Green Day

Warner

3.5 stars

On their eighth studio release, Green Day are back in rock-opera mode, dividing the album into three parts – ‘Heroes and Cons’, ‘Charlatans and Saints’, and 'Horseshoes and Handgrenades’.

Like American Idiot, 21st Century Breakdown is a 70s-esque epic that tells the story of two punk lovers on the run in the debris of post-Bush America. There’s a little too much punk thrash on this for me – the songs I most responded to are their forays into more classic rock and glossy balladry, such as ‘21 Guns’, ‘Last Night on Earth’, and ‘Restless Heart Syndrome’.

But I still enjoyed the rest – it’s angry and frenetic and political and anthemic. And any band that fiercely attacks Christian hypocrisy (‘East Jesus Nowhere’) has my full support.

VARIOUS ARTISTS

RNB Superclub: Greatest Club Hits 2001 - 2009

Warner

1 star

I think there are some musical moments from the early 2000s that we should make every effort to forget – Fatman Scoop Feat. The Crooklyn Clan’s ‘Be Faithful’, Ja Rule’s ‘Livin’ It Up’, and Bob Sinclar’s ‘Rock This Party’ are just a few cases in point.

But those, and many other offenders, are being celebrated on this unfortunate compilation. And Boys II Men’s ‘Roll Wit Me’? Any group that shortens ‘with’ to ‘wit’ is immediately at a disadvantage, it has to be said. And Next’s ‘Too Close’? This is just awful. Outer-suburban shopping mall soundtrack at best.

There are a few okay tracks, such as Ne-Yo’s ‘Closer’, Alicia Keys’s ‘No One’, and Timbaland’s ‘The Way I Are’, but they are small mercies.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed