READ THIS OPINION SINCE THE OTHER ONES SUCK (Warning - Green Day)

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Product:	Warning - Green Day
Date:	17/07/02 (23 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Six good tracks

Disadvantages: Six bad tracks

For me, this opinion is quite hard to write as I am a very big Green Day fan and I’m seeing them live tonight at Wembley Arena. But, I’ll go straight to the point: This album is extremely disappointing and is definitely Green Day’s worst record they’ve ever made. I remember when I got it, first day of release, still buzzing from the Minority single. After I heard Minority and was stunned at how funny and catchy it was, I just knew Green Day would come up with a hit album to follow it. They didn’t.

Whilst some tracks on Warning are undeniably good pop songs, none of them really live up to the sort of expectations placed on Green Day after two fantastic albums:

The dark, moody (and Green Day’s best) Insomniac.

The “back to the roots” album that was Nimrod.

Those albums were amazing, stunning and really placed Green Day as one of the best punk rock bands of all time, and definitely the best of the last ten years after they were misconceived to be a fake punk band upon Dookie’s release. So, if you want an introduction to Green Day and haven’t got any of their records yet- get International Superhits. It gives you the highlights from all four major label albums Green Day have released. If you like that, then I suggest you get Dookie, then Nimrod, then Insomniac. And if, only if, you’ve become a big Green Day fan get Warning to complete your collection. Then get the new nifty rarities collection, titled Shenanigans.

Warning doesn’t sound like a Green Day album. It just doesn’t have the punk attitude, tight drumming, catchy distorted tunes or funny lyrics that helped to make Green Day’s other three major label albums fantastic fun. Warning has a more distinctive mature sound with, yes this is true, only five, you did hear me right, songs that use proper distorted guitars to their full level. These tracks unsurprisingly are the highlights of the
album:

Jackass

Minority

Waiting

Fashion Victim

Blood, Sex and Booze

However, even if these tracks are the highlights of the album, they are considerably under whelming compared to tracks from Insomniac, Nimrod and Dookie. So, I hear you ask, if only five tracks use distortion- what do the other tracks do? There can’t be seven acoustic ballads on the album! Well, the only real acoustic ballad on this album is Macy’s Day Parade, which is another highlight of this album. It possibly is the best track on this album. Unlike the cringe inducing Time Of Your Life, Macy’s Day Parade isn’t an annoying, sentimental three minutes laced with syrupy violins. It instead uses pounding drums; low-key bass and a monotonous guitar strum to incredible effects. It also delivers serious, powerful lyrics like “when I was a kid I thought, want all the things that I haven’t got, but I learnt the hardest way, then I realised something’s true, there’s no difference between thieves and crooks, a lesson learned for me and you”. Ok, they’re not the witty Green Day lyrics of old, but they’re good, firm, memorably and damn powerful lyrics.

Other tracks on this album mix in louder acoustic guitars and use them for punk songs. The result is varied. On some tracks, like Castaway, these acoustic punk songs really don’t work that well whilst on others like Church On Sunday, the result is great. The reason is because you can’t make a great punk song without a great riff. Songs like Castaway, have unmemorable, repetitive riffs that really annoy whilst on Church Of Sunday, Green Day hark back to their old three-chord punk rock days with stunning effect. The latter mixes in a toned down three chord luscious riff with tight drumming and one of Mike Dirnt’s best basslines since, ok, since Stuck With Me on Insomniac. The chorus is also very catchy and Church On Su
nday is a single quality song. It’s a shame title track Warning was picked instead of it as the second single.

Now, we come to the other style of track on this album. The more toned down, stripped down acoustic guitar with a slow drumbeat and booming bass line style of songs. Two examples are Warning and Hold On. These two aren’t the shining moments in Green Day’s career. Warning dangerously goes into four-chord territory (not one Green Day is familiar with) and has the most simple, annoying riff ever that carries on for three minutes while Billie Joe Armstrong sings unconvincingly about doing what you want whenever you like. There’s no punk attitude in this rebellious song, nothing on par with the frustrated nihilistic whine of Basket Case or the sharp and edgy drone of Geek Stink Breath or the “I hate everything including myself” style vocals of The Grouch. Warning is just in a different league to these other Green Day classics- a lower league. Hold On follows a similar path- repetitive riff, unconvincing theme and just bad.

However, while these tracks may be bad, nothing on earth can prepare you for the absolute stinker that is Misery. Written by Mike Dirnt, who also put his writing hand to J.A.R. and Scumbag (two of Green Day’s best songs), I was expecting a hit on my hands. Misery is the worst track Green Day has ever made, and that is really saying something. The score is this: a cringe inducing story about the mafia, an accordion, minimal guitar, minimal bass, piano, saxophone and Pavarotti style vocals. The result is like Green Day doing a bad cover of the classic tune from the Godfather trilogy. It’s a novelty song and lasts for; get ready to puke, five minutes. Skip it.

Well, I think I’ve pretty much summed up all the bad things about this album so now I come to the good things, and there are not very many. As I said, the highlights are the songs that use the maximum distorti
on. Songs like Minority and Fashion Victim have extremely anthemic quality riffs and memorable rowdy choruses to really bring the house down. Waiting, a hit single from this album, is one of the best tracks that Green Day has ever written. It recycles the Downtown riff and uses it for a great, touching pop song. It’s definitely one to listen to when you’re happy. Blood, Sex and Booze is one of the best five songs Green Day has ever written. I increased my rating of this album by one star just because of this track. It’s really in the blues mould on Hitching a Ride and Brain Stew but somehow it never gets repetitive or boring- and the lyrics are up there with Billie Joe Armstrong’s best ever lines. Stuff like “waiting in a room, all dressed up and bound and gagged up, to a chair, it’s so unfair” really shows comedy value. Jackass uses the distorted guitars to maximum effect. In itself, Jackass is a memorable, innovative song that has some of Billie Joe Armstrong’s best lines like “to know you is to hate you, so loving you must be like suicide” and mixing them with classic three-chord punk formula. It’s let down, however, in the bridge leading to its rowdy final verses- a saxophone is used. A saxophone- the world is weird and Green Day have changed.

So, in conclusion after two years- I am still under whelmed by this album and find it a blotch on Green Day’s radar of perfect punk. Its not a sell out album (it’s Green Day’s worst selling record) while its not really made for the fans. And taking three years to make, this album must have crushed many Green Day fans anticipating the nest Dookie, Insomniac or Nimrod (depending on which is your favourite Green Day album). Green Day have done the impossible and have grown up- the sound is more mature, the lyrics are more mature and the delivery is more mature. However, from recent demos I have heard from Shenanigans and International
Superhits, Green Day seem to be returning to their hardcore punk roots after this disappointing foray into more mature music that was never made for them. So, fingers crossed, Green Day’s next album will be a punk stunner but the fact still remains that Warning is disappointing.

It would now be great of you to rate this as very useful and nominate it for a crown.

Chow

Pinkertonisrad.

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