Green Day. Photo: Frank Maddocks
I remember my discovery of this band so vividly. I was in sixth grade when I overheard a few kids in my class talking about a band called Green Day. Knowing pretty much nothing about rock music, I eavesdropped, hoping to gain just a bit of insight on the band. Stupidly, I thought they were an acoustic band, as the only song I'd ever heard from Green Day during my childhood was "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)". I went home that day and went on to AOL.com (yeah....YouTube wasn't huge at this point) and found the video for a song called "American Idiot". My life changed forever, and I don't exaggerate when I say that.
Everything about Green Day grabbed my attention. Their sound, their look, and their attitude were all elements that would go on to kickstart my love of my music. They were my gateway drug into rock music and every genre that I would come to discover of the years. The fact that they grew up and recorded some of their most influential records only a few miles from where I live makes them even more special to me as both a musician and lover of the craft. They still are, and always will remain, my favorite band.
This Thursday, a select number of Bay Area music fans will get the chance to see Green Day perform their first show back in the area in several years (if you don't count last year's "secret" show at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, welcoming the band back to the venue that launched their career for their first show in those hallowed halls since 1994). Join us as we take a look back at the twelve studio records Green Day have released since their inception, and understand just how and why they've remained so influential to millions the world over to this very day.
39/Smooth
Release Date: April 13, 1990
Label: Lookout Records
Producer: Andy Ernst, Green Day
Billie Joe Armstrong - lead vocals/guitar
Mike Dirnt - bass/backing vocals
John Kiffmeyer - drums/percussion/backing vocals
While Green Day initially formed in 1986, the band didn't enter the studio to record their debut album, 39/Smooth, until December 1989. 39/Smooth was released through an independent label called Lookout! Records, showcasing the band's punk origins throughout its ten tracks. The album was released again on a reissue, entitled 1,039 Smoothed Out, Slappy Hours, in 1991. This reissue included not only the original album, but the remasters of the band's two original EPs, 1,000 Hours and Slappy. For a period of time, the album and the EPs, as well as Kerplunk, were out of print due to the band removing the material from Lookout!'s store and re-releasing them through Reprise Records at a later time.
The album clocks in a little over thirty minutes, and it shows Green Day in their simplest form. Straight up punk rock tracks, with pop sensibilities. It gives us an indication of what the band is capable of.
Kerplunk!
Release Date: January 17, 1992
Label: Lookout Records
Producer: Andy Ernst, Green Day
Mixing: Andy Ernst
Engineer: Andy Ernst
Mastering: John Golden
Billie Joe Armstrong - lead vocals/guitar
Mike Dirnt - bass/backing vocals
Tre Cool - drums
What ended up being Green Day's last release on Lookout Records ending up being the calm before the storm. Kerplunk!, the band's second studio record, played off of the sound that came from their predecessor. The songs got a bit stronger, but still maintained the same attitude: straight-up punk rock songs laced with pop-like melodies and vocal lines. Additionally, the band's previous drummer, John Kiffmeyer, left the band after 39/Smooth, making way for a new force to be reckoned with: Tre Cool. Just like that, the last piece of the puzzle was in place.
The album was debuted in Berkeley, California to much acclaim from fans and friends in the local punk scene. Amidst this success, the band packed up a converted "Book Mobile" and headed east to spread their music throughout the country. It was a risk, but one that led the band to sell over 50,000 copies of their record. The sales got better, the shows got better, and major labels started to take notice. Eventually, Green Day decided to leave Lookout Records and join Reprise Records.
If the band had any thought that they were doing well at that moment in time, they had no idea what kind of success was awaiting them right around their corner. More success than one band could ever dream of. Enter: Dookie.
Dookie
Release Date: February 1, 1994
Label: Reprise Records
Producer: Rob Cavallo, Green Day
Mixing: Jerry Finn
Engineer: Neill King, Casey McCrankin
Word spread that the once independently signed hits of 924 Gilman Street had signed with a major label. The term "sell-out" soon followed. While all of the judgement was going on, Green Day stepped foot in Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA in September 1993 to record what would become their breakthrough record. The band stepped in with producer Rob Cavallo, a representative of Reprise Records that the band claimed was the only person at the label they could really talk to and work with.
The recording took three weeks at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA, and it was remixed twice after the fact, due to the band being unsatisfied with the first mixes. The material on the album shows the band building off of their previous pop-punk style, but taking it to a completely different level. The guitars are louder, the composition is better, and despite the band being signed to a major record label, topics including masturbation, sexuality, boredom, and anxiety are prevalent themes that resonate throughout the record.
The result: massive critical acclaim and worldwide success. Five songs have remained staples and well-known tracks from the band to this day ("Longview", "Basket Case", "Welcome To Paradise", "When I Come Around", "She"), and Dookie has sold over 20 million copies worldwide.
Insomniac
Release Date: October 10, 1995
Label: Reprise Records
Producer: Rob Cavallo, Green Day
Mixing: Jerry Finn
Engineer: Kevin Army
Most bands in Green Day's position would try to capitalize off of the success of their previous efforts, staying with an incredibly similar sound in order to keep their newfound fan base appeased. Insomniac was the equivalent of saying "fuck you" to that notion. Shunned by their hometown punk community (they had been banned from playing at 924 Gilman Street after the signing to Reprise Records), the band enlisted a darker, straight-up punk rock tone. Melody was still present, but the instruments were far more in your face than any previous album the band had done. The band enlisted Cavallo once again, and they recorded the album at Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco, CA from September 1994 to May 1995. The lyrics spat back at all of those who frustrated the band.
While the band were criticized for not "progressing" their sound, critical reception was mostly positive. "Geek Stink Breath" and "Brain Stew/Jaded" became highly notable tracks, with the latter becoming a staple in the band's live performance to this day. It peaked at number two on the Billboard 200, and has been certified double platinum in the United States.
Nimrod
Release Date: October 14, 1997
Label: Reprise Records
Producer: Rob Cavallo, Green Day
Mixing: Chris Lord-Alge
Engineer: Ken Allardyce
There comes a point in any band's career, no matter what genre or level of success you achieve, where the term "experimentation" comes to mind. While Green Day have absolutely done this throughout their career, it's safe to say that Nimrod showcased the first signs of true growth and experimentation among the band. Nimrod was an album that was approached as a collection of unique songs, not as a cohesive all-the-way-through album. Clocking in at eighteen tracks long, this made it a much different record in length than the band's previous releases.
A wide variety of rock sub-genres make an appearance throughout the near hour-long record, including ska, punk, alternative, folk. and even surf-rock instrumental. But perhaps the most famous track from Nimrod was the acoustic ballad "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)". The song, a sort of ode to the past, became a pop-culture phenomenon. It was everywhere, and still one of the most recognized songs in the world of alternative rock music.
Nimrod was released in October 1997 after five months of recording at Conway Studios in Los Angeles. The album peaked at number ten on the Billboard 200 and was certified double platinum in the United States in 2000.
Warning
Release Date: October 3, 2000
Label: Reprise Records
Producer: Green Day
Mixing: Jack Joseph Puig
Engineer: Ken Allardyce
Mastering: Ted Jensen
They got married. They had kids. They were able to live comfortably, and they began to experience that suburban lifestyle that most people experience when they've started to settle down. While the band wasn't yet ready to settle down, it almost felt like the people making the music were. While Warning did bring out some wonderful tracks from Green Day, many fans feel that it was their safest record. The lyrics were optimistic, as opposed to rebellious. The music was calmer, rather than in-your-face. It did, however, showcase a newfound maturity among the band.
In support of the record, Green Day embarked as one of the headliners of the Vans Warped Tour, and they did a co-headlining run with San Diego pop-punk icons, Blink-182, who were fresh off of the success of their album Enema of the State.
Additionally, it would be the last album before the band returned to the studio several years later. Then, their real revolution would begin.
American Idiot
Release Date: September 20, 2004
Label: Reprise Records
Producer: Rob Cavallo
Mixing: Chris Lord-Alge
Engineer: Doug McKean
Mastering: Ted Jensen
Before the album that would truly throw Green Day into a whirlwind of success beyond their wildest imaginations, there was another: Cigarettes and Valentines. After an extended break after the touring surrounding Warning, the band got back into the swing of things and recorded nearly all of the aforementioned album. The process came to a complete halt, however, when the band arrived in the studio to learn that the master tapes of Cigarettes and Valentines were stolen. Everything was gone. The band had two options at that point: re-record everything again, or start over. Clearly, they opted for the latter.
It had been four years since the public had heard anything from Green Day, and Warning provided softer (but still good) material than listeners were accustomed to. The world had changed since Warning. George W. Bush had taken the presidency of the United States. September 11 happened. The economy was collapsing. The world was a mess, and the United States was suffering. People, particularly artists, were growing more and more afraid of saying what was really on their minds every day. The voices of those who were struggling day in and day out was being drowned by those in power. America started to feel less and less democratic and "for the people" each and every day.
Then comes American Idiot, a record by a band who had the fucking balls to say what no one else did. Pairing the words "mindfuck" and "America" next to each other in the first verse of a mainstream rock song was gutsy enough, yet to have an album with such clear political overtones while still weaving a love story and an entire rock opera is something that was completely unthinkable at the time. Rock operas had been made before, like The Who's Tommy and Pink Floyd's The Wall, but not in the modern age. It said, "fuck you, this is what we think of everything you've done to us". It finally gave a voice to the voiceless, and it brought some bravery back into rock and roll. I stand by my statement that it's the most punk rock record the band have ever release, more than Dookie and Insomniac combined.
Green Day's American Idiot was released in September of 2004. The first weeks sales totaled 267,000, the biggest first week sales the band had ever seen. It has been certified platinum six times in the United States, and has sold fifteen million copies worldwide. Critically, it has received massive acclaim, and it led the band to the eventual performance of stadiums. In a concert DVD, Bullet In A Bible, the band chronicled their two day performance at the National Bowl in Milton Keynes, England, where they played to over 65,000 each night.
The album has even transcended the concert stage: it has become a musical, which premiered in Berkeley in 2009, eventually making its way to Broadway, and touring the country soon after. An HBO film surrounding the story of the album is currently in the works.
21st Century Breakdown
Release Date: May 15, 2009
Label: Reprise Records
Producer: Butch Vig, Green Day
Mixing: Chris Lord-Alge
Engineer: Chris Dugan
Mastering: Ted Jensen
The massive success of a record like American Idiot led to Green Day doing well over a year of extensive touring. After finishing the tour in late 2005, Billie Joe Armstrong began to work on the record in January of 2006. With a large number of songs recorded and demos laid out, the band didn't enter the studio until January 2008, a full two-years later.
After taking over a year in the studio to record their follow-up, what resulted was yet another intensified rock opera, dubbed 21st Century Breakdown. Much like American Idiot, it observed the world going on around us, post-George W. Bush presidency, and spoke out against what was wrong in the world through the eyes of two characters, this time named Christian and Gloria. The album was divided into three acts, much like a play, in order to construct the story. Musically, it's more complex and varied in certain parts, but still incredibly cohesive as a Green Day album and a rock opera.
An even more extensive touring schedule followed the release of 21st Century Breakdown, and it has gone on to sell four million copies worldwide.
Uno! Dos! Tre!
Release Dates: September 21, 2012 (Uno!), November 9, 2012 (Dos!), December 7, 2012 (Tre!)
Label: Reprise Records
Producer: Rob Cavallo, Green Day
Mixing: Chris Lord-Alge
Engineer: Chris Dugan
Mastering: Ted Jensen
Billie Joe Armstrong - lead vocals/guitar
Mike Dirnt - bass/backing vocals
Tre Cool - drums
Jason White - guitar/backing vocals
Green Day's ninth studio album ended up being their ninth, tenth, and eleventh, respectively. With a great deal of material that they wanted to get out there, the band pa to release a triple album: Uno! Dos! Tre! (the fourth photo pictured above, featuring new member and longtime touring member Jason White, Quatro!, was a documentary about the making of all three records).
The albums were recorded from February to June of 2012 at Jingletown Studios in Oakland, CA, with producer Rob Cavallo back at the helm. The albums represented different elements of the band and what they were capable of as songwriters. Armstrong basically described Uno! as 'before the party', Dos! as the party itself, and Tre! the conclusion of the party when everyone's cleaning up. Uno! is the straight-up punk rock that every knew and loved about the band, Dos! showcased the band's abilities to make garage-rock heavy party anthems, and Tre! extended off of their alternative rock roots.
The touring surrounding the record was cut short when Armstrong admitted himself to a rehabilitation program in 2012, shortly before the release of the album, for overusing alcohol and prescription medications. After sobering up, the band embarked on the '99 Revolutions Tour' in 2013 to support the album, performing forty-six shows in total. It would be a few years before we heard anything new from Green Day. But rest assured, it's been well worth the wait.
Revolution Radio
Release Date: October 7, 2016
Label: Reprise Records
Producer: Green Day
Mixing: Andrew Scheps
Engineer: Chris Dugan
Mastering: Eric Boulanger
It's 2016, and four years since Green Day released their trilogy of records. Here we have their newest offering, Revolution Radio their twelfth studio album recorded over a period of seven months at OTIS in Oakland, CA. With everything that the band encountered during that tumultuous period of time surrounding the release of Uno! Dos! Tre! , it's completely evident that Green Day are firing on all cylinders. Present in Revolution Radio is a renewed sense of energy and intensity. The album features the best offerings of both pop and punk that the band have to offer. "Bang Bang" is a complete return to form, showcasing the intensified rock music that brought Green Day to the masses with American Idiot, and taking on the topic of mass shootings in America. "Still Breathing" is quite possibly the best pop-rock song the band have ever written. It's a band that has almost completely rediscovered themselves as musicians, but remembered the music that brought them together in the first place, plain and simple.
The album was just released a few weeks ago, but it has since topped the Billboard charts, and sold nearly 100,000 units in the United States alone. The band are currently headlining the 'Revolution Radio' Tour that is traversing the country (featuring more intimate venues for this run) and then will be headlining larger venues when they tour next year with punk icons Against Me!.
Green Day is a band that has, above and beyond, stood the test of time. Nothing has stood in their way, and they've continued to progress their music and their live shows with an unbelievable and unmatchable amount of passion, integrity, and honesty. To say that I'm thrilled to be witnessing their show yet again this Thursday is an understatement.
Here's to Green Day: thank you for so many incredible years of music. Here's to many, many more.
Green Day
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This has been another Shameless Promotion.