'Kerplunk'...In my opinion, its the pinnacle of greatness in Green Day's indie career, if not the biggest milestone of their lives. That may seem like hyperbole to most of you, but its true. I have yet to find an album that is as perfect as this one; I cannot name a song on Kerplunk that doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. Every one of the sixteen tracks on here is nothing short of catchy, at the
least.
The album consists of sixteen songs in total, three of them being past Green Day (off their early EPs) and one of them is a cover of The Who's 'My Generation', which I have to say is quite good. Many of these tracks have a similar sound to them, but their in fact very different. What I mean by that is the sound quality can't exactly be called great, but it hardly leaves anything to be desired. The recordings make the guitar have the same buzzing ring to it in most of the songs, but Billie Joe succeeds in creating different and unique riffs for each of them (the typical driving Green Day licks).
I like to think of albums as seperate sections of tracks; to me many CDs sound like the bands develop different attitudes twoards the music in the duration of the album. I would classify the first five songs (2,000 Lightyears Away through Private Ale) as the real 'beginning'. These songs are the more upbeat, driving listens on 'Kerplunk'. The first section even includes the original version of 'Welcome to Paradise', which I recommend any fans of the Dookie take on the song to listen to. After 'Ale', the album winds down a bit, but in a good way. Not as many fast, loud songs here...But powerful ones nonetheless. Billie begins to sing more about his experiences and relationships hes having (or had), and the songs sport a more sad and confused feel. Its a very interesting change of pace.
After the main body of the album is finished, older songs begin to appear. These tracks are not recorded with Tre, but instead the bands first drummer John Kriftmeyer. This is nowhere near a letdown, though: it sounds pretty much the same as Tre. The final songs are more catchy than the usual Green Day song ('My Generation', anyone?), and are considered by many I know to be Kerplunk's only real downside. I disagree; you can experience some real classic stuff here. 'Sweet Children' is an ancient track; it was also the original name of Green Day.
This album...pure masterpeice. A must-listen for any punk rock or rock fan in general. A classic in my eyes; and much too overlooked by todays average Green Day listeners.
Credits:
Guitar/Vocals: Billie Joe Armstrong
Bass: Mike Dirnt
Drums/Vocals: Tre' Cool
