album and heralded the album's arrival to a curious public. It is a rip-roaring riot of a song, Armstrong driving the knife into Bush with some scathing lyrics, while the musicianship of Green Day's rhythm section of Dirnt and Cool should never be under-played.
'Holiday' maintains the pace of the title track, an incendiary piece which launches more broadsides against the current administration orchestrating American affairs, while 'Letterbomb' (featuring a cameo by Le Tigre frontwoman Kathleen Hanna) is just as intense, continuing the assault. Both songs also reveal the talent of the rhythm section of Dirnt and Cool, whose respective aggressive basslines and frantic drum rolls give the songs a definite urgency and buoyancy. Armstrong's ability to write a catchy chorus is demonstrated by the anthemic 'Are We The Waiting', and if ever there was a song designed to be played in stadiums it is this.
Title track aside, the arguable centrepiece is the nine-minute, genre-hopping 'Jesus of Suburbia', which contains five mini-songs within, the tale of a small-town man driven to the brink of despair by the cultural wasteland he finds himself inhabiting ("It says home it where your heart is/But what a shame/'Cos everyone's heart/Doesn't beat the same"), brought down by the pressure of economic anguish. The song, like many others on the album, deals with the quest for meaning in a land where morality seems to have been eroded in the interests of the dollar. The themes of alienation and identity crop up throughout the album, Armstrong speaking from the point of view of society's outsiders and outcasts who don't 'fit' with contemporary America. And lyrical bite aside, 'Jesus of Suburbia' is also one of the most ambitious tracks on the album, and certainly one of the most ambitious tracks Green Day have attempted to date, given that Green Day's songs are usually compact three-minute numbers.
The album also demonstrates Billie Joe Armstrong's status as a very credible and prolific writer, weaving intelligent, incisive and biting lyrics around catchy, radio-friendly tunes. 'American Idiot' proves that Green Day have been gradually maturing in ability and ambition as their career has progressed, with each album a marked improvement upon the last. This, their seventh (in a fifteen years career, which makes me feel rather old now), is also their best. The acoustic stylings of 'Warning' demonstrated a refusal to be pigeon-holed into one particular category and while 'American Idiot' finds Green Day on familiar guitar-thrash ground it also highlights their sense of adventure, daring and ambition.
Elsewhere, 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' is an achingly beautiful song, a study in alienation opening with some reverb and ending in crashing guitars, interspersed with Armstrong's lyrics about "the lonely road, the only road that I have ever known", while 'Rock and Roll Girlfriend' sounds like a listenable Meatloaf. The acoustic guitars which peppered 'Warning' make a welcome appearance on 'Give Me Novocain' and provide a refreshing break from the non-ceasing electric guitar assault present elsewhere.
This is a band firing on all cylinders, opening fire on an establishment that needs some serious questions asked of it. If Green Day have done one good thing then it has been to awake the youth of America from its slumber to start asking questions of the people they have as their leaders. Green Day have a far more stronger connection with America's youth than the likes of those other political troubadours Springsteen and REM, and as a result their influence is enormous. And while it would be highly naïve and incredibly stupid to suggest that Green Day alone have mobilised the youth of the United States into taking an interest in politics and the conduct of their leaders, such an influence should equally not be understated.
If one was to pick holes in this album, then perhaps a weak link, if indeed there is one, comes in the form of 'Wake Me Up When September Ends', another quasi-ballad in the vein of 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams', but lacking the impact or bite of 'Boulevard…', and is one of the more average tracks on offer here, a rather laboured number which doesn't have the same immediacy as the other tracks. Some critics will argue that Green Day have 'sold out', embracing commercialism and a polished sheen absent on previous albums in the hope of conquering the world. The best way to treat these critics, other than a summary execution, would be to ignore them as they clearly don't have a clue what they are talking about. This is no 'sell out'; this is a blisteringly powerful, and intensely aware, album whose polish doesn't detract from its power. Furthermore, it would be all too easy to dismiss 'American Idiot' as a bit of a mess of an album, given the over-arching concept, nine-minute epics and songs broken down into sections, yet to do so would be incredibly naïve and rather dumb. This is an ambitious album which manages to be highly listenable and radio-friendly, yet does not lack in guile or bite, with some witty and cutting lyrics which cut right to the heart of the problem facing contemporary Americana.
This is an album that is exhilarating from beginning to end, a visionary, masterful work that is undoubtedly the best album of Green Day's career by some distance, certainly their most mature, and one of the finest rock albums of 2004. It's a tough cookie of an album which doesn't relent in its bite. For sheer audacity, bravery and its willingness to reinvent, this album should make its way into everybody's homes. Recommended.
'American Idiot' is available from Amazon.co.uk for £8.99
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Enjoyed warning more than this one and agree with comment below that the songs on this album become irritating after a few listens...Still great review
gazzalondon 05.01.2006 05:25
great review my fav green day album since dookie which incidently made me pierce my ears and dye my hair oh the folly of youth! Garry
metal_maus 04.11.2005 10:55
Hey, you picked the headline from The Offspring's "Americana"! *g* m_m
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