Green Day – 39/Smooth
today we’re looking at Green Day’s debut LP, 39/Smooth, released in 1990!
alright, right out the gate, with At the Library, 39/Smooth reminds me that the members of this band are all under 20 when this was recorded. the hook leading into the chorus is, and the vocal performance on it, are both parts of the track i enjoy a lot but i listen to the lyrics and just cringe a bit. Don’t Leave Me is incredibly catchy – the bass and drums here are great! lyrics still cringe a little i can… i can deal. I Was There… i’m not really buying this as a retrospective track. the bridge here’s really good but the rest is just aight. again bass and drums pulling WEIGHT in the outro, nice. Disappearing Boy is another just aight track. has some bright moments but overall i feel middling. hey, Green Day is the name of the band. gotta love a weed smoking song. Going To Pasalacqua is p good. i dig this one. 16 kept drawing my attention during my early listens. i swear every time i looked back at my phone it would be this track. bass here slaps. also i kinda think the self-awareness works here. not… huge on Road To Acceptance. other than the end of the chorus, the vocals here kinda turn me off. Rest is okay. neat to see them going for something a little slower, a little more careful. The Judge’s Daughter brings the energy back up and the subject matter back to pining after a girl. probably one of the better iterations of this theme but man Rest felt like a closer to me.
faves – Green Day, Going To Pasalacqua, 16
dislikes –
man i dunno what it is that makes me confront that this band was absolutely youngsters at this point, but its HARD to separate that knowledge when some of the subject matter or perspective on this record goes where it does. its funny – this record closely correlates to like, Pezcore by Less Than Jake (or probably, Losers, Kings, And Things I Don’t Understand if you think of the 1,039 compilation that combines this, 1,000 Hours and the next release, Slappy). a bunch of young kids fucking around and making music. lotta good energy, lotta dumb stuff. the vibes are good but the substance is… eh, in places.
gotta say, love the way this record was mixed overall – interesting how the drums and the bass are more present than the guitar in a lot of places. its still clear that they’re playing to Armstrong’s vocal performances, which are good, but damn. i was told by a friend to keep an eye out for the bass here and yeah dude i get it.
39/Smooth – 5/10
time for the first of two EPs before we make it back to a full LP, we’re gonna be checking out Slappy next.
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