Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown
Record Label: Reprise
Release Date: May 15, 2009
First things first: following up American Idiot is certainly not a task that I envy the band. That album was obviously considered to be the band's magnum opus, and I am sure that I am not the only fan of the band who thought that they had hit the ceiling, that they could not possibly improve themselves. With that in mind, Breakdown would have to be peerless and immaculate to completely live up to its expectations.
21st Century Breakdown, like its predecessor, is a rock opera. It is divided into three acts: "Heroes and Cons," "Charlatans and Saints" and "Horseshoes and Handgrenades." According to lead singer and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, it follows a young couple, Christian and Gloria, through the 21st century thus far, as they "deal with the mess our 43rd president left behind."
The album begins with a 57-second introduction featuring only Billie Joe's voice and a lot of static and white noise--appropriate considering one of the album's themes concerns "The Age of Static," a phrase which is referenced in this track and in others. The album then segues directly into the title track. "21st Century Breakdown" is by far the best song on the album and arguably the best song that Green Day has ever written. It certainly contains some of the best lyrics Billie Joe has ever penned: "I've been to the edge and I've thrown the bouquet/Of flowers left over the grave/I sat in the waiting room wasting my time/And waiting for judgment day." The song rollicks along for over five minutes, completely changing twice, and seems to be much more substantial than Green Day's previous "epic" songs--most of which were twice "Breakdown"'s length.
After "Breakdown," the album continues with "Know Your Enemy," the first single, a typical Green Day fist-pumping punk rock anthem, complete with a stadium-ready sing-along chorus. After the blitzkrieg of these two opening tracks, the band takes a hard left turn with the next track, "Viva la Gloria!" which begins as a piano ballad before jumping into a fast-paced song reminiscent of Idiot's "Letterbomb." Having been introduced to Gloria, the next song, "Life Before the Lobotomy" introduces us to Christian. This song too begins at a slower pace, this time accented by echoing acoustic guitar instead of piano, before going into a full-steam-ahead rocker.
Following such a strong quartet of opening songs, the album moves into another quartet of forgettable ones. "Christian's Inferno," with it's spoken/shouted verses and highly repetitive chorus: "Whoa oh/Christian's inferno" feels half-baked, and "Last Night on Earth," which closes out Act I, is a sappy and cliche piano love ballad which breaks the album's full-throttle tempo for no good reason.
Act II: Charlatans and Saints opens with "East Jesus Nowhere," and anti-religion song that is by no means vague. However, instead of pointing out serious ills that do exist in modern religion, Green Day takes fire at no one in particular--a repetitive rant ensues. The following track, "Peacemaker," dominated by acoustic guitar and a slightly Latin feel, is not much better. While the song is undeniably catchy, it is certainly not Green Day at their finest, and reminds me somewhat of "Extraordinary Girl," the weakest track on Idiot, just without the killer chorus that saved "Girl."
After this middle-of-the-album dive, Breakdown makes an extraordinary comeback: "Last of the American Girls" and "Murder City," the two following tracks, more than make up for the momentary lapse. "Girls" is a Green Day song in the ilk of "She's A Rebel" or "Haushinka" and immediately begs to be played again. "Murder City" returns us to the story of Christian and Gloria with a bang. "Viva la Gloria? (Little Girl)" is good once it gets going, however the honky-tonk harpsichord opening is certainly not Green Day's niche. After these three faster songs, the album again slows with "Restless Heart Syndrome," another piano ballad which closes out Act II. This ballad, however, is much better than the last, and is further improved by the guitar and drums that are added as the song progresses.
"Horseshoes and Handgrenades," which opens Act III, shows Billie Joe at his angry punk rock finest, proclaiming that he's "not f---ing around." "The Static Age," the next song is even better; its chorus is the catchiest thing on the album. After an explosive opening to Act III, the band again makes a hard left turn; this time however, things just get that much better. The anti-war ballad "21 Guns" is the best slow song and the best political song Green Day has ever recorded. It is both beautiful and rousing at the same time, and is not the longest song on the album without reason.
"American Euology" is divided into two parts: "Mass Hysteria" and "Modern World." "Hysteria" is a good fast-paced protest song (although old-school GD fans will notice that its verses bear a melodic resemblance to "Deadbeat Holdiay" from 2000's Warning), and "Modern World" is an even better one, featuring the lead vocals of bassist Mike Dirnt, announcing that he "don't give a s--- about the modern world." The album closes with "See the Light," which features the same piano and guitar parts that opened "Breakdown." While a good song, it doesn't quite do the album justice as a closer; "Whatsername" was much more appropriate.
As my review makes plain, 21st Century Breakdown will forever be in the shadow of American Idiot. Unlike Idiot, Breakdown does have its momentary lapses, and these cost the album somewhat. It is 18 tracks and almost 70 minutes long--a good fifteen minutes longer than Idiot. In my humble opinion, the band would have done themselves a favor to have cut a few songs in the middle of the album. Overall, however, this is an excellent album, featuring the band at the top of their game: Billie Joe's lyrics continue to improve, he continues to refines his voice, he seems as comfortable with a piano as with a guitar now, Mike and Tre continue as on of the finest rhythm sections in rock 'n roll, and the string arrangements are superb. Overall, Breakdown is a very good album, my pick for finest of the year thus far.
I just think that if you are going to review something you should have the integrity to not mention the fact that you stole it.
Integrity is being honest about what you have done. Writing a review before the album's released date (like I did with this one) assumes the fact that you have obtained it either from the label or from a leak. I got it from a leak, and purchased the CD when it came out in stores the next week.
I like both "East Jesus Nowhere" and "Last Night On Earth", but you're right that "Peacemaker" is pretty forgettable (and kind of out of nowhere in the middle of the album). The album's pretty awesome anyway.
I like both "East Jesus Nowhere" and "Last Night On Earth", but you're right that "Peacemaker" is pretty forgettable (and kind of out of nowhere in the middle of the album). The album's pretty awesome anyway.
Yes..."Peacemaker" just kinda doesn't stand up to the tracks that follow it.
Nice review. :)
I think the record shows Green Days determination to keep going, bringing new music to the plate and keep striving to do there absolute best.
And although "Last Night On Earth" isn't the best and is the most cheesy cliche on the album, it's still quite good in my opinion.
But by far I think "Restless Heart Syndrome" is just amazing!
:D
I really don't enjoy "Last Night on Earth" (as evidenced in the review), but "Restless Heart Syndrome" has grown to be one of my favorites on this album.
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