Warning

by Green Day

Overview

By 2000, Green Day had long been spurned as unhip by the fourth-generation punks they popularized, and they didn't seem likely to replicate the MOR success of the fluke smash "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)." Apparently, the success of that ballad freed the band from any classifications or stigmas, letting them feel like they could do anything they wanted on their fifth album, Warning. They responded by embracing their fondness for pop and making the best damn album they'd ever made. There's a sense of fearlessness on Warning, as if the band didn't care if the album wasn't punk enough, or whether it produced a cross-platform hit. There are no ballads here, actually, and while there are a number of punchy, infectious rockers, the tempo is never recklessly breakneck. Instead, the focus is squarely on the songs, with the instrumentation and arrangements serving their needs. It's easy to say that Green Day have matured with this album, since they've never produced a better, more tuneful set of songs, or tried so many studio tricks and clever arrangements. However, that has the wrong connotation, since "mature" would indicate that Warning is a studious, carefully assembled album that's easier to admire than to love. That's not the case at all. This is gleeful, unabashed fun, even when Billie Joe Armstrong is getting a little cranky in his lyrics. It's fun to hear Green Day adopt a Beatlesque harmonica on "Hold On" or try out Kinks-ian music hall on "Misery," while still knocking out punk-pop gems and displaying melodic ingenuity and imaginative arrangements. Warning may not be an innovative record per se, but it's tremendously satisfying; it finds the band at a peak of songcraft and performance, doing it all without a trace of self-consciousness. It's the first great pure pop album of the new millennium. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	07/28/2009
Label:	Reprise
UPC:	0093624761310

Tracks

1. Warning
2. Deadbeat Holiday
3. Hold On
4. Blood, Sex and Booze
5. Church On Sunday
6. Jackass
7. Fashion Victim
8. Waiting
9. Minority
10. Castaway
11. Macy's Day Parade
12. Misery

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Green Day   Primary Artist
Benmont Tench   Guest Artist
Tre Cool   Drums,Accordion,Percussion
Billie Joe   Vocals
Billie Joe Armstrong   Guitar,Vocals,Mandolin,Harmonica
Tal Herzberg   Organ (Hammond)
Gary Meek   Saxophone
Mike Dirnt   Bass,Vocals,Farfisa Organ

Technical Credits

Tone   Engineer,Second Engineer
Allen Sides   Studio Consultant
Ted Jensen   Mastering
Billie Joe Armstrong   Composer,Lyricist
Jack Joseph Puig   Mixing
Green Day   Composer,Lyricist,Producer
Rob Cavallo   Executive Producer
Ken Allardyce   Engineer
Benmont Tench   Musician
David Campbell   String Arrangements
Marina Chavez   Photography
Timmy Chunks   Guitar Technician
Richard Ash   Second Engineer
Kenny Butler   Drum Technician
Bill Schneider   Guitar Technician
Rick Ash   Engineer
Pat Magnarella   Management
Cheryl Jenets   Production Coordination
Chris Bilheimer   Photography,Art Direction
Lance Bangs   Photography