Green Day "Uno," ''Dos" and "Tre" (Reprise Records)
As record sales continue to wane, one has to wonder the logic behind separately releasing a trilogy of albums over the course of three months. Maybe when you're a punk band coming off a pair of hugely successful concept albums turned into a Broadway smash, you do things a little differently. Still, it's an unusual way to release your ninth, tenth and eleventh studio albums.
"Tre," the final installment of the trilogy, out this week, is a bit more diverse than the others, with a slightly mellower and more mature sound that embraces a variety of styles. Imagine 1997's "Nimrod," but with more songs like "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)." Look no further than the opening and closing tracks to sum it up. There's the country blues-inspired "Brutal Love" to start, and the piano ballad "The Forgotten" to end.
While a common thread runs through the trilogy, each record is distinctly different.
The first, "Uno," returns the band to their pre-"American Idiot" sound with a dozen rocking songs that are melodic and highly energetic. The songs are also more mature, with themes like married men on the brink of infidelity. Standout tracks on this riffy guitar assault include "Fell For You" and "Oh Love."
"Dos" attempts to capture the no-frills sound of a garage rock band, but feels like a drop-off after "Uno." Some of the tracks work well, namely, "Stray Heart" and "Lady Cobra," but others don't fire on all cylinders.
Overall, this last installment of the trilogy shows another direction of the band's evolution.
CHECK OUT THESE TRACKS: The best of "Uno," ''Dos" and "Trois" is "Carpe Diem" ''Stray Heart," and "99 Revolutions," respectively.
