Warning

by Green Day, Gary Meek, Ken Allardyce, Benmont Tench, David Campbell

Overview

Don't look now, but Green Day -- those pimply punks who broke onto the charts in the mid-'90s with punchy odes to slackerdom, mental illness, and, er, self-gratification -- are suddenly rock elder statesman. On their sixth album, Warning, using their secret tonic of one part Sex Pistols, one part Beatles, and one part, well, Green Day, the Oakland boys have concocted their tastiest brew yet. Always fascinated by the mundane, singer/songwriter Billie Joe Armstrong gleans his lyrics for the Mersey-beat gem "Warning" from actual warning labels. And those aren't the only labels he bends; in the rollicking rave-up "Castaway," he claims to be "a conscientious objector to the war that's in my mind." Other standouts include the anthemic rocker "Church on Sunday" (featuring Benmont Tench of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers on keyboards), the toe-tappin' ditty "Hold On" (which has a harmonica intro that's a dead ringer for the one in the Beatles' "I Should Have Known Better"), the plaintive turkey-day ballad "Macy's Day Parade," and ye olde British-cum-California pub song "Misery." Warning is irrefutable evidence that "old" punks need not burn out -- or fade away.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/03/2000
Label:	Reprise / Wea
UPC:	0093624761327
catalogNumber:	47613
Rank:	7268

Tracks

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

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Green Day   Primary Artist
Gary Meek   Saxophone
Benmont Tench   Musician
Tré Cool   Drums
Billie Joe   Vocals
Mike Dirnt   Bass,Vocals,farfisa organ
Tal Herzberg   Hammond Organ

Technical Credits

Ken Allardyce   Engineer
David Campbell   String Arrangements
Green Day   Producer
Allen Sides   Studio Consultant
Rob Cavallo   Executive Producer
Tone   Engineer
Bill Schneider   Guitar Techician
Chris Bilheimer   Art Direction
Pat Magnarella   Management
Rick Ash   Engineer
Kenny Butler   Drum Technician
Timmy Chunks   Guitar Techician

Editorial Reviews

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.

All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine