Green Day
American Idiot

THE REVIEW

October 2004 marked the grand return after almost 4 years of silence for Green Day with the now-famous "American Idiot," a pop/rock album that partly loses the sounds that made Green Day famous back in 1993 with Dookie but gains that pop sound that is so fashionable in this new millennium.

Perhaps it was this very choice that made the most die-hard fans of pure punk wrinkle their noses. Personally, this choice didn't bother me; in fact, I thought it was the right move to open the album to people who until now didn't even know who Green Day were. In the end, this was more than the right move considering the CD has reached 9 million copies sold worldwide.

The CD immediately opens with the titular "American Idiot," the most Rock track the CD offers, as well as the first single from the album to make it onto MTV. The track is fast, enjoyable, and unlike past years, loved even by those who don't love Punk. The second track is the endless "Jesus Of Suburbia," a 12-minute-long song composed of 5 different song pieces put together by the Berkeley trio, who also made a video that Billie Joe described upon release as the "new Thriller."

The third track is "Holiday," another track more inclined towards Pop than Punk, very catchy with an engaging chorus. Now we come to the fourth track, the true highlight of the CD, "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" which was a worldwide success, an almost perfect song for this new millennium with an impeccable composition, never trivial, with lyrics capable of bringing tears. The track has been highly awarded, winning prizes upon prizes and propelling "American Idiot" to the top of the charts. The fifth track is the beautiful and underrated "Are We The Waiting"—the emblem of Green Day's shift from Punk to Pop, even if the song is really beautiful. "St. Jimmy" is a return to Green Day's past, a track to sing at the top of your lungs given the power it imparts.

Continuing the listen, you find "Give Me Novacaine," a track that starts well but then ends badly, and the stunning "She's A Rebel"—as short as it is beautiful—my humble opinion being the best piece of the CD, in true Green Day style. "Extraordinary Girl" is a good piece that precedes the excellent "Letterbomb"—this one also fast with the classic chorus that installs itself in your head. The CD concludes with "Wake Me Up When September Ends," another of the album's diamonds, speaking of Billie Joe's father's death ten years earlier and accompanied by a very sad video. The twelfth track is the other lengthy one, "Homecoming" and to close the work, we have "Whatsername" which excellently ends the CD with its continuous changes of rhythm, a fitting conclusion to the CD.

All in all, this is more than a great album, marking the grand return of Green Day, perhaps abandoning their origins and opening the doors to new horizons.