Should Green Day make an album with a full Orchestra?

[Justin1]

I’ve often wondered how some of Green Day’s songs would sound with a full orchestra. I personally think they could make some of the best music of our time with the melodic genius behind Billie’s writing. Here’s what my Green Day orchestra album would be:

1. Jesus of Suburbia 

2. 21 Guns

3. Boulevard of Broken Dreams 

4. Wake me up When September Ends

5. Before the Labodomy

6. Last Night on Earth

7. Restless Heart Syndrome

8. Stay The Night

9. Oh Love

10. Waiting

11. Macy’s Day Parade

12. The Forgotten 

13. Ordinary World

14. Good Riddance 

Would be interested to hear if anyone else have thought about this, or what songs they would choose!

[gerardsangel4977]

Heh, when I first clicked on this, I thought you were asking if Green Day should *write* an album with a full orchestra as accompaniment, which would still be boss, and I would be all for it (the musical arrangements, as well as the string arrangements Tom Kitt did for some of the 21CB and trilogy songs, are all excellent), so I definitely would be up for seeing more of that.

But now I see that you're looking more at full orchestral arrangements of Green Day songs, which I can also get down with. Again, the string quartet version of American Idiot is a fun listen, and doing it will a full orchestra just offers all the more opportunities to get inventive with it. As for what tracks I would want to see though? I'll have to think about that lol.

[greendepent]

Well, you leave Peacemaker and Brutal Love, that have actual orchestration. I really l'd like that Green Day would make something like Metallica's S&M.

[Spike]

It'd be a cool concept but personally I'd stick to the whole of Breakdown, maybe leaving out Christian's Inferno. They already threw everything at that album, why not pile more on top?

[IcyMoffatt]

An album, I don't know. Besides the diehard fans, I don't think an album will sell well. But one concert with a full orchestra, I would love to see this. Some other bands/artists already did the experience and I must say it gives such amazing results. 

As an example, Simple Plan and L'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal did a concert together years ago. Here is one video:

 

[Hermione]

I think they'd have to be careful doing it because a rock band having an orchestra can be kind of cliched and/or pretentious, or seem like they're just doing it as a gimmick/to cash in. To have artistic merit and not be cliched I think there'd have to be something more to it than just doing a random selection of songs with an orchestra, which could seem like "here's Green Day but serious and grown up" bleh

I like @Spike's idea of doing 21st CB (although I'd keep Christian's Inferno ), it's already epic and somewhat orchestral so going the whole hog with it would be interesting.

[The Grohl]

Could be interesting. I don't think I'd want a full album... That might get boring, but I wouldn't mind hearing a few select songs this way. 

[moonflower93]

ew. no. if it doesn't work with Evanescence (more goth rock) then it certainly WON'T work with Green Day. and only symphonic metal bands like Epica or Nightwish it would work with. 

[Insomniac1984]

I think it would be better an Unpplugged record.

[龑美優]

Well, it really depends upon how they approach something like this. It could certainly turn out to be a neat experiment if done correctly. It is more about the execution than anything else. I've seen bands pull it off, other times I've seen bands where it added nothing. I dont think it 100% had to do with the band/songs themselves, as much as it had to do with the way that is was pulled off. I've seen songs that had potential to pull off having full orchestration but the execution of said orchestration fell short because they didn't arrange/rearrange things in a fitting way.

[BucksCoEric]

Bring me the horizon did something like this recently. They played a concert with a full orchestra and it sounded incredible. I think if green day picked the right songs to play it would be great as well.

Heres one of the songs bring me the horizon played. The actual song starts around 2:35

 

[TimmyChunks]

20 hours ago, Hermione said:

I think they'd have to be careful doing it because a rock band having an orchestra can be kind of cliched and/or pretentious, or seem like they're just doing it as a gimmick/to cash in.

Thumbs up. Like Oasis- one of my favorite bands for sure, but when they went the orchestra route it was a bit over the top and painful. Although their circumstances were different, the band was coming apart anyways and they were doing it for all the wrong reasons. Still sounded good but it was painfully awkward.

I think GD would sound  great doing this but it'd be enjoyable only if they did it for the right reasons and it wasn't an Oasis type endeavor.

[Jollyroger118]

Lol NO

 

[Insomniac1984]

As I said previously, I think is better an unplugged record. If Green Day makes an "orchestra album" the choices could be limited, and obviously, picking just the hits that sound more "rockish" Green Day after American Idiot era, and maybe some previous hits like When I come around or Minority or some obvious options because they have kind of orchestral arrangements like Brutal Love. However, if they make an unplugged record, they could choose almost whatever they want. I can imagine songs like Stuck with me, Basket Case or Wild one in an unplugged recording. Therefore, we have listened to several Green Day shows like Bridge School or Endsession 59 in which they played songs from old school times, and they sound fantastic.

[_Mace_]

tbh I bet it'd be over the top, but it'd be cool to see them adapt to an orchestral sound.

[BucksCoEric]

If they did something like this they definitely have some songs that i think could work.

Basket Case

She

Hitchin a ride

Good riddance

Minority

JOS

BOBD

Whatsername

Are we the waiting

21st century breakdown

East jesus nowhere

21 guns

Still breathing

Just a few ideas

[That Dude]

Maybe not an entire album, but an EP or something for sure.  That would be cool.  

Two popular songs, two deep cuts.    Doesn't have to be slow songs either.  

 

 

[Guest]

Lindsey Stirling already covered Boulevard of Broken Dreams but yes! This is a great idea  I'd like to see both artists collab to make a full album with an orchestra 

 

[gerardsangel4977]

On 5/26/2018 at 2:46 AM, Hermione said:

I think they'd have to be careful doing it because a rock band having an orchestra can be kind of cliched and/or pretentious, or seem like they're just doing it as a gimmick/to cash in. To have artistic merit and not be cliched I think there'd have to be something more to it than just doing a random selection of songs with an orchestra, which could seem like "here's Green Day but serious and grown up" bleh

 Okay, but, to be fair, everything you just said could also be applied to making a musical. Or multiple rock operas. Or an entire trilogy of albums. Or a video game. Or....

Basically, we have passed that particular stop about five exits ago, and anyone who might still want to accuse them of such a thing has probably already been thinking it for a good 10-13 years by now. As long as the guys were actually into it, just like they were into all of their other crazy ideas, who really cares what anyone else thinks about it?

And, on that note, I'm going to go ahead and say the Really Obvious Thing in that I think it would be cool to see Full Orchestra Versions of Espionage and Last Ride In  And Misery, of course.

[Hermione]

2 minutes ago, gerardsangel4977 said:

 Okay, but, to be fair, everything you just said could also be applied to making a musical. Or multiple rock operas. Or an entire trilogy of albums. Or a video game. Or....

Basically, we have passed that particular stop about five exits ago, and anyone who might still want to accuse them of such a thing has probably already been thinking it for a good 10-13 years by now. As long as the guys were actually into it, just like they were into all of their other crazy ideas, who really cares what anyone else thinks about it?

And, on that note, I'm going to go ahead and say the Really Obvious Thing in that I think it would be cool to see Full Orchestra Versions of Espionage and Last Ride In  And Misery, of course.

I just think there's cool ways of incorporating an orchestra and lame ways of incorporating an orchestra . It's true of other things too but it's a particular danger zone, not so much in terms of what other people think but just what I think haha. Like I said if it was done with artistic merit it could be cool though.

[WhiteTim]

I think it’d work but really it would mainly only work for 21st and some of AI and songs like Brutal Love and Forgotten 

ifbthey would dona album with a orchestra and they made songs just for that it’d be awesome 

[gerardsangel4977]

7 minutes ago, Hermione said:

I just think there's cool ways of incorporating an orchestra and lame ways of incorporating an orchestra . It's true of other things too but it's a particular danger zone, not so much in terms of what other people think but just what I think haha. Like I said if it was done with artistic merit it could be cool though.

Preferably, I think the best thing would be to see what they could do with original songs being written with full orchestration in mind. However, in the context of a live performance with an orchestra (that could then be released as a live album later on), I think there's a lot of potential for it to sound really great, with the right mix of songs and a decent set of arrangements.

They already have a fair bit of music in their back catalogue that utilizes additional instrumentation, including strings and horns and other such things (both real and synthesized), many of which end up not getting played live very much, presumably due, at least in part, to said instruments. And I think something like this would give us all a great opportunity, as a fandom, to see some of those songs finally being performed the way they were meant to sound or, in the case of something like Macy's Day Parade, which uses synthesized strings, to see the underlying potential become fully realized. 

I will also say that the AI musical has proven that, even in cases where that kind of instrumentation isn't already present, the addition of string arrangements can still provide some thrilling new textures and sounds to songs that were already great before. But, again, this is one of those things where (much like with a cappella performances), having a good arrangement is key to whether the song sounds amazing or falls on its ass lol.