Before they were making political punk taking aim at the Bush administration, even before they stars with a mainstream breakthrough album on a major label, Green Day was just a punk band.
But as Kerplunk proves, they were a damn good one.
Green Day is a band I always associate with energy. When I'm sluggish or depressed I can slap in a disc and "Basket Case" or "Burnout" will pick me right up.
It's also a truism that young bands are filled with energy.
So when you think of a young Green Day, you'd expect an album brimming with energy and that's exactly what you're going to get. Frenetic, raw, unbridled punk energy.
Sometimes the riffs aren't as clean as they are on Dookie or American Idiot but for all that, this album ranks as one of their best.
Track Highlights
Track 1, "2000 Light Years Away" a Green Day punk-romance and its not even about a hooker. Awww how sweet.
Track 3, "Welcome to Paradise", a track that landed on their major label debut Dookie here we have a raw version that, quite simply, crushes the clean track like a grape. And this from a guy who would rate "Welcome to Paradise" as one of his favorite Green Day songs before he heard this version.
Track 6, "Dominated Love Slave", a hilarious track that has a country western vibe to it.
Track 12, "Words I might have ate", the classic Green Day punk played with acoustic guitars. The vocals are especially raw, but who cares. Hard driving acoustic music is awesome and something more bands should do more of.
Track 16, "My Generation" terrific cover of the Who classic.
Conclusion
A great look at a band just getting started, this first album with the full Green Day lineup (they produced one album before this with a different drummer) shows why they will become international stars and sell out arenas. It might be just me, but I prefer the young rough cuts on this album to many of their slicker, later numbers.
Grade: A+
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