Insomniac will always be my favorite Green Day album. Dookie, Kerplunk, and American Idiot tend to be the most acclaimed, and Nimrod and Warning are cult favorites, but it seems like no one talks about this one. It was the album that was released right after Dookie, and it unfortunately lives in its shadow as a result.
Many reviewers, while liking it, criticized it for being too similar to Dookie, and I feel that's a bit unfair. It retained the slick production, catchy melodies, and delicious pop hooks of its predecessor while containing darker, more neurotic lyrics, and it constantly sounded like Billie Joe Armstrong was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I feel like it was also a more consistently quality album from start to finish. 86, Brat, Armatage Shanks, Stuart And The Avenue, Brain Stew/Jaded, Westbound Sign, Stuck With Me, etc. The songs were great all the way through, and it didn't have any filler. I believe it also took baby steps toward the "bigger" sound Green Day became known for on later records, possibly due to the tighter playing and production. And it was the first Green Day album I ever listened to from beginning to end when I was in high school, so some of my fondness could probably be attributed to that. All I know is that, in my personal opinion, Insomniac is Green Day's magnum opus.
|