Kerplunk (album)

Kerplunk
Studio album by Green Day
Released

December 17, 1991 (original release)

January 17, 1992 (CD and cassette release)[1]
Recorded May – September 1991
Studio Art of Ears Studios, San Francisco, California
Genre Punk rock
Length 33:58 (vinyl version)
42:09 (CD/Cassette version)
Label Lookout
Producer Andy Ernst, Green Day
Green Day chronology
1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours
(1991)1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours1991		 Kerplunk
(1991)		 Dookie
(1994)Dookie1994

Kerplunk is the second studio album by American punk rock band Green Day, released on December 17, 1991[2][3][4][5] by Lookout! Records.[6] Kerplunk was Green Day's last release on the Lookout Records label, and was also the first album to feature Tré Cool on drums. The album sold 10,000 copies its first day and became Lookout!'s biggest selling release.[7] After debuting it to their fans in the Berkeley, California area and receiving much approval from the critical 924 Gilman Street crowd, the band packed up in a cramped, converted Book Mobile and headed east. Green Day developed a fan base on the east coast, behind the determined grass root efforts of lead singer, Billie Joe Armstrong. The opportunity paid off as album sales reached over 50,000 copies. Along with the successful live shows, major labels took notice of Kerplunk's phenomenal popularity, as a result, many approached the band. Green Day realized that they had outgrown their record distribution capacity with Lookout! and eventually signed with Reprise Records. With Reprise, Green Day recorded and released their next album Dookie (1994). The album officially includes only 12 tracks, but the versions released on CD and cassette also include the 4 tracks from the Sweet Children EP. One of those tracks is a cover of The Who's "My Generation".

In August 2005, Green Day pulled the album, as well as all of their other material released through the Lookout! label due to unpaid royalties.[8] It was reissued on CD by Reprise Records, who Green Day has been with since leaving Lookout!, on January 9, 2007.[9] In Europe, the album was released by Epitaph Europe, and has remained in print. It was reissued on vinyl on March 24, 2009 by Reprise Records and includes a reissue of the Sweet Children EP.[10] There were no official singles released from the album, although "2000 Light Years Away" and "Christie Road" were released as mock-up singles in a Green Day singles box set entitled Green Day: Ultimate Collectors. As of November 2013, Kerplunk has sold more than 1,000,000 copies in the United States and more than 4,000,000 copies worldwide.[11] The album has gone on to be among the best selling independently released albums of all time.

Artwork

Kerplunk was banned from certain stores because of the cover art.[12] The cover features a mostly white picture (with some green added in) of a high school girl with a gun that has been fired. On the back cover, there is a boy lying on the ground with a gunshot wound on his back.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
Alternative Press[14]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide[15]
Pitchfork Media(8.5/10)[16]
Robert Christgau[17]

AllMusic regards Kerplunk as the "perfect dry run" for the band's later mainstream appeal, saying it contains "both more variety and more flat-out smashes than previous releases had shown."[13] Pitchfork Media states "All in all, it's a magnitude better than its predecessor and only a hair behind the follow up."[16]

In December 2007, Blender magazine ranked the album number 47 on their "The 100 Greatest Indie Rock Albums Ever" list.[18]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Billie Joe Armstrong, except where noted; all music composed by Green Day, except where noted.

No.TitleLength
1."2000 Light Years Away" (music composed by Green Day, Jesse Michaels, Pete Rypins and Dave "E.C." Henwood)2:24
2."One for the Razorbacks"2:30
3."Welcome to Paradise"3:30
4."Christie Road"3:33
5."Private Ale"2:26
6."Dominated Love Slave" (lyrics written by Tré Cool)1:42
7."One of My Lies"2:19
8."80"3:39
9."Android"3:00
10."No One Knows"3:39
11."Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?"2:44
12."Words I Might Have Ate"2:32
Total length:33:58
Bonus tracks (CD & cassette only)
No.TitleLength
13."Sweet Children"1:41
14."Best Thing in Town" (lyrics written by Armstrong and Mike Dirnt)2:03
15."Strangeland"2:08
16."My Generation" (lyrics and music written by Pete Townshend; originally performed by The Who)2:19
Total length:42:09

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes.[19]

Green Day

Production

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[21] Platinum 1,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Moskowitz, David (2015). The 100 Greatest Bands of All Time: A Guide to the Legends Who Rocked the World. ABC-CLIO. p. 287.
  2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff3vS_f0sfw
  3. ↑ http://www.greendaydiscography.com/kerplunk.php
  4. ↑ http://www.greendayauthority.com/tour/show/709/
  5. ↑ Egerdahl, Kjersti (2010-01-01). Green Day: A Musical Biography. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-36597-3.
  6. ↑ Spitz, Marc (2006). Nobody Likes You: Inside the Turbulent Life, Times, and Music of Green Day.
  7. ↑ Spitz, Marc (2006). Nobody Likes You: Inside the Turbulent Life, Times, and Music of Green Day. New York: Hyperion. p. 76. ISBN 1-4013-0274-2.
  8. ↑ Punknews.org | Lookout! downsizes, scales back plans for the future
  9. ↑ Amazon.com: Kerplunk: Music: Green Day
  10. ↑ Green Day Reissuing 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours and Kerplunk!
  11. ↑ Grein, Paul. "Week Ending Aug. 8, 2008: Taylor Swift Returns (Comments by Paul Grein)". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
  12. ↑ "Ranking: Every Green Day Album from Worst to Best". Consequence of Sound. 2016-10-07. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  13. 1 2 Raggett, Ned. "Kerplunk! Review". AllMusic. Rovi. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  14. ↑ Raub, Jesse (22 June 2010). "Green Day: Kerplunk". Alternative Press. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  15. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 347.
  16. 1 2 "Green Day: 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours/Kerplunk | Album Reviews | Pitchfork". Pitchforkmedia.com. 2007-01-19. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
  17. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Green Day". Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  18. ↑ "Blender‘s 100 Greatest Indie-Rock Albums Ever". Stereogum. 2007-11-14. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
  19. ↑ Kerplunk liner notes. Retrieved 2011-10-13
  20. ↑ "British album certifications – Green Day – Kerplunk". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Kerplunk in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  21. ↑ "American album certifications – Green Day – Kerplunk". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.