Let it be known for the record I've always been a fan of Green Day. From 1,039 Slappy Hours to Kerplunk to Dookie to Insomniac to Nimrod to Warning, I found Green Day to be a fun punk alternative rock band I could casually listen to at a party, in the car, or while working out. With their releases of American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown in 2004 and 2009, respectively, however, I went from a casual fan to a die-hard fan of the band. Their music evolved both sonically and lyrically, and the band which once named an album after poop was now creating classic concept rock operas which would soon find their way on Broadway (at least in the former's case). Green Day then went to their old bag of tricks with Uno, Dos, and Tré, before releasing their latest album, Revolution Radio. After listening to the new album several times now, I thought I'd review it track-by-track, and follow that up with some closing thoughts.
1) "Somewhere Now" (8/10): This song opens with a classic Who-feel to it, before cranking up a notch to a sound somewhat reminiscent of what can be heard on American Idiot. This is the perfect multi-layered track to open the album, providing a nice overlay of what's to come.
2) "Bang Bang" (9.75/10): This was the first single chosen off the album, and after hearing it just once, I could tell why. It's the heaviest song off the album, is fast, catchy, and showcases Green Day at their controversial, socially-aware best.
3) "Revolution Radio" (6.5/10): The title track starts out with a fairly upbeat pop-punk-rock riff and continues this feel throughout its 3 minute duration. It's a fun song which is easy to listen to, yet is also a song which one may not realize is there unless someone points it out to them.
4) "Say Goodbye" (7.25/10): The album rebounds nicely with this song. "Say Goodbye" plays like a hybrid of a song released off the band's 2009 album, 21st Century Breakdown, and a drugged-out '60s tune. It's a nice change of pace both for this album and the band in general.
5) "Outlaws" (8.75/10): Outside of "Bang Bang," this might be my favorite track off Revolution Radio. It's one of the slower songs off the album, especially during the verses, but picks up a bit with the powerful chorus. Like with the prior song, "Say Goodbye," "Outlaws" too feels like a hybrid of a recent Green Day song and a tune recorded four to five decades ago.
6) "Bouncing Off the Wall" (6.25/10): The pace picks up again with this tune. Faster doesn't always make better, however, as this song feels too similar to some of Green Day's other stuff, and like with the title track, while "Bouncing Off the Wall" is a fast, happy song, it's one that is likely to not be remembered due to its lack of impact.
7) "Still Breathing" (6.75/10): Green Day sounds their poppiest in the verses of this song, before a powerful chorus helps offset the Neon Trees/Fun.-esque opening. This feels like a hit-and-miss song, as with the strong song lyrics, the chorus sounds strong, while the verses seem out of place.
8) "Youngblood" (6/10): This song plays like a hybrid of the previous two songs, as it's fast and punky like "Bouncing Off the Wall" during the chorus, yet rather poppy during the verses, much like "Still Breathing." It's short, fast, and fun, but definitely not an album standout.
9) "Too Dumb to Die" (7.5/10): The band rebounds from a bit of a mid-album slump with this song. It's quicker than most of the songs on the album, but done in a rather dark fashion. If you ever wanted to hear Green Day take fast punk rock to a darker level, than check out "Too Dumb to Die."
10) "Troubled Times" (6.75/10): "Troubled Times" continues the dark-sounding trend. The verses build up an eerie sound, but the chorus fails to present a worthy climax. Decent song, which includes a solid instrumental a little past its halfway point, but the chorus disappoints.
11) "Forever Now" (7.75/10): Here's where the album comes full circle, as "Forever Now" is a 7-minute rock epic, which features lyrics from the opening track, "Somewhere Now." It's reminiscent of the American Idiot tracks "Jesus of Suburbia" and "Homecoming." I have a soft spot for such tracks from Green Day. Sue me. This is a good song which could very well have closed the album, but alas, we have one more.
12) "Ordinary World" (7/10): Here Billie Joe Armstrong goes solo, much like in "Time of Your Life," as he plays acoustic guitar. It's the slowest song on Revolution Radio and arguably one of the most powerful. Armstrong sounds great, and while "Forever Now" seemed like a fitting song to close the album, "Ordinary World" suffices in that regard as well.
Overall: 88.25/120 (73.5%)
Conclusion: Some people I know say they miss the Green Day of old, but like a lot of bands that have been around for multiple decades, Green Day isn't the same band today as they were when they released their debut album in 1990, a full 27 years ago. American Idiot was the turning point for the band, as they spent 14 years ('90-'04) producing mostly punk-pop-rock songs, and have ventured into the world of rock opera over the past 13 ('04-'17). For me personally, while I like the Green Day of old, I like the new Green Day even better, as they've evolved both sonically and lyrically. They went from singing about masturbation and releasing albums named after poop to singing songs about social issues and releasing albums about contemporary American society. No, that might not be everyone's cup of tea, but regardless, it's nice to see a well-known punk rock band continuing the genre's tradition of raging against the machine. As for the album, Revolution Radio, itself, there isn't a weak throwaway track on it. On the flip-side, however, there aren't too many standouts either. It's a solid album from tracks 1 through 12, can be listened to all the way through without any grimaces, but still fails to live up to the expectations set forth by American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, respectively. Having said that, though, to this point, from the opening through the closing tracks, I'd say Revolution Radio is my third favorite album from the band. Having said that, I'll give the album close to 4 out of 5 stars (perhaps 3.75 to be more precise). It's solid from "Somewhere Now" through "Ordinary World," but outside of "Bang Bang," "Outlaws," and maybe "Somewhere Now," chances are slim I'll be listening to many of these songs very regularly.
1) "Somewhere Now" (8/10): This song opens with a classic Who-feel to it, before cranking up a notch to a sound somewhat reminiscent of what can be heard on American Idiot. This is the perfect multi-layered track to open the album, providing a nice overlay of what's to come.
2) "Bang Bang" (9.75/10): This was the first single chosen off the album, and after hearing it just once, I could tell why. It's the heaviest song off the album, is fast, catchy, and showcases Green Day at their controversial, socially-aware best.
3) "Revolution Radio" (6.5/10): The title track starts out with a fairly upbeat pop-punk-rock riff and continues this feel throughout its 3 minute duration. It's a fun song which is easy to listen to, yet is also a song which one may not realize is there unless someone points it out to them.
4) "Say Goodbye" (7.25/10): The album rebounds nicely with this song. "Say Goodbye" plays like a hybrid of a song released off the band's 2009 album, 21st Century Breakdown, and a drugged-out '60s tune. It's a nice change of pace both for this album and the band in general.
5) "Outlaws" (8.75/10): Outside of "Bang Bang," this might be my favorite track off Revolution Radio. It's one of the slower songs off the album, especially during the verses, but picks up a bit with the powerful chorus. Like with the prior song, "Say Goodbye," "Outlaws" too feels like a hybrid of a recent Green Day song and a tune recorded four to five decades ago.
6) "Bouncing Off the Wall" (6.25/10): The pace picks up again with this tune. Faster doesn't always make better, however, as this song feels too similar to some of Green Day's other stuff, and like with the title track, while "Bouncing Off the Wall" is a fast, happy song, it's one that is likely to not be remembered due to its lack of impact.
7) "Still Breathing" (6.75/10): Green Day sounds their poppiest in the verses of this song, before a powerful chorus helps offset the Neon Trees/Fun.-esque opening. This feels like a hit-and-miss song, as with the strong song lyrics, the chorus sounds strong, while the verses seem out of place.
8) "Youngblood" (6/10): This song plays like a hybrid of the previous two songs, as it's fast and punky like "Bouncing Off the Wall" during the chorus, yet rather poppy during the verses, much like "Still Breathing." It's short, fast, and fun, but definitely not an album standout.
9) "Too Dumb to Die" (7.5/10): The band rebounds from a bit of a mid-album slump with this song. It's quicker than most of the songs on the album, but done in a rather dark fashion. If you ever wanted to hear Green Day take fast punk rock to a darker level, than check out "Too Dumb to Die."
10) "Troubled Times" (6.75/10): "Troubled Times" continues the dark-sounding trend. The verses build up an eerie sound, but the chorus fails to present a worthy climax. Decent song, which includes a solid instrumental a little past its halfway point, but the chorus disappoints.
11) "Forever Now" (7.75/10): Here's where the album comes full circle, as "Forever Now" is a 7-minute rock epic, which features lyrics from the opening track, "Somewhere Now." It's reminiscent of the American Idiot tracks "Jesus of Suburbia" and "Homecoming." I have a soft spot for such tracks from Green Day. Sue me. This is a good song which could very well have closed the album, but alas, we have one more.
12) "Ordinary World" (7/10): Here Billie Joe Armstrong goes solo, much like in "Time of Your Life," as he plays acoustic guitar. It's the slowest song on Revolution Radio and arguably one of the most powerful. Armstrong sounds great, and while "Forever Now" seemed like a fitting song to close the album, "Ordinary World" suffices in that regard as well.
Overall: 88.25/120 (73.5%)
Conclusion: Some people I know say they miss the Green Day of old, but like a lot of bands that have been around for multiple decades, Green Day isn't the same band today as they were when they released their debut album in 1990, a full 27 years ago. American Idiot was the turning point for the band, as they spent 14 years ('90-'04) producing mostly punk-pop-rock songs, and have ventured into the world of rock opera over the past 13 ('04-'17). For me personally, while I like the Green Day of old, I like the new Green Day even better, as they've evolved both sonically and lyrically. They went from singing about masturbation and releasing albums named after poop to singing songs about social issues and releasing albums about contemporary American society. No, that might not be everyone's cup of tea, but regardless, it's nice to see a well-known punk rock band continuing the genre's tradition of raging against the machine. As for the album, Revolution Radio, itself, there isn't a weak throwaway track on it. On the flip-side, however, there aren't too many standouts either. It's a solid album from tracks 1 through 12, can be listened to all the way through without any grimaces, but still fails to live up to the expectations set forth by American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, respectively. Having said that, though, to this point, from the opening through the closing tracks, I'd say Revolution Radio is my third favorite album from the band. Having said that, I'll give the album close to 4 out of 5 stars (perhaps 3.75 to be more precise). It's solid from "Somewhere Now" through "Ordinary World," but outside of "Bang Bang," "Outlaws," and maybe "Somewhere Now," chances are slim I'll be listening to many of these songs very regularly.
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