Green Day - "¡Uno!" (41:44)
"Nuclear Family" (3:03) - ★★★★
"Stay The Night" (4:37) - ★★★
"Carpe Diem" (3:26) - ★★★
"Let Yourself Go" (2:57) - ★★★
"Kill The DJ" (3:42) - ★★★★★
"Fell For You" (3:09) - ★★★
"Loss Of Control" (3:08) - ★★★
"Troublemaker" (2:45) - ★★★
"Angel Blue" (2:47) - ★★★
"Sweet 16" (3:04) - ★★★★★
"Rusty James" (4:09) - ★★★
"Oh Love" (5:03) - ★★★
"Nuclear Family" (3:03) - ★★★★
"Stay The Night" (4:37) - ★★★
"Carpe Diem" (3:26) - ★★★
"Let Yourself Go" (2:57) - ★★★
"Kill The DJ" (3:42) - ★★★★★
"Fell For You" (3:09) - ★★★
"Loss Of Control" (3:08) - ★★★
"Troublemaker" (2:45) - ★★★
"Angel Blue" (2:47) - ★★★
"Sweet 16" (3:04) - ★★★★★
"Rusty James" (4:09) - ★★★
"Oh Love" (5:03) - ★★★
What we have here is certainly an interesting piece, boasting, arguably, the highest concentration of high quality songwriting over the entirety of Green Day's quick-fire-released "¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tré!" trilogy. I would say it's the most obviously punky of the three records, but as for it's quality - that's really quite debatable...
The explosive "Nuclear Family" kicks things off, throwing open the curtains on the three album series with the brash and anarchic, 'Gonna ride the world like a merry-go-round', stamping merrily and maniacally into "American Idiot" territory with a damning and apocalyptic perception of society, all, naturally, to the tune of the trademark, rip-roaring, pop-punk style the band have become famous for. This track stands out for it's lasting impression and size, even amongst later contenders (whose incredibly similar tone may even have you question my judgement...)
After the opening blow, the listener moves steadily through Cali-punk regulars "Stay The Night", "Carpe Diem" and "Let Yourself Go", the latter of which, is undoubtedly the strongest in it's attitude and tuned noise ('Shut your mouth 'caus you're talking too much and I don't give a fuck anyway!'). This said, each of these songs represents a somewhat repetitive rehashing of the punk formula; not uncomfortable or boring at this point of the album, but samey nonetheless...
"Kill The DJ" swaggers in towards the end of side A with unquestionably groovy bravado and extreme flamboyance, marking a pretty big shift in the sonics and perhaps one of the band's most experimental tidbits. The funky fandango is juxtaposed by an almost hideously abrasive lyric demanding that someone 'hold [the DJ] underwater 'till that motherfucker drowns!'. Gloriously anti-establishment, a bit rude, and wonderfully danceable at the same time. Lovely...
A string of four further out-of-the-mould pop-punk tracks follow, and exactly the same as before; perfectly decent and listenable songs that are easily ★★★ by their own merit, but which begin to clog the album's initially exciting energy and blotch the surface of this highly-polished punk sound. After this largely undifferentiated tirade, comprising "Fell For You", "Loss Of Control", "Troublemaker" (the cheekiest and most self-deprecating lyrically) and "Angel Blue", the incredible "Sweet 16" explodes onto the scene, describing a middle-aged reflection on teenage years and utilising the classic images of alcoholic regret and family-oriented self-assurance that have become standard figures of Billie-Joe Armstrong's lyricism. There's also a brilliant guitar solo, characterised by satisfying harmonies and Kurt Cobain style following of the vocal track; for me, it marks totally the epitome of the sound that Green Day have created, and goes a long way to better the more standardised tracks on the album and its two counterpart pieces.
Completing the setlist afterward, "Rusty James" and "Oh Love" finish the album much in the way it begins and flows; quite seamlessly and with few obvious diversions from the rollocking but straight musical path, the former sounding almost exactly like earlier sonic punk punches, and the latter breaking the song down into separate sections, kept apart by intervals of slowly chugged guitar chords and vocal, and (in fairness) dragging somewhat over its 5 minutes running time...
The music is well written and any parts even remotely forgettable are such because of the perpetual 'good' quality. I think if one is to take the trilogy overall, everything is there. On each album however, there is certainly an in-balance of themes lyrical and musical in an attempt to dress each instalment in different atmosphere to it's counterparts; this works a little, but it can make listening to any one of the records from start to finish, slightly trying. That said, there is an abundance of brilliant lines and little hooks, even on the less memorable songs (e.g. "Rusty James") and, as I say, it's not a failure at all - merely dotted with a few tiny shortcomings...
The Verdict - ★★★
"¡Uno!" works well as a segment of the band's intended trilogy and perhaps less well by itself, though it's solo performance can hardly be called weak, with the fantastic pop-punk pinnacle "Sweet 16" and the brilliantly out-there "Kill The DJ", bravely winging it as a wannabe dance-floor anthem on an album populated by punchy rock. If anything, this is a great marker of the band's achievements and their incredible, consistent reputation - there are no duff tracks here, and where anything suffers, it's based entirely on running order and nothing else. So a bit too much of the same - but still solidly good music.
The explosive "Nuclear Family" kicks things off, throwing open the curtains on the three album series with the brash and anarchic, 'Gonna ride the world like a merry-go-round', stamping merrily and maniacally into "American Idiot" territory with a damning and apocalyptic perception of society, all, naturally, to the tune of the trademark, rip-roaring, pop-punk style the band have become famous for. This track stands out for it's lasting impression and size, even amongst later contenders (whose incredibly similar tone may even have you question my judgement...)
After the opening blow, the listener moves steadily through Cali-punk regulars "Stay The Night", "Carpe Diem" and "Let Yourself Go", the latter of which, is undoubtedly the strongest in it's attitude and tuned noise ('Shut your mouth 'caus you're talking too much and I don't give a fuck anyway!'). This said, each of these songs represents a somewhat repetitive rehashing of the punk formula; not uncomfortable or boring at this point of the album, but samey nonetheless...
"Kill The DJ" swaggers in towards the end of side A with unquestionably groovy bravado and extreme flamboyance, marking a pretty big shift in the sonics and perhaps one of the band's most experimental tidbits. The funky fandango is juxtaposed by an almost hideously abrasive lyric demanding that someone 'hold [the DJ] underwater 'till that motherfucker drowns!'. Gloriously anti-establishment, a bit rude, and wonderfully danceable at the same time. Lovely...
A string of four further out-of-the-mould pop-punk tracks follow, and exactly the same as before; perfectly decent and listenable songs that are easily ★★★ by their own merit, but which begin to clog the album's initially exciting energy and blotch the surface of this highly-polished punk sound. After this largely undifferentiated tirade, comprising "Fell For You", "Loss Of Control", "Troublemaker" (the cheekiest and most self-deprecating lyrically) and "Angel Blue", the incredible "Sweet 16" explodes onto the scene, describing a middle-aged reflection on teenage years and utilising the classic images of alcoholic regret and family-oriented self-assurance that have become standard figures of Billie-Joe Armstrong's lyricism. There's also a brilliant guitar solo, characterised by satisfying harmonies and Kurt Cobain style following of the vocal track; for me, it marks totally the epitome of the sound that Green Day have created, and goes a long way to better the more standardised tracks on the album and its two counterpart pieces.
Completing the setlist afterward, "Rusty James" and "Oh Love" finish the album much in the way it begins and flows; quite seamlessly and with few obvious diversions from the rollocking but straight musical path, the former sounding almost exactly like earlier sonic punk punches, and the latter breaking the song down into separate sections, kept apart by intervals of slowly chugged guitar chords and vocal, and (in fairness) dragging somewhat over its 5 minutes running time...
The music is well written and any parts even remotely forgettable are such because of the perpetual 'good' quality. I think if one is to take the trilogy overall, everything is there. On each album however, there is certainly an in-balance of themes lyrical and musical in an attempt to dress each instalment in different atmosphere to it's counterparts; this works a little, but it can make listening to any one of the records from start to finish, slightly trying. That said, there is an abundance of brilliant lines and little hooks, even on the less memorable songs (e.g. "Rusty James") and, as I say, it's not a failure at all - merely dotted with a few tiny shortcomings...
The Verdict - ★★★
"¡Uno!" works well as a segment of the band's intended trilogy and perhaps less well by itself, though it's solo performance can hardly be called weak, with the fantastic pop-punk pinnacle "Sweet 16" and the brilliantly out-there "Kill The DJ", bravely winging it as a wannabe dance-floor anthem on an album populated by punchy rock. If anything, this is a great marker of the band's achievements and their incredible, consistent reputation - there are no duff tracks here, and where anything suffers, it's based entirely on running order and nothing else. So a bit too much of the same - but still solidly good music.