10 Concept Albums That Make Absolutely No Sense
2. 21st Century Breakdown - Green Day
No other rock band can claim to have a career resurgence quite like Green Day did at the turn of the century. Once the post-Dookie era left them looking like yesterday's news at the turn of the millennium, they came roaring back to life with American Idiot, being one of the first high profile punk rock operas to garner mainstream attention. Just when everyone was expecting to be wowed all over again, 21st Century Breakdown falls short more often than not.
Then again, it's not like a second rock opera was completely out of the question, considering that the Who managed to pull it off considerably well with Tommy and Quadrophenia. Going into the actual story of this one, it gets a bit too scattered once they introduce the characters of Christian and Gloria. Being almost a carbon copy of Jesus of Suburbia and Whatsername from the last album, most of these songs have nothing to do with any linear narrative, instead replaced with a more classic rock approach to songwriting.
It wouldn't be that bad if the guys didn't want to make another opera, except for the fact that they call attention to it on the packaging, going so far as to put different movements for the album like Charlatans and Saints and Horseshoes and Handgrenades. While this album is still an underrated gem in the Green Day catalog, if you can't get invested in the story you're trying to tell, there's very little chance that your audience will either.