ARTIST - GREEN DAY

CD - 21st CENTURY BREAKDOWN

LABEL - REPRISE

RELEASE DATE - MARCH, 2009

SOUNDS LIKE - Rancid, Offspring, The Clash, The Lashes.

DEFINING MOMENTS - The Hit Man, Downward Spiral, Ancient Land, Illusion.

STRENGTH - Strong catalogue of music, Consistency, World class mixing and production value

WEAKNESS - NONE

KATAVI RATING - 7 out of 7 masks

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Not a lot of people are aware that Green Day has been around for over 20 years now. They originally formed back in 1987 and were among a wave of fresh new punk bands to emerge from the San Francisco Bay area like Rancid and the Offspring. It’s now 2009 and three Grammys and some 22 million records sold later, Green Day’s still kicking and screaming. They’ve proven they not only have staying power, but should be considered one of the most successful punk bands of all time. What do U2, REM and Red Hot Chili Peppers got that Green Day don’t got? Not much!  
 
Their latest CD Entitled: 21st Century Breakdown is pretty much21^st Century Breakdown provides over 69 minutes of music. The format of this CD is divided up into 3 separate sections or acts if you will. ACT 1 “Heroes and Cons”, ACT II “Charlatans and Saints” and ACT III “Horseshoes and Handgrenades.” Each act provides about 5 to 6 tracks that tell us the story of the good, bad and the ugly of our American pop culture. You will find each act gets progressively deeper, and closer to what the real message is. What’s truly impressive about Green Day is how well they walk the line between music and politics - not once crossing any lines, yet making the point with sheer perfection. Read between the lines a bit and you will get the true message loud and clear, “It’s the song of the Century.” There is some profanity, and explicit content, but yet again doesn’t cross any lined.    what you would expect out of a Green Day release. It serves up the in your face guitar riffs, thunderous drums, and typical reckless vocal swagger from Billie Joe Armsrong. Overall 21^st Century Breakdown is a rock solid CD. Mixed by legendary Nirvana mixer Buth Vig, the overall production value packs a powerful punch and goes down smooth. The songs themselves are short and sweet, easy to navigate through and will leave your ears ringing. The three act format is a nice way to mix things up a bit. It gives this CD a unique personality and, though it may be a concept record, will not bore you to tears with excessive rhetoric. 21^st Century Breakdown may not possess the sheer marketability as say American Idiot (2004) but it’s still an impressive CD nonetheless. Green Day fans will love this one. Yep it’s been over 20 years since that punk rock trio from Gilman Street began tearing it up around the Bay area. But no one can deny that after 20 years the guitar is still loud, the message youthful, and the mojo – still firing on all cylinders headed into the 21 Century.

My overall rating - 6 out of 7 masks.
 

Cyrus Rhodes - 6/19/09

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