Search - Green Day :: 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours

Green Day in the raw (sorta)

Laszlo Matyas | 01/02/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Even in their early days, Green Day didn't have a particularly aggressive or uncommercial sound- they were their some jumpy, poppy selves, a virtual assembly line of pop-punk crunchiness, with crunch three-chord melodies and nasal vocals. Back then, Billie Joe and company still wrote songs about girls and laziness and boredom, with shades of humor and angst shimmering through the mix. The only thing that was particularly different (aside from the somewhat muddy sound quality) was that Tre Cool had yet to become the band's drummer- his predecessor, a fellow by the name of John Kiffmeyer, isn't bad by any means. He doesn't have Cool's explosive approach, but he knows how to keep a rhythm just fine, and he's got more than enough punky energy.



This disc offers plenty of proof of that. It's a compilation that includes their entire first album (39/Smooth, which makes up the first 10 tracks), as well as two E.P.s (1000 Hours and Slappy, which, respectively, make up tracks 15-18 and 11-14 of this record), and the compilation track "I Want To Be Alone." All of it was released on Lookout! records, and all in all it comprises about half of their pre-major label output. It's all fine stuff for a fan of the band. If you hate Green Day based on records like Dookie and Insomniac, this probably won't change your mind very much. If you've never listened to them before, this isn't really the best place to start: the aforementioned two records are a better bet. Or you could go for the wonderful International Superhits compilation.



As far as highlights go, I really like the rollicking "Don't Leave Me," as well as the exuberant "Going To Pasalacqua." There's also a wonderfully emotional four chord romp called "Only Of You," and a deathlessly catchy song by the name of "1000 Hours." It isn't perfect- "Why Do You Want Him?," "The Judge's Daughter," and others sound more generic than anything, and the cover of Operation Ivy's "Knowledge" sounds like more of a bad joke than anything else. But it's still a fine collection, if you're into this kind of thing (and I certainly am)."

Still their best!

Eric B. Young | Newark, DE | 01/19/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I really did like American Idiot, as I'm a fan of the longer songs in any genre (Type O Negative, Frank Zappa, etc.). But this album still held onto it's top position in my collection. It really upset me to see that these "punks" decided to remove any of these classics from their current "Idiotic" setlist at their live shows (save for "Knowledge", which doesn't count as it's a cover tune). "Paper Lanterns" has been a fan favorite since they began playing it in 1989, how can they deny that?!



Other great tracks are; At the Library, Don't Leave Me, I was There, Green Day, Going to Pasalacqua, The Judge's Daughter, 1,000 Hours & Dry Ice.



Tracks 1-10 - 39/Smooth (1st LP)

Tracks 11-18 - 1,000 Hours and Slappy EPs

Track 19 - Flipside: The Big One (Compilation)"

Awesome pop punk album.

Cool Cat | Springfield, OR USA | 10/24/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Green Day was my band in Junior High. When I first heard "Basket Case" I totally fell in love with Rock n' Roll and I promptly went out and bought the tape cassette since back then I couldn't afford a CD player. I listened to that tape until my mom heard "Long View" and living in a extreme christian household my mom took scissors to it. Which in my mind made them so much cooler, my dad snuck out and bought me another since he liked Green Day and told me to hide it. Without Greenday I wouldn't have listened to Aerosmith, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Dead Kennedys, the Clash etc. Anyways since I was a fan of the band I saw this tape and bought it. I was blown away and the songs stuck in my head. Now I won't parse words here this is awesome pop punk music and for the most part I think all these new crop of pop punkers ripped off Green Day to very bad effect. When I have gone to "geniune" punk shows the hipsters usually stuck up their nose at me thinking me "uncool" because I liked the band. All up until Nimrod after that they lost me. I didn't give a damn and think most of those hipsters didn't want admit Green Day made good catchy songs because it wasn't hip to like the band. This album is just great and it is the second one I bought by this band. You can't go wrong with this one and yes there is good pop music, this album is testament to that fact."