Green Day - Warning

After two years off following the release of the genre-expanding Nimrod, the usually insouciant trio Green Day are open to some weighty self-analysis. Gone are the raging rants, cartoonish antics, and anthropological musings about the punk scene, replaced by an introspection that brings to mind Michael Stipe and Bono. Like the U2 frontman, Billie Joe Armstrong still hasn't found what he's looking for, but he knows where he's been and is eager to move past the days when Green Day were considered the clown princes of rock. Witness "Jackass," which cautions, "Everybody loves a joke, but no one likes a fool." Proving that they aren't fools, Green Day take a substantial step forward, exploring new rhythms, sonics, and subjects. While many of the tracks are still cheeky and infectious, the deceptively simple melodies belie a quest for meaning, faith, and fulfillment. There's a tentative optimism here that's tempered by irony and flashes of self-loathing. Still, Warning transcends the darkness that clouded 1995's Insomniac. No longer so under the sway of the Buzzcocks and the Ramones, this time Armstrong and company dip into the early rock canon--the Beatles and Bob Dylan, among them. As a result, their first self-produced album is more "Nowhere Man" than "Blitzkrieg Bop." --Jaan Uhelszki Amazon.com

My Favorite Green Day Album!

This is, by far, my favorite album of Green Day. My favorite song of theirs, Fashion Victim, is included on this album. Something about Green Day's upbeat and "catchy," lyrics really draws me in and away from all the other punks bands that our out their, including Nirvana and The Sex Pistols, Green Day is a new sound of punk with its own twist.
That twist is pop, and Green Day is the best pop punk band out there. Forget Blink 182, New Found Glory and Rancid. They are spin-offs of when Green Day released Dookie, and they can't hold a candle to them.
But if you are getting into Green Day for the first time, don't buy this album, rather buy three of their earliest albums: 1039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, Kerpunk! and Dookie. And don't buy American Idiot just because it was the hit album of 2004 or Bullet In A Bible (released in 2005) just yet, start out with the best of Green Day/Sweet Children.
I love the tracks of this album, particularly Warning and Minority, and the slow and easy Macy's Day Parade. Hold On is awesome and Misery is that hardcore, darker "bad-boy," side of Green Day nicely portrayed.
Church on Sunday, Castaway, Jackass, and Deadbeat Holiday are fast and really upbeat.
Waiting and Blood, Sex and Booze are slow but are fast at times and are some of the best of this album. July 17, 2008

Best leave this out of your collection

I was going back and filling in the blanks of my music collection. I heard Minority on the radio and thought this album might not be too bad. I was mistaken. Only the last 3 tracks sound like Green Day songs. Overall, the lyrics are OK, but the songs sound too poppy. "Warning/ Live without warning" isn't very creative for a chorus. Saxophone rock-out solo? This is Green Day, right? (see Jackass) Just get the Minority single and leave the rest of the album for someone else's library. May 18, 2008

3.5 Stars- An almost successful experiment

Released in 2000, Warning is considered by some to be Green Day's best album, mainly because it sounds the least like a Green Day record. It forgoes the crunchy power chord hooks and snotty vocals and instead delivers a set of varied, thoughtful, and occasionally ambitious pop songs. There's more emphasis on lyricism and originality, with acoustic instruments wriggling their way into the mix and taking a seat next to songs about church and society. At times, it's even introspective.

To be honest, it wasn't the best of moves. Don't get me wrong; I've got nothing against ambition, and I'm certainly not gonna stand here and tell you that music shouldn't attempt to be smart or artistically compelling. The problem isn't that Green Day wanted to be mature. It's that they weren't very good at it.

Of course, they were still smarter than the average pop-punk band. Billie Joe Armstrong was an underrated lyricist, and he always knew how to create irresistible melodies. Meanwhile, Tre Cool and Mike Dirnt were one of the tightest, most forceful rhythm sections in existence. All three of them were damn good musicians, and it shows here. Indeed, the best songs on Warning stand as some of Green Day's finest moments. There's the beautiful, hypnotic surge of "Waiting," the exuberant pop of "Church On Sunday," and a great pair of anti-society rants ("Minority" and the title track). Nor have Green Day abandoned their roots: "Castaway" and "Fashion Victim" are high-speed crunchers in the band's classic style.

No, Warning is not a terrible record. It's just not a completely successful grab at maturity, either. The worst clunkers are sad proof of that: "Misery" is a strange mixture of polka and police drama, while "Blood, Sex, & Booze" just recycles a bunch of really lame sleaze rock clichés. "Macy's Day Parade" goes for acoustic introspection, but it comes off sounding hokey and melodramatic. Kinda boring, too. "Hold On" and "Deadbeat Holiday" are largely forgettable, and "Jackass" is just plain dull.

So, this strikes me as a pretty lukewarm record. They get points for their attempts at growth and for the good songs, but that's about it. May 10, 2008

I have mixed feelings...

This is an okay CD, very unlike American Idiot (which was obviously better). I thought they were supposed to be punk, but this doesn't sound that 'punk'. The chorus in "Castaway" sounds a little bit folkish. Definitely not Green Day. They do have a few good songs like "Church on Sunday" and "Minority". But still not worth the ten bucks you're paying. I reccomend you pick your favorites from the internet, then download them to your computer/iPod instead. January 25, 2008

Church on Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great Great Great!!!!!!! - Insomniac pales in comparison!

4 & 1/2 stars, because American Idiot is 4 & 3/4 stars! October 21, 2007

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