Rolling Stone's ¡Uno! Review

[Heather.]

From Rolling Stone - 4/5 stars

Just when you thought Green Day didn't make albums like this anymore – 12 blasts of hook-savvy mosh-pit pop, cut hot and simple with no operatic agenda – singer-guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tré Cool do three at once and issue them in rapid-fire installments. It's lunacy, of course, in what now passes for the music business.

In fact, Green Day's triple play with longtime co-producer Rob Cavallo is the way things used to be. In 1964 alone, the Beatles put out two albums, three singles and two EPs in Britain; the next year, the Rolling Stones whipped out five singles and three LPs in the U.S. ¡Uno! is Green Day's first studio album in three years, but they deliver it like late-breaking news, with mid-Sixties-guitar clamor, '77 velocity and no breathing room. Every track is written like a single – the glam-Jam jolt of "Nuclear Family," the Cheap Trick-style zoom and vocal sunshine of "Fell for You" – then thrown at you like a grenade. From what I've heard so far of ¡Dos! and ¡Tré!, the same goes for them too.

After the Quadrophenia-like weight and worry of 2004's American Idiotand 2009's 21st Century Breakdown, ¡Uno! feels like plain relief. There are strong whiffs of Green Day's biggest seller, 1994's Dookie, in the honed buzz of Armstrong's and Jason White's guitars, Dirnt and Cool's airtight gallop, and Armstrong's lyric emphasis on girl troubles and starting the party that never stops. There is also a hipper, richer grip in the details. The martial clip of "Carpe Diem" is an exuberant throwback to the Mod-era Who.

"Troublemaker" jumps like a dirty-glitter union of U2's "Vertigo" and the Knack's "My Sharona," and has a liquid-fuzz guitar break that starts like the drone in David Bowie's "Heroes" and ends with a vicious tremolo-bar spasm, as if Jeff Beck has taken over straight from the Yardbirds.

"Stay the Night" and "Let Yourself Go" are the kind of pop-smart here's-my-fucking-problem miniatures Armstrong was writing like second nature when he, Dirnt and Cool were too young to drink (legally) where they gigged. But Armstrong is 40 now, married and a dad, and a lot of this ruckus sounds designed to drown out the time bombs ticking in his head and the maddening static outside. In "Kill the DJ," Armstrong turns the avenging spirit of the Smiths' "Panic" ("Hang the DJ") on the noxious vapors of rabid talk radio, with more Taxi Driver in his threats and a catchy echo of the Clash's "The Magnificent Seven" in the charge. Despite the jolt of Slade in the chorus, "Loss of Control" isn't about sucking up every drop at the bar. It's a lonesome fury, spit out by a guy stranded in righteousness and stung by the betrayal. "Hey, isn't that old what's-his-face/That I see walking down the street," Armstrong sneers. "We never had anything in common/And I never liked you anyway."

"Where the hell is the old gang at?" Armstrong sings to the void in "Rusty James." Unlike most adult punks, though, he still has his original sidekicks, and their band in a new peak form. The action continues with ¡Dos! in November. Seven weeks with ¡Uno! will leave you in shape, and hungry, by then.

Read more: http://www.rollingst...3#ixzz26MkPhY1B

Just for reference, this is RS' history with Green Day albums:

Dookie - 5 stars

Insomniac - 3.5 stars

Nimrod - 3.5 stars

Warning - 4 stars

American Idiot - 3.5 stars

21st Century Breakdown - 4.5 stars

Uno - 4 stars

(Who dafuq intern reviewed American Idiot? )

[Undómiel]

(Who dafuq intern reviewed American Idiot? )

My thoughts exactly.

[Annie, get your gun]

I don't like when they give points to the albums. I mean, what the hell do they know? They're all different

[eastbayweirdo]

They gave 21CB more points than AI, therefor their opinion is void.

[Ritz]

Great review!

4 out of 5 is awesome. Can't wait to get my hands on ¡Uno!

This is gonna be so exciting!

[Nemo.]

is this Rolling stone avaliable in the UK? because i'm travelling to london next week and i really want to have it!

btw: this review sounds great. i really want to listen to uno...

[Ritz]

3.5 for AI? They must be crazy!

[1039SweetChildren]

Excellent review! So excited to finally have the first installment in just a few days!

[Heather.]

They gave 21CB more points than AI, therefor their opinion is void.

Eh, I've always felt that, objectively, 21CB is the better album... I just don't like it as much at all But musically it's like American Idiot pushed to the max. So it felt like overkill to a lot of fans, but impressed critics.

[21stcenturyidiot]

At the risk of repeating, AI got less than breakdown? Wow

[DecanoLP]

Just when you thought Green Day didn't make albums like this anymore – 12 blasts of hook-savvy mosh-pit pop, cut hot and simple with no operatic agenda –

That's everything I need to know <3

[WhiteTim]

I agree with the Idiot rating

I never could get into AI other than Jesus Broken Dreams Novacaine and wmuwse i can take it or leave it

[Sarcasm]

I don't like when they give points to the albums. I mean, what the hell do they know? They're all different

they're entitled to their own opinion just as much as you, although I highly disagree with the score

I agree with the Idiot rating

I never could get into AI other than Jesus Broken Dreams Novacaine and wmuwse i can take it or leave it

the storyline is everything in AI bro ._.

[Guest]

Practically drooling in anticipation after that.

[Leisha-LUNA]

Who cares about their ratings for AI, that was an awesome review, and it's made me SO much more excited for this album. I haven't really thought about it much because I've been so distracted by new singles and tickets to shows, but these albums are just going to be so good. Fuck

Practically drooling in anticipation after that.

Exactly what I was trying to say, but much more succinctly

[WhiteTim]

they're entitled to their own opinion just as much as you, although I highly disagree with the score

the storyline is everything in AI bro ._.

I understand that ive tried numerous times to get into it but can't

I give em props and i wont say its a bad album cause it's not just not my cup of tea

[JDookie]

Everyone's complaining about American Idiot... But what about poor Insomniac? :sad:

Interesting reading btw

[Bastard of 1967]

I understand that ive tried numerous times to get into it but can't

I give em props and i wont say its a bad album cause it's not just not my cup of tea

To each his own. AI hooked me when I discovered the album and its storyline as a whole after getting exposed to BOBD and Holiday through mainstream radio in the '06-'07 timeframe. I then worked my way backward through Green Day's catalog and have been addicted to the band ever since.

The thing I find interesting about the U/D/T album trilogy is that it appears to be structured as a loose concept album to the extent that the songs approach different subjects and themes from different perspectives and share some lyrics that call ahead and back to each other -- but, unlike American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, they don't use any specifically named characters to drive those themes. I think this will make it easier for each song to stand on its own, while still letting them connect up with each other to form at least a basic storyline. It's a really bold gamble, not just on three albums dropping in such a short time but this songwriting style as a whole -- and while I think we can see the rough sketch of where everything is heading at this point, we won't really know whether it's effective or not 'til after Tre drops in January.

[ANJI]

is this Rolling stone avaliable in the UK? because i'm travelling to london next week and i really want to have it!

btw: this review sounds great. i really want to listen to uno...

Yep they do sell it in London

[Femme Gauche]

Well, it makes me even more excited to hear (read...) a review like this from Rolling Stone <3. I like all of the references to old songs, really pulls things together in your mind.

Personally I agree that 21CB is better than American Idiot, and I like it better, too, but I guess I'm in the minority on that one...

[Anja]

I would have given AI a 10! But who am I to say...?!

Anyway, great review! If the biggest music magazine in the world likes the new album that much, it sure must be good!

[Heather.]

I liked the comparison of Troublemaker to U2's Vertigo. It makes perfect sense and explains why I don't really like the song

[Femme Gauche]

Despite the jolt of Slade in the chorus, "Loss of Control" isn't about sucking up every drop at the bar. It's a lonesome fury, spit out by a guy stranded in righteousness and stung by the betrayal.

Some really intense writing there...

I liked the comparison of Troublemaker to U2's Vertigo. It makes perfect sense and explains why I don't really like the song

Haha! I can see the comparison but i like both songs, sooooo.

[Anja]

I liked the comparison of Troublemaker to U2's Vertigo. It makes perfect sense and explains why I don't really like the song

You and me both

[PanicAttack!]

4 is just perfect.

If you're gonna get all rigid on it, and use these numbers as definites, then three "shorter" albums with a quality that ranges somewhere between American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, released within 4 months, is pretty darn impressive. That's given iDos! and iTré! are as well received. I bet iTré! will definately at least score as high as iUno!, but with iDos! I predict it will either be the best reviewed or the worst reviewed of the bundle.

And before anyone says that reviews doesn't matter; if you're in this thread, it matters to you. It may not change or affect your opinion about the record or define how succesful it will be on the charts (look at 3.5 to American Idiot) but reviews and ratings are some of the factors that also plays in on the total feel of being a fan during the beginning of an album-era. You can make whatever you will of each review the album gets, but I for one take Rolling Stone very seriously as they always seem to get the albums for what they are, and not talk down to it, and label it as pretentious, sell-out, fake or overkill, as I was always disgusted with when some unknowing critic was sent to either review a Green Day concert or an album. Good reviews are always nice, as there are actually some intelligent musical experts out there who can judge it from a non-commercial standpoint, and it gives another aspect than just your own/the fans judgement and the commercial succes.