It's obscenely rare for a punk band to have the kind of sustained success that Green Day has enjoyed over the last 25 years. Granted, it could be argued that Green Day was only really punk for a hot minute before morphing into some variation of power pop or alternative rock...but that's really just semantics, isn't it? They've produced 11 full-length albums in that time, and had a bonkers amount of success in the singles market. (They have enough hits for at least a double album by now.) They're in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, have influenced a staggering number of bands in and out of the punk community, and even have their own Rock Band game. (That may not sound like much, but the only other band to be given their own version was The Beatles). Beginning their careers as most punk rock bands do--as brash, snotty, mildly lethargic youths in dire need of an outlet--Green Day would quickly become a surprising figurehead in the mainstream, popularizing a genre that was supposed to remain buried underground. And somehow, some improbably way, Green Day became an institution. You can now list Green Day alongside artists like Nirvana and The Police and Guns N Roses and Cheap Trick when you talk about lasting influence, and people don't even bat an eye at it. Whatever ups and downs their career may have had, that is a serious legacy.
11. ¡Tre!
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There are a lot of people who felt that the very idea of Green Day putting together an even more ambitious album in 2012 was a terrible, terrible idea. And, upon hearing the news of their impending triple album, I can't say I disagreed. Even for the most diehard Green Day fan, 37 new songs in such a short time is a bit much to get adequately excited about. (The sales figures unfortunately agreed.) Their sound, though obviously more expansive than it was during their formative years, can still get repetitive without careful curation and a heavy hand in the editing room. But when you're compiling this much new music at once, there has to be a more relaxed attitude about what makes the cut. And sadly, this third installment contains a hefty number of songs that likely would have otherwise been left on the cutting room floor. Billie Joe Armstrong's description of the trilogy--the first album gets you in the mood to party, the second one is the party, and on the third "you're cleaning up the mess"--is a surprisingly fitting metaphor, though probably not in the way he intended. By the time this third album rolls around, all the excitement has already left, you're a little hungover from all the fun, but now you the unenviable task of doing the post-party chores. ¡Tré! is the sonic equivalent of a leftover, warm beer that someone at the party barely touched. And while you normally wouldn't let it go to waste...you've already drank 25 beers, and they were much more refreshing. The final three tracks are the album's inarguable highlights ("Dirty Rotten Bastards" in particular, is a most welcome respite, a rigorous bar closing sing-along in the spirit of Flogging Molly), but by that point it's too little, too late.