I briefly liked Green Day in the mid-90s before moving onto rave. A few years later I got back into them and it was the fast drum beats that hooked me back in.
By the year 2000 I owned all 5 of their albums, but with their most recent album coming in 1997 there were question marks over whether they were still going.
Later on that year they were back with the new single "Minority" and a new album to follow. The best word to describe the single was solid, I enjoyed it but it was far from their best and did lack the fast drums.
I wasn't too worried, the lead single from their previous album was "Hitchin A Ride" which also lacked the fast drums but the album was much better even if it was no "Dookie".
I knew the release date of the "Warning" album in advance and on the day it was released I bought it and couldn't wait to give it a listen. Here's what happened:
Warning - OK I wasn't expecting this, slow drums, acoustic guitar and a song I found rather boring. Was this really a Green Day album I bought? Only the first track, hopefully it will get better
Blood, Sex and Booze - it's got better, but not by much. This is this albums "Hitchin A Ride", the second track with a similar beat, it's just that Nimrod started with a fast one and this album didn't
Church on Sunday - this one's a bit more promising but doesn't quite deliver. Again this is mirroring Nimrod in that the third track on there "The Grouch" wasn't fast enough and this track does the same. The difference is "The Grouch" made up for its lack of speed with its aggression, this ones a bit limp
Fashion Victim - back to the "Hitchin A Ride" beat again. I come to expect these type of tracks but 2 from the first 4 seems too much, particularly given the other 2 tracks are boring and limp respectively
Castaway - we've finally got up to speed, easily the best track on the album so far. Yet it feels like there's something missing from it, the drums are pretty much the only good thing about it
Misery - a 5 minute long Green Day song, that's unheard of. I'd written a 5 minute song myself but my drummer wanted to cut it down to 2 minutes, with Green Day doing a 5 minute song he might change his mind about songs longer than 2 minutes (he didn't). It's different to your average Green Day song and takes inspiration from The Doors. It's not bad, but at the same time if I wanted to hear a song like this I'd just listen to The Doors
Deadbeat Holiday - this sounds like the song I've been waiting to hear all album, like the Green Day I know and love. That's until the drums kick in and turn out to be frustratingly slow. Speed this one up and you're onto a winner
Hold On - is this still a Green Day album or has Bob Dylan taken over?
Jackass - completely forgot how this one goes now, all I remember is that it doesn't have the fast drums
Waiting - I know the feeling about waiting a long time for this moment to come. I've been waiting for the album and now I have it I'm still waiting for a song with the fast drums and a bit of power. This isn't it but it's a good song and easily the best song on the album
Minority - the single I already knew. I'd expected it to be one of the worst songs on the album such was my expectation but is probably the 2nd best song on there
Macy's Day Parade - last chance to deliver something great but this is the worst song on the album. There was a lot of slow and boring indie music around this time and this sounded like one of those songs
86 - a bonus track which is a live version of a song that appeared on the "Insomniac" album. A song that's nothing special but sounds a breath of fresh air compared to the album I've just listened to.
Needless to say the album was a huge disappointment. I gave it a chance to grow on me but that never happened and I no longer have said album.
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