Track Listing

1. American Idiot
2. Jesus Of Surburbia
3. Holiday
4. Boulevard Of Broken Dreams
5. Are We The Waiting
6. St Jimmy
7. Give Me Novacaine
8. She's A Rebel
9. Extraordinary Girl
10. Letterbomb
11. Wake Me Up When September Ends
12. Homecoming
13. Whatsername

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #461 in Music
• Released on: 2004-09-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
There's a clenched fist grasping a heart-shaped hand grenade on the cover of American Idiot, a militant mural presumably designed to inform us that Californian punk-pop vets Green Day love America but hate what's becoming of it. Inferences aside, you could argue that American Idiot is a suspect device--a punk concept album/rock opera primed to blow up in the faces of the ruling right-wing American classes but which could just as easily leave splattered egg on the faces of the insurrectionists. The concept is fuzzy (telly-brainwashed teenage runaway falls in with the wrong crowd, something or other happens with drugs, rock and a character called "Whatsername") and the political protestations against the metaphorical Arrnies and Dubyas are mere slapstick custard pies compared with the Dead Kennedys' CIA-bothering debunking of Reaganomics. However, something about American Idiot both excites and rings true whilst simultaneously beggaring belief. Spanning influences from The Who's Tommy to Husker Du's Zen Arcade, American Idiot has the listener living in cliff-hanging fear of an unexpected Richie Blackmore guitar solo or Tarkus-style ELP exposition but actually never strays from Buzzcockian melodiousness or phlegm-drenched rifferama even when things get ridiculous. "Homecoming", for example, is probably the best amalgamation of The Clash, Pink Floyd's The Wall, Millwall football supporters terrace chants, Deep Purple, The Levellers, Bob Mould, UK Subs, Rush, Pete Townsend and The Tubes you'll ever hear. American Idiot could be brave or it could be stupid, but it really can't be ignored. --Kevin Maidment

From the Label
Produced by Rob Cavallo, American Idiot is not only Green Day's most ambitious album to date, but also perhaps one of the most audacious efforts in the history of punk. Centred around two five-part, nine minute epics ("Jesus Of Suburbia" and "Homecoming"), 'American Idiot' is an expansive and intimately crafted concept album, detailing the alienation and disillusionment of the American citizen under Bush's post-War On Terror administration. "Jesus Of Suburbia" sees Green Day crossing genres at will to convey their story, mixing stomping melodic punk with elements of classic American rock, sun-kissed harmonies, a hint of psychedelia and Billie Joe singing plaintively over a lone acoustic. Elsewhere, Green Day's talent for reflective, melancholy sounds is pushed to the forefront with "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" which finds them at their evocative best, and with "Are We The Waiting", possibly the most beautiful song ever to feature an old-school terrace chant. But it's with "When September Ends" that Green Day fully realise their strength at combining the tender with the powerful. The title-track rages with the aggression and infectiousness that typifies the best of the band's prior work, whilst a host of other tracks – including the breakneck punk of "St Jimmy" and the power-pop of "Extraordinary Girl" – remind us exactly why Green Day were so good in the first place.

CD Description
The Berkley punk rock trio's follow up to 2000's 'Warning' album. Whereas 'Warning' was the band trying out a more acoustic led introverted approach, 'American Idiot' is a return to the Green Day sound of the early '90s - fast, vitriolic punk rock. The album also includes a deviation from form in the shape of the 9 minute long, five part 'Jesus Of Surburbia'.

Customer Reviews

Taking punk to the masses!
OK, no matter what all the whiney 'true fans' say (I know I'm a true fan because I love this), this is their best album since the early days of Dookie. Yes it's commercial but that's great because it means more people are listening to them than ever before. As with all bands that 'sell out' the old fans get annoyed because they feel their band is being taken away from them and now everyone knows them. Well what was Basket Case thirteen years ago if not pure pop??

Every song on American Idiot is great and it can't be faulted as a complete work. Once you get to the tracks at the end like Letterbomb and Homecoming it's so joyous, and it feels like it actually means something. It's the whole American Idiot concept album thing that really makes this something special. I too would have hated them if they'd made a commercial album that felt soulless but Billie Joe has never sounded more believable and genuine telling this story.

A few facts and opinions
I'm truly amazed at some of the reviews and had to comment myself. Some people are saying Green Day are selling out because American Idiot is amazingly popular and has taken them to a new level. Back in '94 when Dookie got popular, people climbed up on the stage at live shows (I'm thinking of Lollapalooza) with banners with massive dollar signs. So you aren't being very original saying they are selling out.

Someone said they were jumping on the anti-Bush bandwagon 'a year after everyone else stopped caring'. I can understand how you could think that if you hadn't been keeping up to date with GD over the last few years. In December '01 just after 9/11, Billie Joe was posting messages on their website speaking out against what Bush was doing - this was at a time when it was very UN-popular to be anti-Bush. Picture this - a campaign by BJ in late 2001 to stop a war in Iraq before it started (nearly 1 and a half years before it started). BJ led the way in being anti-Bush, so get your facts straight before you say he's jumping on a bandwagon.

And as for the people saying 'this is nothing like Dookie' or whatever. Of course it isn't. Do you want GD to be stuck in a time-warp, perpetually aged 22 years old? They have matured, along with most of their original fans. I have to admit that when Warning came out in 2000, I had similar thoughts such as 'why can't they write songs more like on Dookie?'. But I've matured and realised this would be a bad thing. I'm sure they could easily write Dookie-style material (in fact I'm sure they have lots of songs like this that nobody outside their immediate surroundings has ever heard). But its so much more worthwhile to listen to the songs as a transition. Its the story of Billie Joe's life, how he's felt, what he's been going through, the ups and downs. It would be so fake to just stick with one formula. As it is, GD albums reflect his journey through life.

Take It For What It Is
I've read a vast majority of the reviews and some of them are just unbelievable. People who read into this album too much need to take a lie down somewhere, preferably a dark room.
This is not a punk album, it's a rock album. Green Day are from a punk background but have not been a punk band since Nimrod. Green Day (Bille, Mike and Tre) have made a great album and for the criticism they took this album sticks two fingers to all those doubters. People claim they sold out, so what? Punk is about being yourself and doing what the f*** you want....correct me if I wrong but that's what they did.

Great album