26. Dookie - Green Day - 1994
A
long time before their involvement with concept albums, rock operas, Broadway shows and rehab, Green Day were one of the most exciting bands in music. Fresh, urgent, ultra melodic, genuinely snotty Pop Punk. This album (along with 'Smash' by The Offspring, released the same year) literally turned millions of kids onto Punk Rock and prompted many to form bands and write songs about the trials and tribulations of growing up in suburbia. Originally part of the Punk scene in Berkeley, California, that centered around the legendary club, 924 Gilman Street, which is now regarded as a Punk Rock Mecca. After the underground success of second record, 'Kerplunk!', major labels started to court the band, and the band decided that Reprise Records was the right home for them. They went into the studio with producer Rob Cavallo, with whom they felt an instant connection, and in three weeks, recorded what would become 'Dookie'. Full of attitude, the album leaps into action with a one-two-three, combination of sugar coated snotty bursts of melodic punk. Never using riffs, just simple chord patterns and palm muting, Billie-Joe Armstrong writes some superb hooks, and shows his gift for writing infectious vocal melodies, in the verses, as well as choruses. Mike Dirnt's Bass playing is as good as it should be in a power trio, dancing around the songs root notes and keeping things lively and acting like a second lead-instrument. Tre Cool's familiarity around a 4 piece drum-kit is a pleasure to listen to, especially his fills, which are hyper fast, powerful and inventive. The pace is slowed down with the lumbering, knuckle dragging verse of 'Longview'. A tale of boredom, that only a jobless, teenage slacker can be acquainted with. This was the first single to be lifted from 'Dookie'. and served as a good indication of the band's style and disenchantment with most of the world around them, without being political or self-righteous. The album bursts into adrenaline-land again, with what would become the second single, 'Welcome to Paradise'. There were three other singles to follow, 'Basket Case', which needs no introduction and is a story all on it's own. The tender and reflective, 'When I Come Around' and finally 'She', which actually enjoys a cult following among many who see it as the album's best cut. The late, Jerry Finn, and his mix on the album really deserves a mention. This record was so raw and organic sounding, in a time when a sound of being polished to a sheen, was all the rage. He makes the band sound very human, and all the instruments unaffected. With that said, the clarity is immense and each member is pushed to the fore, whilst still giving each other breathing space. The band sound like theyre trapped in your speakers, or in the room next to you, with the door open. As mentioned above, 'Dookie', and (The Offspring's) 'Smash', did so much more for music than most people even realize. The influence is far and wide and shone the spotlight on Punk Rock that would never ever go away. Helping progress awareness of bands like Bad Religion, Pennywise, Rancid, NOFX and the like, Punk Rock was now big business, not just an underground phenomenon. 'Dookie' has gone on to sell 20 million copies worldwide and has never been matched by the band, and they've had some huge releases since.