Track Listing

1. Song Of The Century
2. 21st Century Breakdown
3. Know Your Enemy
4. Viva La Gloria
5. Before The Lobotomy
6. Christian's Inferno
7. Last Night On Earth
8. East Jesus Nowhere
9. Peacemaker
10. Last Of The American Girls
11. Murder City
12. Viva La Gloria (Little Girl)
13. Restless Heart Syndrome
14. Horseshoes And Handgrenades
15. Static Age, The
16. 21 Guns
17. American Eulogy
18. See The Light

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #71 in Music
• Released on: 2009-05-15
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Over three years in the making, 21st Century Breakdown is the answer to the question Green Day are stuck with--exactly how do you follow up a twelve million selling rock opera? With more of the same, of course, just like the Who used to do. To be honest, the narrative line is largely incoherent, following the story of starstruck young lovers Christian and Gloria (as in G-L-O-R-I-A) as they confront The Man in a predictably dystopian world. But though plenty of bands have recently resuscitated this long discredited form--The Mars Volta and the excellent, not dissimilar Thermals, to name but two--none can pack in so many decent tunes as Billie Jo Armstrong, Tre Cool and Mike Dirnt. Even as they approach middle age, they still sound trapped by their youth, whether it’s Armsrong describing himself (or maybe his character) as a child of the Nixon era or simply reviving the power-pop sound of Cheap Trick. Yet if the plot is murky, songs like single "Know Your Enemy", as reductive as AC/DC and as gleefully catchy as the latest Disney teen rock sensation, the shameless and resigned power ballad "21 Guns", "Before the Lobotomy", one part punk rock, one part melodramatic ballad, and the classic rock of the title track sound like radio staples on the very first hearing. Older listeners may be reminded of Husker Du’s equally impenetrable and ambitious song cycle Warehouse. But that was the work of a band actively seeking fans. 21st Century Breakdown is a wildly unfocussed collection seemingly set on confusing them. But it certainly features some great tunes.--Steve Jelbert

CD Description
This eighth album from probably the most successful and popular punk rock band of all time is the follow-up to their multi-platinum 2004 rock opera 'American Idiot'. This new album continues in a similar vein, with an overarching concept about the disintegration of American culture. Musically it takes in a broad spectrum of influences, from Springsteen-style blue-collar rock to the 70s pomp of Queen, which has also influenced other punk acts like My Chemical Romance.

Customer Reviews

I really like it
21st Century Breakdown is not American Idiot and those expecting a clone album will be disappointed. At times the same raw energy does break through with a few aggressive riffs or an extra strain of the vocal chords, but on the whole this is a very good well-conceived concept album. Bill Joe's vocals can compliment any style and are perfectly pitched here and there are some great contrasting styles and tempos. Excellent timing for the long hot summer!!

Worth the wait
Was really worried about this album...

Green Day took a big risk with American Idiot and ended up pulling off something brilliant. My concern with 21st Century Breakdown was that it would just be trying to repeat the same thing, and not live up to that standard. But although it definately follows in the same vein it stands up on it's own, and if anything is one step better than it's predecessor.

The songs range from melodic epics (Last Night On Eath) to 2 minute rage filled snarls (Christian's Inferno). There's even a bit of gypsy punk (Peacmaker) thrown in for good measure. But whats great is that all the songs are strong. This is not an album written around 3 singles...in fact, apart from "21 Guns" (which is so radio friendly they'd be mad not to release it) I would struggle to pick out the singles. And despite the difference in styles, somehow it all fits together as a piece of music.

The concept this time round is a little looser, with less of a narrative story than American Idiot. It's more a collection of songs about different emotions the two characters, Christian and Gloria feel over the course of the century so far. Whilst the two are ever present in the 3 acts, they don't feature so heavily that they start to get on your nerves (something else I was worried might happen).

As a last note I'd just like to say that "East Jesus Nowhere" is bloody brilliant.

And to those people saying they've sold out...if they were still releasing Dookie/Insomniac clones 13 years after making them you'd be moaning about that instead so just shut up.

Evolution?
First of all, please excuse the epic length of this review. I hope it will be worthwhile reading.
Green Day. The legendary trio of Tre, Mike & Billy Joe have been with me for fifteen years now and have made such an impact on my life. At the age of thirteen, I first listened to Dookie, after years of listening to what the radio told me to. Since then, I never looked back. Green Day were the gateway to so many more bands to me, and they're the reason why I've spent years and years of my life devoted to learning and mastering the guitar. I owe it all to Green Day.

On with the review:

As a die-hard fan of Green Day's first few albums (1039, Kerplunk, Dookie, Insomniac, Nimrod and Shennanigans), I was a little shocked by what I heard in Warning. At first listen, I felt that Green Day's raw element had died down, along with some of their spark. That being said, the album grew on me, more and more with every listen. I now like it as much as their older music. In my eyes, Warning was the first step in their evolution; but not necessarily what the die hard fans wanted to hear. Its riffs were more `bouncy' than anything else they'd written, and Billie-Joe had toned down the gain setting on his guitar.

So... They wrote American Idiot. Sure, it went against some of their `ideals', and people claimed that they sold out. Not true. What Green Day did with American idiot was appease themselves, the die-hard fans and the new, potential fans. They wrote a masterpiece of an album that stuck to their roots, but incorporated some of their newer, more light-hearted material. A huge success.

And finally, to the present. 21st Century Breakdown. I first heard `Know Your Enemy' on the radio a couple of weeks ago. I was intrigued by what I heard, yet somewhat disappointed by it. I felt that although it's a fairly decent song, and is reminiscent of some of the older Green Day material, it lacked a little spark and variation. I was delighted to find out that it was probably one of my least favourite songs on the album!
Viva La Gloria is one of the stronger tracks on the album, and is a beautiful piece of music. Billie Joe's vocals accompany a piano for the first minute, then the song jumps to life with a 'close-to-old-school-Green-Day' outburst.

21st Century Breakdown, for me, takes both a step forward, and a step backwards. Green Day have again veered off in the direction they took with Warning. The bouncy-beats are back. Combine those bouncy beats of Warning, with the original `raw' sounding guitar, and the massively improved vocals of Billie Joe, and you have `21st Century Breakdown'. The addition of orchestral music (which is used throughout the album) is welcomed in my opinion, as it demonstrates the band's maturity today. The music is at times soothing, with the occasional outbreak of typical Green Day chaos, and the album has already managed to give me the shivers with the song `Peacemaker'. I love it. It's unique, but unmistakably Green Day.

It's a tough one to review for me. I'm going to have to give it four stars on the basis that I don't rate it as highly as some of their older material, including American Idiot. That being said, it is an astounding achievement. The story flows beautifully through the acts, and the band's passion about this album is unquestionable. I do, however, suspect that this is their last album. I simply don't see where they can go from here.

On the whole, whether you're a fan of Green Day or not; this is a great album. It's definitely a grower, and I have a feeling I'll be listening to it for years to come. I'm certain I'll look back on this review in two years time and wish I'd given it five stars.

Highly recommended album.