American Idiot (Parental Advisory) [PA] - Green Day > Reviews > Album of the Year!!!!

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	great vocal, great songs, everything's great and perfect
Disadvantages:	can never get enough of it

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Congratulations to Green Day who took home the Grammy for record of the year for Boulevard of Broken dream in American Idiot album. As their big fan, I am really, really proud of them. I wrote this review while listening to their songs. My housemate must really mad at me right now because he's actually getting bored with it and also he's not really into alternative rock, funk music, he's more to dance music.

Well I started to become Green day fans when I listened one of their song from album "Insomniac", Walking Contradiction. I thought they are really good and from since I keep collecting all their latest news and albums. I have all their albums starts from Dookie, Kerplunk , Insomniac, Nimrod , Warning, Shenanigan , International Superhits and of course their latest album American Idiot.

Who is Green Day

It was all started when childhood friends and actual founder Billie Joe Armstrong (guitar, vocals) and Mike Dirnt (bass; born Mike Pritchard) formed their first band, Sweet Children, in Rodeo, CA, when they were 14 years old. By 1989, the group took drummer John Kriftmeyer aka Al Sobrante and changed the band name to Green Day and released their first album. However Sobrante was replaced by Tre` Cool (Frank Edwin Wright III) to further his study and Tre` becomes the band drummer till' now.

Green Day was part of the northern California underground punk scene. Kerplunk and Dookie album were more to the energy and insanity of punk rock with most of their songs about picking scabs, pyromania and masturbation. However they still been accepted by the listener and managed to sell millions of copies and won Best Alternative Music Performance in Grammy 1994. Then with their next two albums Insomniac and Nimrod, they still maintained with punk attitude however through these albums they proven to everybody they were not only bunches of some crazy, punk group. They really make a huge success with their biggest hits "Last Ride" and "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)". In 2000, they released new album Warning, however it not their best album and not all fans accepted this album. Only one song became their biggest hit, Minority. Then they released International Superhits, which was I liked the most with all their best songs in it.

Album of the year

It's can't be argued if I said that the whole music industry had been shocked with the released of "American Idiot" in September 2004, an album which lashes out against the American government and the media. "American Idiot" was the first Green Day record ever to debut at #1 on the Billboard Charts, and other music charts around the world. This album was something that we would never expect from Green Day. The album's title track itself was an instant success and intrigued.

"Don't wanna be an American Idiot, Don't want a nation under the new media.
And can you hear the sound of hysteria? The subliminal mindfuck America"……..

The album was written in punk rock opera to tell a story of Jesus of Suburbia (JOS) the main character in this album. The story about him related to confusion, painful, disoriented, feeling miserable and left alone with no one to turn too and no where to go. These story telling comes in 5 different part, part I introduction of "JOS", second part "City of the Damned" telling how JOS crying for help, hating his miserable life, city and town. In part three "I Don't care" where JOS tried to tell us he doesn't care anymore about everything in his life. "Dearly Beloved" was the fourth part in the story. This part he asking if anyone understand what was happening to him and understands what he been through and how he can get out from those problems. And finally, "Tales of Another Broken Home" basically end of the anthem where JOS so fed up with his life, fed up with the city and town and decided to leaves.

Holiday is the next track which more likes taking vacation more or less likes an escape from the problem and think running away was the best thing to do. Then leads us to "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" a slow and sad song, which is my favorite was a greater success. It start with "I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known/ Don't know where it goes, but it's home to me and I walk alone." Here to tell that his so lonely and alone where everybody sleep and doesn't care about him. Such a melancholy song but I love it. Are We Waiting? track shows where he starts to doubt about himself and think all was a lie and he started to lose his mind.

The story leads the listeners from one scene to other scenes and in St. Jimmy's song we've been introduced to a new character called St. Jimmy, the kid that JOS meets on the street somewhere we don't know it existed. St. Jimmy and JOS become friends and do stuff together like drug in "Give Me Novacaine" to ease the pain of life. While they on the street entered a new character in "She's Rebel". She's a bit of trouble however JOS still likes her and found her interesting. It all you can see in "Extraordinary Girl" track what JOS thinks about her and his feeling for her. However the affair seems to end with "Letterbomb". She leaves him because she don't thinks he's a real person and he turned to somebody he always hate, "You're not the Jesus of Suburbia ,The St. Jimmy is a figment of , Your father's rage and your mother's love, Made me the idiot America". So she left and he feels alone again.

Wake Me Up When September Ends, was really touchy another of my favorite song. Here JOS feels alone again and he lost everything in his life. Then the sad story broke up again into five parts. First part, The Death of St. Jimmy tells that St. Jimmy dies by killing himself. Second part, East 12th St. he realized he have to get out from the street and starts a new life and not depending to other people. Part 3, JOS waiting for his dream girl to come back, he keep waiting but she's not and he can't anybody like her. Next part was "Rock And Roll Girlfriend" and the story end with "We`re Coming Home Again" where JOS realized he should come home and he starts to accepting things that happened in his life.

The last song, "Whatsername" a sad song that explained he still remembered the girl he love but couldn't remember her name. And he wonders what happen to her and what he left is memories of her.

From my point of view it was the best album ever and from the moment they released the songs seem that I can' get enough of it. I could listens all day long. Billie Joe's vocal was exceptional along with fantastic guitarist and marvelous drummer.

Track Listing:

American Idiot
Jesus of Suburbia: City of the Damned / I Don`t Care / Dearly Beloved / Tales of Another Broken Home / Jesus of Suburbia
Holiday
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Are We the Waiting
Are We the Waiting: St. Jimmy / St. Jimmy
Give Me Novacaine
She's A Rebel
Extraordinary Girl
Letterbomb
Wake Me Up When September Ends
Homecoming: The Death of St. Jimmy: East 12th St. / Nobody Likes You / Rock And Roll Girlfriend / We're Coming Home Again
Whatsername

"American Idiot" was nominated for seven Grammy awards, and took home one, "Best Rock Album". In August of 2005, Green Day took home 7 Video Music Awards from MTV from 8 nominations. Pretty good huh…

By the way, I went to their concert in Manchester last year. There were superb. Tip top.

Thank you for reading….
 

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Green Day concert, Manchester, Jan 2005