After Green Day released Dookie in 1994 to massive critical and commercial success, they took a slightly different route on their next record in 1995, turned up the amplifiers and came with a more-fierce, buzzsaw like attitude reminiscent of the glory days of punk rock. Green Day strums harder, sings louder and hammers home the same message as Dookie but in a much different fashion. Many people will dismiss this album because of the lack of the standout singles that Dookie had, but this is arguably a more complete effort and one of the strongest of their career.
January 10, 2008 |  | Another slice of goodness |  |
Punk purists love to whine about Green Day, bemoaning the group's "commercial" sound, juvenile lyrics, and general mid-90s chart success. To which I reply: shut the hell up. Green Day's music may not be for the ages, and Billie Joe Armstrong (their guitarist, lead vocalist, and chief songwriter) may not be a genius, but their music is still some of the best stuff to hit the charts in the 90s. Their songs were fun, catchy, soaked in attitude and backhanded humor, with plenty of crunchy power chord hooks and unforgettable choruses. Sure, a few trillion awful bands followed in their wake, but should we really blame these guys for the actions of their imitators? I say, burn your Good Charlotte discs and get back to cranking Green Day.
Insomniac, the group's fourth album (and the follow-up to the deservedly successful Dookie) serves up fourteen gobs of mouthwatering pop-punk goodness. Sure, it's all pretty derivative- Billie Joe has obviously been paying very close attention to his Ramones records- but it sounds fantastic. If this had come out in 1977, we'd all be hailing it as a classic (albeit a somewhat minor one). Sadly, I guess I'm forced to do everybody's hailing for them. It really is a shame: I wish that more people would give a good listen to the snotty bounce of "No Pride," or the rip-roaring (and just plain awesome) putdown that is "Stuart & The Ave." "Armatage Shanks" boasts a hell of a pop hook, and "Brat" sounds just plain bratty. "Stuck With Me" is an instantly memorable outcast anthem, and "Panic Song" features a great tension-and-release structure.
There's just so much fantastic stuff here- if anything, it's better than Dookie. Ignore the negative hype and give it a shot.
December 24, 2007This cd represents Green Day at a great point in their careers. Perhaps second only to Dookie, this cd rivals Dookie at times with its catchy song after song after song. Every song on this cd is good. Best songs are Geek Stink Breath, Brain Stew, and Walking Contradiction as well as Armatage Shanks. Green Day sounds perhaps more refined here than on Dookie. EVERYONE NEEDS THIS CD, BOTTOM LINE. It is a must must must have for fans of 90s music or Green Day in general. Terrific replay value and it never gets old to listen to. This cd will blow you away how good it is.
September 17, 2007 | | Is it me or isn't this the same set of songs on the last 5 albums? | |
I liked the first Green Day work - it was original, a bit too punky and whitetrash for me, but decent to listen too. After dropping VERY large money for the last two albums I realized I was buying the same music just repackaged. Even the Live versions on Foot In mouth sound exactly the same. Save your money; either buy one of the first 2-3 albums of theirs or better yet, try something new.
April 3, 2007 | | Dookie '95: the Inevitable Remake | |
Green Day landed much more success than they deserved with Dookie. So how did they follow it up? By releasing Insomniac, essentially the same record. That means you get the same invarying power trio format, songs played at the same speed, same volume, in the same key, with Billie Joe whining away as usual. It's almost offensive Green Day scored such massive success with this format. Not that I mind fast, hard music at all - I love The Clash and Sex Pistols, after all. But here's why Green Day cannot logically be considered the next Clash or Sex Pistols: The Clash kept things interesting by working in reggae, even in the early days (I'm sure White Man in Hammersmith Palais would blow these guys' heads off), while The Sex Pistols weren't around long enough for their sound to get old - anyway, they mixed it with some of the best protest lyrics ever. Green Day didn't vary their formula much until Nimrod, where they landed easily their best song ever (the acoustic Good Riddance), and a couple tunes I hope never to hear again (Hitchin' a Ride, King for a Day) in the process of experimenting; and you can forget intelligent protest lyrics. It's all the usual bratty complaining. And guess what? Some of these songs are awful: Geek Stink Breath, Walking Contradiction and Brat are the main offenders.
Now, believe it or not, this isn't a total loss, unlike Dookie. Brain Stew was overplayed as hell at the time (and isn't really any better now), but at least it has a cool riff, and the speedy Stuart & the Ave. actually generates some interest. And I like the cover art. But Green Day sucked until Warning, which I acutally like, and continued sucking after Warning - in other words, if you're looking for Green Day, avoid everything but that album. At least that's my opinion. If you like this group, hey, whatever.
March 27, 2007More reviews at Amazon.com ...
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