Why does Awesome As Fuck exist?
Green Day already released a great live album — 2005’s Bullet In A Bible — and have only released one studio album since. Considering that album, 2009′s 21st Century Breakdown was by far the worst LP of the band’s career, another live album seems unnecessary beyond recording a few career-spanning cuts yet to be captured live.
And yet, here we are.
More than anything, Awesome As Fuck comes off as a post-production experiment testing the live album concept. The album’s 17 songs were recorded in 17 different cities on the “21st Century Breakdown World Tour,” spanning from New York City to Saitama-Shi, Japan. The seamlessness of the transition between songs performed on different continents is astounding.
Still, something is a bit off in terms of cohesion. Maybe it’s Billy Joe Armstrong’s habit of yelling out wherever he’s playing mid-song (“England!” “Ireland!” “San Diego!” “Michigan!”), but the album fails to capture the feel of being an epic rock show. While it’s comforting to hear Green Day still rock some songs from 39/Smooth and Kerplunk (which are probably older than most of the fans at these shows), Awesome As Fuck is ultimately an unneeded patchwork performance.
Review Score: 4.1
*Expanded from a review in The Pacific Northwest Inlander*
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