Product Description
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Follow-up to the popular punk rock trio's critically accled
seventh studio album, 'American Idiot'. The record is divided
into three acts: 'Heroes and Cons', 'Charlatans and Saints' and
'Horseshoes and Handgrenades', and follows the turbulent life of
a young American couple named Gloria and Christian.
.co.uk
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Over three years in the making, 21st Century Breakdown is the
answer to the question Green Day are stuck with--exactly how do
you follow up a twelve million selling rock opera? With more of
the same, of course, just like the Who used to do. To be honest,
the narrative line is largely incoherent, following the story of
starstruck young lovers Christian and Gloria (as in G-L-O-R-I-A)
as they confront The Man in a predictably dystopian world. But
though plenty of bands have recently resuscitated this long
discredited form--The Mars Volta
( http://www..co.uk/mars-volta-Music/s/?ie=UTF8&rh=n%3A229816%2Ck%3Amars%20volta )
and the excellent, not dissimilar Thermals
( http://www..co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_m_h_?url=search-alias%3Dpopular&field-keywords=thermals&x=0&y=0 )
, to name but two--none can pack in so many decent tunes as
Billie Jo Armstrong, Tre Cool and Mike Dirnt. Even as they
approach middle age, they still sound trapped by their youth,
whether it’s Armsrong describing himself (or maybe his character)
as a child of the Nixon era or simply reviving the power-pop
sound of Cheap Trick ( http://www..co.uk/Cheap-Trick/e/B000APEDO4 ) . Yet if the plot is murky, songs like single "Know Your Enemy",
as reductive as AC/DC ( http://www..co.uk/AC-DC/e/B000AQU2YI )
and as gleefully catchy as the latest Disney teen rock sensation,
the shameless and resigned power ballad "21 s", "Before the
Lobotomy", one part punk rock, one part melodramatic ballad, and
the classic rock of the title track sound like radio stes on
the very first hearing. Older listeners may be reminded of Husker
Du ( http://www..co.uk/Husker-Du/e/B000APVR2A )’s equally
impenetrable and ambitious song cycle Warehouse. But that was the
work of a band actively seeking fans. 21st Century Breakdown is a
wildly unfocussed collection seemingly set on confusing them. But
it certainly features some great tunes.--Steve Jelbert
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Review
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Three years in the making and 71 (yes, 71) minutes in length,
pop-punk provocateurs, Green Day return with another concept
album to rival their last, American Idiot. The intervening years
have seen several pop bands absconding with their USP and making
lightweight mincemeat of it, making it harder for us to take them
seriously. This is a shame, as Green Day really know their pop
smarts and are as ruthlessly efficient as a Swiss watch with
dayglo hands. You may not get any deep ins, but you are
getting some great tunes.
Like the Ramones with A-levels the band split the album into
three 'acts' (Heroes And Cons; Charlatans And Saints; Horseshoes
And Handgrenades): It's loosely based around a young couple,
Gloria and Christian, and their travails in this contrary age.
Musically it's business as usual, taking the punk template and
strectching it into stadium grandiosity. While the title track
expands its brief to three time signatures, Viva la Gloria enters
the room borne on Billy Joel-esque piano chords, or Last Night On
Earth is essentially a 70s power ballad with dreamy vocals, the
core of 21st century Breakdown is still great pummelling party
rock, infused with producer Butch Vig's classic sense of
quiet/loud dynamics.
Conceptually it's a little harder to muster enthusiasm. Griping
vaguely against 'authority' tends to be the domain of the
teenager, and these guys are now approaching 40. Murder City sees
its protagonists, ''crying in the bathroom'' and ''bumming
s'', but they're ''desperate but not helpless''. Green
Day are best at summing up the ennui of white middle class
America. It doesn't have the romantic sheen of, say,
Springsteen's evocation of the early 60s, but this is the sound
of shopping malls gone to seed; genised and railing against
'stuff'. This isn't to say that their hearts aren't in the right
place, and the USA needs its social commentators now, more than
ever, but they speak far more eloquently with their guitars than
their lyrics.
Too many buzz words obscure incisive meaning, and it's only by
the third act that any sense of true ire creeps in: ie: war (huh)
what is it good for? etc. But it's probably more to do with the
fact that Billie Joe Armstrong finally gets all sweary (''I'm not
f*****g around!'' he bleats on Horseshoes And Handgrenades). Yet
at its climax the most profound thing they can say is, ''I don't
want to live in the modern world'' or ''I don't give a s*** about
the modern age''. Join the club, chaps.
Ultimately 21st century Breakdown is a startlingly hummable album
that breathes life into a musical form that should, by rights,
have died out 30 years ago. Such creativity is to be lauded, but
this isn't a record that will change the world one iota; except
by making kids dance. And sometimes there's no greater
achievement in life. --Chris Jones
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