blackleatherbookshelf | Nov. 6th, 2010

A harbinger of the coming directional change
4 Out Of 5 Stars

From the first strokes of acoustic guitar that open "Warning" to the deeply introspective closer, "Macy's Day Parade," Green Day were sending out a message. They weren't gonna be dookie-heads any more. Everything from the somber cover to the mandolins and accordions that made their appearances on the CD were blatant signs that "Warning" was more than just the title on the record. Green Day was going to try to break free from the old molds.

While this was a very good, if tentative move that "American Idiot" would codify a few years later, "Warning" has lots going for it. The title track has a lyrical quirkiness that made it (at least to me) the equal of Alice Cooper's "Generation Landslide." "Misery" takes a darker look at the castaways that come to San Fransisco only to find that the dreams of the city are often just fiction, while "Waiting" is the same dream trying to come to life. As Billie Joe sings in "Macy's Day Parade,"

"I'm thinking about a brand new hope,
One I've never known
'cause now I know
it's all I ever wanted."

It's a far cry from the Buzzcocks/Ramones worshiping trio that once complained that "m*sterb*tion's lost its thrill." Because of that, "Warning" remains one of my favorite Green Day albums.