Warning is the sixth studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on October 3, 2000, by Reprise Records. Building upon its predecessor Nimrod (1997), it eschewed the band's trademark punk rock sound and incorporated acoustic elements and pop and folk styles. Lyrically, the album contains more optimistic and inspirational themes in comparison to the band's earlier releases. Warning was also Green Day's first album since Kerplunk (1991) not to be produced by Rob Cavallo, although he did have a hand in its production and was credited as executive producer.
Despite mixed opinions about the band's stylistic change, the album received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong's songwriting. Although it peaked at number four on the US Billboard 200, Warning marked the lowest commercial slump in Green Day's career, being their first album since signing to a major label not to achieve multi-platinum status. However, the album being leaked onto Napster three weeks before its release may have been a contributing factor to its low sales. The album has nonetheless been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, and has sold over 1.2 million copies as of 2012. Worldwide it has sold 3.5 million copies.
Background
After taking a break from touring in promotion of the band's fourth album Insomniac (1995), Green Day recorded the more experimental Nimrod (1997). The record, which delved into a wider variety of genres including punk, folk, power pop, hardcore punk, ska, and surf, featured the unprecedented acoustic hit "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)". Vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong recalled that the song's stylistic departure from the group's earlier work made him anxious about the song's release: "I was scared for that song to come out...because it was such a vulnerable song, to put that song out and it was like which way will it end up going? It was really exciting and it kind of sparked more in us as songwriters to expand on that."
The band embarked on the Nimrod promotional tour, which largely featured more intimate shows with audiences of 1,500 to 3,000 people. By the end of the tour, the band noted that its audience had evolved. 924 Gilman Street, the punk club in the band's hometown that had once banned Green Day after the group signed with a major label, booked bassist Mike Dirnt's side project the Frustrators for a show. Dirnt described the experience as "a wonderful piece of closure". According to Studio 880 owner John Lucasey, the band was "definitely at a very big crossroads". During the album's writing and early recording sessions, Armstrong repeatedly listened to Bob Dylan's 1965 record Bringing It All Back Home, which had a major influence over both Warnings musical experimentation and socially conscious lyrics. During this period, the group members met five days a week to write new songs and rehearse old ones, with Tre Cool observing, "We've been practicing and writing songs and playing them and playing them and writing new songs and playing them and playing them... People think we're off in Hawaii kicking back and shit, but we're in Oakland playing our jams."
|filename2 = 06 Misery 2.ogg
|title2 = "Misery"
|description2 = The sixth track from the record, "Misery" features "mariachi brass" instrumentation, as well as strings, accordions, and acoustic guitar. Its melody has also been stylistically compared to the Mamas & the Papas and Kiss. "Macy's Day Parade" contains elements of folk and pop. He recalled, "We've always tried to keep an ear to the ground and keep our eyes open to what's going on...that's one reason why I was really taking my time writing songs to really [make an impact]. Instead of just writing an overly knee-jerk reaction." According to Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine, the lyrics of "Minority" serve as "a reminder of the youthful mentality of Green Day's early work". "Blood, Sex and Booze" explores the subject of sadomasochism.
According to some publications, such as LA Times, The Buffalo News, Sun-Sentinel, and Music Box Magazine Green Day departs from their punk rock sound with this album. Despite this, some other publications label the album as punk rock. In addition, the album has also been cited as pop-punk, folk punk, pop rock,
Release
Commercial performance
Warning peaked at number four on the Billboard 200, remaining on the chart for 25 weeks and it sold 156,000 copies on its first week according to Billboard. On December 1, 2000, the record was certified gold by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of over 500,000 copies. In Canada, the record reached the number two position and stayed on the chart for five weeks. Warning also reached the top ten in multiple countries outside of North America, including Australia, Italy, and the United Kingdom. The album was later certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of over 70,000 copies. As of December 20, 2012, Warning has sold 1.2 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.