Billie Joe Armstrong - No Fun Mondays
by Zena Grieg
published: 25 / 1 / 2021
Label:
Warner Bros
Format: CD
intro
Versatile and unpredictable collection of covers from Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong
Having intended to tour his band’s latest album ‘Father of All Motherfuckers’ during 2020, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong was forced to put this on hold until March 2021 by the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the lead vocalist and guitarist of the Californian punk band turned his attention to putting together a collection of covers, ‘No Fun Mondays’. Speaking about this new collection, Armstrong said: “While we’ve all been in quarantine, I’ve been reflecting on the things that matter the most in my life: family, friends, and, of course, music. I figure if we have to spend this time in isolation at least we can be alone together.” The ‘No Fun Mondays’ project was appropriately kicked off by a cover of American soft-rockers Tommy James and The Shondells’ ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’, on which Armstrong was joined by his sons Joey and Jakob. The fourteen track cross-genre album which ensued offers a punk spin on classics from John Lennon, Prince and Billy Bragg, as well as lesser-known tracks, such as ‘Corpus Christi’ by the San Francisco Band the Avengers. Highlights of the collection include a collaboration with The Bangles’ Susanna Hoffs on ‘Manic Monday’; a fun delivery of Kim Wilde’s ‘Kids in America’; a trenchant version of John Lennon’s ‘Gimme Some Truth’ with its memorable lyrics: “I’ve had enough of watchin’ scenes/Of schizophrenic, ego-centric, paranoiac prima donnas,” and his fiery take on ‘Police On My Back’, made famous by the Clash, distilling the tension and suspicion surrounding US law enforcement following the killing of George Floyd. ‘No Fun Mondays’ is an energetic, eclectic and entertaining mix of punk, rock and bubblegum pop by an unpredictable musician.
Track Listing:-
1 I Think We're Alone Now2 War Stories
3 Manic Monday
4 Corpus Christi
5 That Thing You Do!
6 Amico
7 You Can't Put Your Arms Round a Memory
8 Kids in America
9 Not That Way Anymore
10 That's Rock 'n' Roll
11 Gimme Some Truth
12 Whole Wide World
13 Police on My Back
14 A New England
Label Links:-
http://www.warnerbrosrecords.co.uk/https://www.facebook.com/warnerbrosrecordsuk/
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