I imagine that if Green Day went to work on producing a single album after 21st breakdown, this would be the result. This was the album of the trilogy that was supposed to capture the maturity and evolution of the group, and it has done exactly that.
Tre brings more of the great guitar solos and bass lines that has been the signature of these three albums, but it includes a ballad feel to many of the tracks, with horns and piano appearing in “Brutal Love” and “The Forgotten”, and a more pure sound and quality to the lyrics. Throughout the trilogy Green Day has not tried to push anything that isn’t ready for release, and more importantly, not tried to release anything geared for radio popularity. I have ceased any doubt in the ability of Green Day to continue to deliver.
After Dos, I thought the punk rock glory established in Uno would not be matched on scale by either of the following albums, but Tre does that and a little bit more in a different way. While Uno was a fantastic album, my favorite tracks of the entire trilogy are on Tre. I’ve had “X-kid” stuck in my head since I first listened to it on Tuesday, and “Dirty Rotten Bastards” brings back memories of Green Day’s epic multi-part songs on American Idiot. Both tracks are my personal favorites. There aren’t really any terribly weak links in the album. Each song delivers something interesting enough to hold back pressing the next button, especially with the progressive sound of the instrumentals. “99 Revolutions” pays tribute to the occupy Wall Street protests over the past couple years, and was featured in the credits the movie “The Campaign”. “The Forgotten” is a great song with mostly piano accompaniment and a solid guitar solo, but it is not the best song on the album despite its’ popularity on Itunes, which I suspect is largely driven by the fact the song is featured in “Twilight”.
Few artists would have the courage to put so much material out within a few months of each other, but Tre was a great finish to the trilogy and a solid sign that Green Day is still going strong after more than 20 years plus more to come.
I give it a 9.1/10
P.S. The album is titled Tre and not tres because Tre Cool is their drummer. Reader=mind blown.
As AJ Thinks 