The Power of Tre' Lacks Punch During Green Day's Closing Chapter

Give Green Day credit for satisfying their fans and the unwaveringly curious outsiders with a surplus of new material. This blog has played up the unquestioned merits of both "Uno" and "Dos". "Tre" isn't necessarily an all out abandonment of the pluck that made the first two sound like Christmas came early. More like a mishmash of outtakes that were deemed too inferior to show up on those other sets. In some cases such as "Drama Queen" the songs are mere excuses to dash off some energy in acoustic format while tossing out lyrics like "She's old enough to bleed now" that venture into TMI territory. Green Day have always been about bratty pop punk dynamism. Strip them of electricity and you're left scratching your head at the low tech disposable interchangeable part nature of the lyrics. In least in this blogger's opinion, Green Day doesn't excel at going acoustic. Yes, I know, "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)" was a pretty large hit by the band's standards. It also doesn't go down in history as grab you by the testicles brilliant. Billie Joe can muse all he wants. Give me some defiant guitar jamming like that located on "Tre's" second cut "Missing You". Once again we find that amorous dog bolting to the front door level of charged up buzz. I regret to inform you that's more an exception than a rule. Although Billie Joe, Mike, and Tre do manage to collaborate for some pretty special teamsmanship on "Dirty Rotten Bastards". The song starts off restrained, business as usual, textbook rock radio noodling but once past the midway point, a switch was flicked inside our heroes. They bust out some serious flair. The drums bounce all over the room. The guitar playing admirably keeps pace. Billie Joe's lyrics are connection worthy to anyone who's got a Pandora's Box full of demons in need of exorcism. Whether a product of studio orchestration or a generous concession on the band's part to give the fans a little more of what they want, the lightning quick tempo change saves this song from lapsing into a coma caused by playing this scene too cool. "The Forgotten" was the first single offered to radio. Sage move. Billie Joe, Mike, and Tre finally piece together a track that succeeds in being a shot in the arm without having to resort to either acoustic strumming or overblown displays of caffeine abuse. Let this be a reminder to all of how the piano is by no means a wimpy avenue of expression. Billie drives every note home. His lyrics drive home a question many of us likely at  the very least think to ourselves as sunrise is swallowed up by sunset..."Where does the time go?" Rather than beating us over the head with it, Tre skillfully inserts his drums. That gesture buoys the potency behind Billie's ivory tickling. Good job on mastering subtlety in arrangement, at least at the very end of the album. Better late than never I guess. I say this because "The Forgotten" is the track that pulls the curtain down on the show. "Brutal Love" left me thinking: "Hadn't this vision of evaporating romance on a Senior Prom dancefloor already shown up on "Dos"? Good background ambiance to sway one step two step in the center of the gymnasium with your true blue love that you're trying to let down easy but it's a retread. At times the repetition of chorus is headache inducing. For example how many times can you stand hearing "99 Revolutions" being beaten into your cranium. Billie really is concerned about the working stiff's impending obsolescence but after the sixth repetition of the title I figured screaming "ENOUGH ALREADY" was the least I could do. "A Little Boy Named Train",  outside of featuring a protagonist named after a cross country vehicle, doesn't set my world on fire with originality of sound, and I doubt it would for too many others. It's when the threesome ventures back into four cylinder virtuosity that "Tre" makes a run at being a worthy conclusion to this trilogy. "Sex, Drugs, and Violence" delivers these trademark goods. The words "too dumb to die" make firing off a few minutes on this track worth the trouble. As a complete package I'm afraid "Tre" is a case of all blasted out and nowhere to store the leftover ammo except in this pasted together bonus form. Thanks Green Day for not skimping on new music. The ambition behind this three part project is also laudable. But in the end quality should've won out over quantity. "Tre" doesn't measure up to the audio candy taste of the previous two efforts.