Live albums have seldom been the best way for bands to showcase their talents, and this is no exception – newcomers to Green Day should probably start with Dookie or American Idiot.
However, sometimes such records can provide an entertaining snapshot of a band at an interesting point in their career. Here is one such example.
Making the transition from ‘pop group’ to ‘rock band’ has been the death knell for many great acts. But the challenge seems to have re-invigorated Green Day. After a series of thrillingly simplistic punk-pop albums, the group’s hot streak came to an end with the lacklustre Warning. Next up, the ambitious, politically-charged ‘rock opera’ of American Idiot.
It sounded like a grand folly, but proved to be no such thing. Green Day embraced their new role as musicians with ‘something to say’ with tremendous gusto – and it is this sense of glorious abandon that pierces through the muddy live sound on Bullet In A Bible and ultimately makes it a triumph.
Recorded at Green Day’s Milton Keynes gigs in June 2005, the album catches the band at what may be the peak of their ear-bleeding, deliriously melodic powers. American Idiot material may chime best with the mood of the moment, but the old favourites still hit home with terrific force: ‘Basketcase’ is a dizzyingly silly sugar rush, while ‘Hitching A Ride’ remains a malevolent, sneering pop masterstroke.
Sure, the recorded versions give a clearer vision of the band, but hearing a chorus of (largely unbroken) voices singing along to the emotion-sozzled, yet overplayed ‘Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)’ certainly gives it a welcome kick.
An increasingly formidable songbook, and a throng of new, younger fans. On this evidence, Green Day’s artistic maturity has served them well.