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Green Day

1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hour (1991)
Green Day

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Contributed by: CallingLondon
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on May 21st 2002

There comes a time in everybody's life when we all must face the inevitable. No I'm not talking about death, or anything like that. I'm talking about the awful and offensive statements made by ignorant people. Those statements sum up to "I have Green Day's First CD, Dookie". You all know what I'm talking about, and I'm sure you've had to face such ignorance personally. I know, it’s hard. Millions of people every day are victims of this ignorance, but we mustn’t give up. With time, people will realize that we don’t have horns growing…I mean…there was Green Day before Dookie.

1.039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, not Dookie, is Green Day’s debut album. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the band’s earlier material, I’ll start off with some history. When one compares this album, to Dookie, he/she will realize a huge difference in sound. Billy Joe’s guitar sound is thinner, the bass isn’t quite as audible, the drumming sounds like it’s by a different drummer, and the overall production isn’t as good. Well, the reasons for those observations are that this album was put out on the independent label, Lookout, as opposed to Dookie, which was put out on Warner Brothers. Obviously on an independent label the budget isn’t nearly as big, so the production is rawer. As for the drumming, on 1,039/Slappy Hours, the band had a different drummer, by the name of John Kiftmyer. Now, to the music.

Instead of making this overly long, I’ll only talk about the standout tracks.

The album kicks off with a cool, and catchy song called At The Library. In this song Billy Joe sings about a girl he’s fascinated with, that he spotted at what I’m assuming is a Library. This song sets the tone for most of the album, which is songs about girls. Still, the lyrics are pretty insightful, and the band is still young, so they have some future maturing to do. I like this song. It’s a good opening song to catch your attention.

Next up is Don’t Leave Me. It’s a catchy song, and it holds your further attention while cranking the pace up a bit. This is a powerful, fast, well written song.

Disappearing Boy is a great tune with a real driving beat and guitar. The lyrics are quite insightful, talking about how he feels like he’s invisible at times.

Ah, the Band’s Title Track, Green Day. I’m sure most of you know this, but a Green Day, I’m pretty sure, is the day after you’ve been high all day, or maybe it’s when you are high all day. Either way, the title is pretty self-explanatory. The lyrics are actually pretty funny if you’re a stoner.

Road to Acceptance is a very cool song with a good message. Billy Joe’s voice is incredibly urgent in this song, and it makes it sound so honest. This is a driving song with a cool bass line.

The Judge’s Daughter is the first album on the song that reveals Billy Joe’s soloing ability. Not bad. If you first became familiar with this band through Dookie, the solo is a little refreshing. Aside from that, the song stands on it’s own, with a cool melody, and a catchy-as-hell bridge leading into the aforementioned solo. Very cool.

The next standout track is a very cool number going by the name Knowledge. I don’t even know how to classify this song. It’s got a ragtime rhythm to it with a piano and harmonica played throughout. Billy Joe sings like he’s drunk, which adds some humor, and there’s another small guitar solo towards the middle.

After Knowledge, we’re treated to a powerful-as-fuck rocker called 1000 Hours. It starts with guitars, then the drumming kicks in, with Billy Joe’s singing immediately after. The song is about a guy jerking off. Yes, another one.

The album closes with a great song called I Want to be Alone. It’s an angry song basically telling someone to fuck off. Mike Dirnt’s bass playing is great, and you’re treated to one last guitar solo.

All in all, this album succeeds at being quite good. It shows obvious influences from the Clash and the Ramones, and is a good debut for a young band that would later change the course of Punk Rock forever by opening the floodgates for New School bands. It was written before all the controversy of “selling out” to a major label, and all that other bullshit that people say about this band. If you haven’t already at least heard this album, shame on you. I consider this album a staple to my collection, and I think any punk collector should.

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Gilpow (November 23, 2010)

One of the best! My favorite songs off this record are Road To Acceptance, Green Day and 16

Dedricthere (July 10, 2010)

This album is how I like to remember Green Day. Like Star Wars before the prequels.

kylewagoner (January 19, 2009)

Umm...Dry Ice, Going to Pasalacqua, and Paper Lanterns. How the fuck can you have a bad album with those songs? You can't. It's just that simple.

Anonymous (June 17, 2006)

Oh, my world. It is ok

TheEndOfTheLongestLine (December 25, 2005)

I tottaly agree to the post below me...

I know laugh it up, I said 'Below Me'

But great album!

Anonymous (December 25, 2005)

OMG u write a review and u cant even spell the lead singers name!!!! BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG!!! not billy!!! IDIOTS!!! didn't u do any effing reasearch???
_______________***______________

BUT THE ACTUAL ALBUMN IS GREAT!!!!

--

Mmkay, you sound like the biggest faggiot. SO WHAT if he doesn't know how to spell Billie's name. What MATTERS is that he sat down and lisened to the CD and enjoyed it and decided to write a review. Piss off.

-- Mary Kate

timmytheturtle1039 (December 15, 2005)

all down hill from hear

miff (November 20, 2005)

i think im getting a little carried away

miff (November 20, 2005)

hey no one has mentioned that knowlege was by operation ivy n that is why it is such a great song not about masturbation

miff (November 20, 2005)

tho this didnt disgust me quite as much as when i saw an emo with "punk as f***" written on their bag on this occasion i didnt bother wasteing my time

miff (November 20, 2005)

the other day on the bus i was sat being bored out of my head being forced to listen to some R&B shit on the radio when some kid came up to me and said "hey mosher i only need one more greenday cd to have them all" having nothing better to do than be stared at by small children i ignored the insult and inquired which cd he needed i cant remeber which one he said but it was one of the shitty new ones so i asked it what it thought of 1039 n it sed it hadnt heard of it n that it thought there were only 4. i then spent the rest of the journey explaining to them what the term "punk rock" meant. this rele pissed me off n so i went home n listened to op ivy

BJAL_27 (June 25, 2005)

Anonymous (June 18, 2005)

GREENDAY r still good..remember they were only like 15 when they recorded this album so dont be so annoyin errr!!theyve grown up heaps since makin this album..leave em alone u cant do any better no1 can!!

Anonymous (March 28, 2005)

who are you to comment on 39/Smooth when you dont even know how to spell the lead singers name right?? its B-I-L-L-I-E, not Billy like some lardass country singer. Despite that, good review. In fact, 5-stars if the spelling errors are an exception. Written like a true green day punk.

haggard1one (March 1, 2005)

Pinhead gp what

Anonymous (February 16, 2005)

Anyway, (this is the same person who made the previous comment) this and Kerplunk are great. I don't really care for all of the other Green Day albums, but I love these. My favorite song is in here and Kerplunk, One For The Razorbacks. Billie-Joe Armstrong does great lyrics and combines a healthy dose of the usual adolescent jokes with opinions and great love songs without stooping low to doing it Celine Dion style (ugh, I despise Celine Dion). His lyrics are powerful and he's always done great with expressing his music. That, and unlike the albums Dookie and beyond, the music sounds more punk-rock than the rest, which I for one prefer.

Anonymous (February 16, 2005)

This and Kerplunk are part of my collection to my music which I title "Old Green Day", along with 7 Seconds, Black Flag, Sloppy Seconds, Pennywise, Old Metallica (a.k.a. Kill Em All), Necros and my favorite (although except for this being my favorite I love all of these equally), Pinhead Gunpowder, which is actually also a band that has Billie-Joe Armstrong as lead singer.

Anonymous (January 1, 2005)

dude i messed up my rating

Anonymous (January 1, 2005)

this album is really good just like everything theyve ever put out. its definately not the best but pretty close. why does everyone critiscize warning for being shit. its definately one of my favorites. its different form everything else but still its good. the older stuff was the best except for warning which is my third favorite. and there was an album called 39/smooth. to make this album they combined 39/smooth, 1000 hours, and slappy. this was not their first album but pretty much their first complete album. for me my order of favorite albums goes like this:

kerplunk
dookie
warning
1039 smothed...
nimrod
insomniac
american idiot(definately doesnt deserve all the credit its getting but still good)

greenday is the greatest band in existence

enjoifreedumb (December 12, 2004)

This is the best greenday cd ever. "Going To Pasalacqua" is definitely one of the best songs, I have ever heard. I like some other greenday cds. Insomniac and dookie are worth listening to.

istapledmyfoot (November 19, 2004)

this is one of my favorite albums ever. this is straight up 5th grade shit. "Only Of You" was my anthem.

Anonymous (June 15, 2004)

"I have Green Day's First CD, Dookie."

I can't begin to explain how many self-titled 'the biggest Green Day fan" have sad that. When I explain this to them, they don't believe me. morons.

The CD is good, no quitet as good as Kerplunk, but has its moments, a lot of them.

Anonymous (November 21, 2002)

to the person who wrote this... 1000 hours is definitely NOT about a guy jerking off... its a love song

Anonymous (August 6, 2002)

This is a good punk album. Not really amazing but it's Green Day and they have always been able to produce.

Anonymous (July 12, 2002)

Green Day hates CAPS.

-Green Day

Anonymous (June 4, 2002)

This record it's really good for a band's first record,i think that greenday just changed pop-punk forever,maybe because they're from the east bay,but this record has awesome tracks like going to palasqua,knowledge (operation ivy's cover),at the library and many more... I recommend it.

Anonymous (June 3, 2002)

Essentially what your saying is Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLounge spent far to much time listening to this record. But it's sounds like a good listen.

Schmoo

Anonymous (May 29, 2002)

You don't know shit. This tape was called 39/Smooth until they put it on CD with the 1,000 Hours EP and Slappy EP.

So they DO have a release called 39/Smooth.

CallingLondon (May 28, 2002)

warning is a great record if you're able to appreciate it for what it is. it's not a punk record, it's a pop record, but a damn good one. they say they're going back to basics on their next one though.

Anonymous (May 28, 2002)

Actually, no, they don't have a release called 39/Smooth. Thats just the abbreviation they use for this album. They had 1000 hours and slappy eps

Anonymous (May 28, 2002)

Honestly, Warning was not shit! I don't care what anyone says, it's a great record. Different, yes. Shit? Not a chance. Could someone please explain to me what is so bad about it? I love EVERYTHING Green Day has done, no exceptions. Each and every one of their full-lengths have been excellent INCLUDING Warning.

huey (May 23, 2002)

I love everything Green Day has done, with the exception of Warning, which in my opinion, with the exception of a few songs, was complete shit. Green Day was my first punk band, and of course, I respect them for that, love them in fact, but I am really unsure of the direction they are going in. These guys get a shit load of credit, maybe a little too much. Hmm...I wish Jawbreaker received that kind of credit. Ok, I'm done rambling.

Anonymous (May 23, 2002)

i really cant give them much on this album. Sure, it was all pure, completely un-trendy, but there was always something missing, no real catchy beat, it just all seemed so tasteless. it showed that they had great potential, which they definately are showing that now (no, i'm not one who thinks they sold out or whatever the kids think) i just hated listening to it, it all seemed so much the same. but, maybe i had become a greenday fan before i was even really into punk that much, so maybe i expected too much from them.

trav

Anonymous (May 23, 2002)

this is one of the best albums green day has released. Green day is the best band in the world

Anonymous (May 23, 2002)

Calling London:

"so you're familiar with every single known band and all their songs"

no, but I do know my punk roots. and, it's not like Green Day and Operation Ivy don't go hand in hand... my implication was that a fan of Green Day would know Operation Ivy. I do understand that the average kid walking down the street might not know "Knowledge" any better then I know what the last CREED song was... But, back to my point, Operation Ivy and Green Day are a closley related entity. Green Day's first show was opening for Operation Ivy (which happened to be their last show)... Billie Joe grew up in the Bay area and was obviously driven to punk by the punk venue that Operation Ivy helped to make infamous, Gillman Street. Hell, Billie Joe even jammed out with ex Operation Ivy members (who later went on to form Rancid) before he decided to form Green Day... and, further more Billie Joe worked closley with Jesse Michaels on his most recent project, Common Rider. So, do I know everything about everyband? no... but I know the essentials behind the bands I like... and just for the record, I am not even a Green Day fan... and I know all the aforementioned information... I would assume a true Green Day fan would know this and more... but on a more serious note... I could care less what you know... isn't it punk to be cynical. we need more Ben Weasel's in this world... everyone is too freakin up tight and PC...
-MalaManzana

Anonymous (May 22, 2002)

I meant 2002-05-22 12:49:18, not May 22nd 12:19:18.

Anonymous (May 22, 2002)

This is a reply to the guy who posted on May 22nd 12:19:18. Actually, they DO have a release called 39/Smooth, stupid. 39/Smooth is the cassette and 12" Vinyl versions with only the first 10 songs of 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours. The last 9 being from 1,000 Hours and Slappy. Suddenly you're not that smart after all...

CallingLondon (May 22, 2002)

so you're familiar with every single known band and all their songs? wow, that's pretty fucking impressive. It's not like i know nothing about music, or even nothing about the classic stuff, because i know plenty. And about the spelling of his name? i've been into Green Day for years. They were my first punk band, like many people, and i've seen his name in writing thousands of times. i just never paid attention to the exact spelling, and didn't really think about weather or not his first name was spelled that way while writing the review.

Anonymous (May 22, 2002)

worse review ever...
anyone who doesn't know Operation Ivy or how to spell the singers first name has no place reviewing a punk album...

just another cynical punk

Anonymous (May 22, 2002)

REWRITE TO THE ONE BELOW:

Yeah, and another thing to add, 1039 SMOOTHED OUT SLAPPY HOURS is their first album. They DON'T have an album called 39/Smooth. Thats just an abbreviation for this album. They had 1000 hours and slappy EPs, which aren't full-lengths, and most people don't consider EPs to be anybody's first album. Also, Tre Cool plays drums on part of this record as well, John K only plays part of it.

Anonymous (May 22, 2002)

Yeah, and another thing to add, 1039 SMOOTHED OUT SLAPPY HOURS is their first album. They have an album called 39/Smooth. Thats just an abbreviation for this album. They had 1000 hours and slappy EPs, which aren't full-lengths, and most people don't consider EPs to be anybody's first album. Also, Tre Cool plays drums on part of this record as well, John K only plays part of it.

Anonymous (May 22, 2002)

i used to love greenday inside out for a long time all up untill Warning. At first i was in denial, "greenday still rule, yeah, sure they do, yeah they do"
Oh, but then the reality hit me. Even if you think they play punk music, they aint got the attitude and ethics. Theyre commercial. Theyve jumped of Punk hill and drowned in the cesspool that is commercial popular trendy boresome crap. Up against other bands their chickenshit. I cant believe im dissing Greenday! I never thought.

CallingLondon (May 21, 2002)

i probably should have given this 4 stars instead of 3 1/2.

Anonymous (May 21, 2002)

It's not Bilie Joe, it's Billie Joe

Anonymous (May 21, 2002)

you have warning as their 2nd best.....sinner, i think it goes
dookie
kerplunk
insomniac
1.039
nimrod
warning....

Anonymous (May 21, 2002)

It's spelled Bilie Joe... otherwise a great review, except for not talking about Going to Pasalaqua

maverick (May 21, 2002)

Yeah, this is their worst album. For me, it goes:
Kerplunk
Warning
Dookie
Insomniac/Nimrod [tie]
1,039...

It's still better than most pop punk currently existing, however. Fuck, Green Day is good.

-Scott

Anonymous (May 21, 2002)

Actually, 39/Smooth was their debut album. This CD is a compilation of 2 EPs (1000 hours and slappy) and that album, hence 1039 Smoothed Out Slappy Hours.

On a critical note- Kerplunk is better. Android, 80, Who Wrote Holden Caufield are far better songs than anything on here.

Anonymous (May 21, 2002)

This album is awesome,not as much as kerplunk,but its still awesome. Greenday has been my favorite band for a long time and i still listen to them. They're in my opinion the best pop punk band ever. If you don't have this album i just have two words for you:you suck!!

Anonymous (May 21, 2002)

Great album, by a great band,and they still are. (except for the "im more punk than you " crowd)-oldpunker-

punky (May 21, 2002)

Shame on me...

CallingLondon (May 21, 2002)

well i know now. i'm hitting myself on the forehead now, trust me. i'm not intensely familiar with Op Ivy's material, and i wrote this review late at night, so I appoligize. anyway, they do a pretty damn good cover of the song. a meandoring version of a straight-ahead punk song.

Anonymous (May 21, 2002)

It is a very fine album, one of my favorite pop-punk records of all time I might add. But one question, you do know that "Knowledge" is their take on the Operation Ivy classic right?