American Idiot Green Day

Produced by Rob Cavallo, American Idiot is not only Green Day's most ambitious album to date, but also perhaps one of the most audacious efforts in the history of punk. Centred around two five-part, nine minute epics ("Jesus Of Suburbia" and "Homecoming"), 'American Idiot' is an expansive and intimately crafted concept album, detailing the alienation and disillusionment of the American citizen under Bush's post-War On Terror administration. "Jesus Of Suburbia" sees Green Day crossing genres at will to convey their story, mixing stomping melodic punk with elements of classic American rock, sun-kissed harmonies, a hint of psychedelia and Billie Joe singing plaintively over a lone acoustic. Elsewhere, Green Day's talent for reflective, melancholy sounds is pushed to the forefront with "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" which finds them at their evocative best, and with "Are We The Waiting", possibly the most beautiful song ever to feature an old-school terrace chant. But it's with "When September Ends" that Green Day fully realise their strength at combining the tender with the powerful. The title-track rages with the aggression and infectiousness that typifies the best of the band's prior work, whilst a host of other tracks – including the breakneck punk of "St Jimmy" and the power-pop of "Extraordinary Girl" – remind us exactly why Green Day were so good in the first place.