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Adam 12

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Listen to Green Day Cover Elvis

adam12 January 26th
(Photo by Jo Hale/Getty Images)

Show of hands: who wants to hear Green Day cover Elvis? Wow, that’s a lot of hands. I haven’t even told you which Elvis yet!

 

It’s Elvis Costello. Not Elvis Presley. Does that change your mind? OK, good. Clearly, you’re a fan of the Elvis with the cool glasses, just like me. Not that I don’t love and respect The King, mind you. It’s just that Elvis Costello is so damn good. I caught him live in February of 2004 at the Wang Theatre in Boston. Elvis on guitar and vocals, with Steve Nieve and The Brodsky Quartet backing. What a night. What a setlist!

 

Clearly, Billie Joe Armstrong and the gang are Elvis fans, too. They recently unearthed a cover of Costello’s “Alison” from his 1977 album My Aim Is True. They’re making it a part of the 25th anniversary reissue of their 1997 album Nimrod. Yeah, I know. The album turned 25 LAST year. I wrote about it, actually. But in true Green Day slacker-punk form, they’ve put of the release of the reissue until this year.

 

Listen to Green Day Cover Elvis

The cover is pretty simple: just Billie Joe and his guitar and a straightforward take on the original. Normally, I’d be ho-hum about this type of cover. I’m of the mind that, if you’re going to cover a song, you should own it. Make it all yours. But this cover is compelling to me because that’s not what Green Day did. We’d expect them to punk it up, right? The fact that they didn’t is a bit of curveball, and I appreciate Billie Joe’s earnestness.

 

Give it a listen below. Nimrod 25 – 25th Anniversary Edition is out on Friday, January 27. The “Alison” cover will be part of a disc full of demos recorded during the album’s sessions. Get the info here.

 

Green Day 'Nimrod' Turns 25

Green Day Nimrod: the album that was both a return to form for the band and somehow underrated. It turns 25 today.

 

Here’s the story, as I remember it. Granted, I was a teenager in the ’90s, and I’m far from that now, so cut me a little slack. I’m not going for historical accuracy here. Just trying to capture the moment. Anyway, Green Day exploded out of the Gilman Street scene with 1994’s Dookie. We know this. Being a good, young punk band, they looked to capitalize on that success quickly, and they did. A little over 18 months later, they followed up with Insomniac.

 

As I wrote for that album’s 25th anniversary, Insomniac carried over a lot of the energy of Dookie, but with more focus. Green Day hadn’t lost their sophomoric sense of humor, but there was a sheen of cynicism cast over it. Having kids call you “sellouts” for the better part of a year will do that. But pound-for-pound, Insomniac packs just as much punch as Dookie did to my ears. Sadly, a lot of critics disagreed. Which I think had less to do with the actual content of the album and more to do with trying to take down a band that had been saddled with the “sellout” tag. That was a big thing in the ’90s. It was stupid then, and it’s stupid now.

 

Green Day Nimrod Turns 25

Green Day went hard promoting Insomniac. A bit too hard, as they ended up cutting short their European Tour plans to regroup back home in California. What came from that decision was more time with family and more time to write, resulting in a batch of songs with a sheen of maturity and sincerity that Green Day hadn’t yet exhibited. Importantly, they kept intact their sense of humor, so there was balance, too. Add to that an expanded sonic palate (acoustic guitar! strings!) and you end up with a rock-solid Green Day album that I think a lot of fans underappreciate.

 

Take a spin through a few of the tunes below and see if you don’t agree with me.

  • "Hitchin' A Ride"

    Leadoff single from the new album and it leads off with a violin. That’s a punk rock move. Ballsy.

  • "Nice Guys Finish Last"

    This one would be at home on any of Green Day’s ’90s albums. I’m glad it landed on this one.

  • "Redundant"

    The answer to: “What if Green Day wrote a surf-punk tune with a killer backbeat?”

  • "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)"

    Billie Joe was terrified of putting this song on the album. It all worked out OK.

  • "Reject"

    Not a single, didn’t get a music video. I just like it.

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