39/Smooth is the debut studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on April 13, 1990, by Lookout Records. After finalizing their line-up, the band played frequent shows at the 924 Gilman Street venue, where they started attracting a following and eventually caught the attention of Lookout Records' founder Larry Livermore. Following the release of their debut EP 1,000 Hours (1989) and stints in other bands, Green Day went to Art of Ears Studio, located in San Francisco, California, to record their debut studio album, which was co-produced with Andy Ernst. Sessions started at late December 1989 and ended in January 1990, costing $675. 39/Smooth has been tagged as punk rock, pop-punk and skate punk, with comparisons made to the work of older punk bands the Buzzcocks and the Ramones, as well to contemporaries Crimpshrine and the Lookouts. Written mostly by frontman and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, unrequited love and longing for desire served as the main lyrical topics, while reminiscing on youth appeared in two of the songs. It is the band's only album to feature drummer John Kiffmeyer.
39/Smooth was met with acclaim within Green Day's contemporary community; retrospective reviews praised the songwriting and individual musicianship of each of the band members, while some critics were more negative of the album. In the lead-up to the album's release, Armstrong dropped out of high school, and the members took up odd jobs while Kiffmeyer and bassist Mike Dirnt continued their education. To promote 39/Smooth, the band embarked on a 45-date tour of the United States, which began in June 1990. By its end, Kiffmeyer enrolled in college without notifying the other members, with Armstrong learning of it through a friend.
The album, plus related EPs from the time, were included on the 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours (1991) compilation album, which is often erroneously referred to as the band's debut. By 1994, 39/Smooth had sold 75,000 copies, and in the following year, peaked at number five on the US Billboard Top Pop Catalog Albums chart. Publications have ranked the album towards the lower end of the band's discography, such as number 10 by Kerrang! and Paste and number 11 by Spin.
Background and recording
Following a shared interest in music, and the creation of original material, guitarists Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt formed a band.Myers 2006, pp. 24–25, 27 After going through another name, they stuck with Sweet Children;Spitz 2010, p. 16 Armstrong and Dirnt worked security at punk club 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, California.Spitz 2010, p. 35 John Kiffmeyer, also known as "Al Sobrante", drummer of Gilman performers Isocracy, was invited to play with them.Spitz 2010, p. 43 He helped refine Sweet Children's sound, and taught them a work ethic of recording music as cheaply and quickly as possible.Myers 2006, p. 43 Sweet Children played their first Gilman show in November 1988,Gaar 2006, p. 30 where they accumulated a fan base; after the departure of bassist Sean Hughes, Dirnt moved to bass.Spitz 2010, p. 49 During a house party, Sweet Children were brought to the attention of Larry Livermore, who operated Lookout Records, which was originally planned to only release material from Livermore's band the Lookouts.Spitz 2010, pp. 51, 52
Livermore subsequently signed Sweet Children following a show with the Lookouts.Spitz 2010, p. 63 The record deal made the members of Sweet Children realize that they needed a new name, ultimately choosing Green Day.Spitz 2010, p. 64 They played their last show under the old moniker on April 1, 1989, at Gilman for a benefit show.Myers 2006, p. 52 That same month, the 1,000 Hours EP was released through on seven-inch vinyl.Myers 2006, p. 51 Livermore commented that due to the poppy nature of the release that it would be difficult to sell to record buyers, taking around six months for the EP to start attracting attention from the public.Gaar 2006, p. 31 Author Ben Myers wrote in Green Day: American Idiots & The New Punk Explosion (2006) that while it did not have a unique musical direction amongst the band's peers, the EP helped to place Green Day as well as Berkeley "on the map". They performed for the first time since the name change supporting Operation Ivy on May 28, 1989, at Gilman.Spitz 2010, p. 62 During this time, Armstrong and Dirnt played in other bands, such as Blatz, Corrupted Morals and Crummy Musicians.Gaar 2006, p. 35
Green Day recorded their debut album at Art of Ears Studio in San Francisco, California, around Christmas 1989 when recording time was inexpensive.Spitz 2010, p. 65 Andy Ernst, who previously worked on the 1,000 Hours EP, co-produced the sessions with members of the band.Gaar 2006, pp. 31, 35 Sessions started on December 29, 1989; Armstrong and Dirnt tracked their vocals at the same time in order to save on both money and time. Myers noted that the members' influences, such as the Buzzcocks, the Clash and the Ramones, "all of whom recorded quickly, and it clearly showed as they applied the same sense of pared-down economy to their own blistering debut."Myers 2006, p. 58 The majority of the album was finished the following day, preceded by guitar parts and vocal harmonies. The album was mixed and completed by January 2, 1990. The sessions cost $675 (), charged to Livermore. John Golden mastered the recordings at K Disc Mastering in Hollywood, California Prior to the album coming out, Livermore wanted to issue another single to build hype. Subsequently, the band went back to Art of Ears and recorded four songs in a few hours, which became the Slappy (1990) EP.
Composition
The main lyrical theme of 39/Smooth revolves around unrequited love and longing for desire, which appeared in "At the Library with Waba Sé Wasca", "Disappearing Boy" and "The Judge's Daughter". While "I Was There" and "16" are about reminiscing on youth, which Gaar suggested that these were interesting declarations from the band as the members themselves were still young.Gaar 2006, p. 36 Musically, 39/Smooth has been tagged as punk rock,Myers 2006, p. 60 pop-punk, skate punk, and power pop. Myers said the songs merged the band members' overt adoration of pop hooks by British acts from the 1960s, topped by the "regionalized intonation of British punk's strongest voices."Myers 2006, pp. 60–61 He also highlighted the sound of the Buzzcocks and Hüsker Dü as points of comparison, while Stereogum Jay Papandreas drew comparison to labelmates Crimpshrine and the Lookouts, and Eduardo Rivadavia, writing for Discogs, said its three-chord tracks were indebted to the work of the Ramones.
With album opener "At the Library with Waba Sé Wasca", Allyson Johnson of The Young Folks said the band presented the Southern Californian sound that managed to "both fit them in the scene while allowing them to stand out ..." She added that it displayed the formula for which they would continue to use throughout their career: "The gritty and buzzsaw sounding guitars only make for a more immediate, satisfying star." Armstrong said "Don't Leave Me" was about an occasion in the seventh grade where a girl had broken up with him.Gaar 2006, p. 39 "I Was There" has lyrics written by Kiffmeyer; Gaar said it was a broad retrospective view of "one's past — torn between wanting it to last, but ultimately choosing to look ahead toward tomorrow."Gaar 2006, p. 44 Jack Holly of The Young Folks said Armstrong can be heard recounting locations him and his bandmates had visited and individuals they have encountered in their brief run as a band. "Green Day", which starts with the sound of a bong hit, discusses being inebriated while dreaming about a girl and staring directing at the ceiling. On "Going to Pasalacqua", Holly wrote that Armstrong was adamant about trying to get the attention of girl that he would visit a funeral home, Pasalacqua, located in Benicia, California, to achieve this. Johnson spotlighted "16" as a highlight, touching on the song's sense of heightened youthfulness, and noted that it was more restrained compared to the rest of the tracks. "Road to Acceptance", which was influenced by racism, talks about a person who lambasts their own reputation as an outsider. Preceded by the slower song "Rest", "The Judge's Daughter" concluded 39/Smooth; Armstrong said it was about a girl from Pinole Valley High School.Gaar 2006, pp. 38, 39
Release Promotion and packaging In February 1990, Armstrong dropped out of high school shortly prior to the release of their debut album, in order to focus exclusively on Green Day.Spitz 2010, p. 46 Around this time, as Dirnt and Kiffmeyer focused on working and education, a tour for the band spanning 45 dates across the US was scheduled. To raise money for the trek, the members took up odd jobs. Lookout Records released 39/Smooth on April 13, 1990, issued on the vinyl and cassette formats. It was released around the time of albums by the likes of their contemporaries Bad Religion, NOFX, the Offspring and Pennywise, all of whom were frequently playing shows, though were ignored by major publications and record labels. Attitudes towards alternative music were slowly shifting, as Myers remarked, "but not that quickly. Green Day and the punks' true time was yet to come, and for now they existed in a vacuum unaffected by traditional rock 'n' roll conceits. ... [39/Smooth] was released and life carried on."Myers 2006, p. 62 As Lookout Records did not have enough funds for promotion, word of mouth about 39/Smooth spread from the small amount of reviews it earned in zines.Gaar 2006, p. 40
When the members of Green Day were wrapping up the production of the album, the word "smooth" was in frequent rotation, and they wanted to use it in the title. It was during this time that Alen, Armstrong's oldest sibling, had turned 39, which they jokingly wanted to use it in the name as well as they were unsure if they would get the chance to make another album. The album was eventually titled 39/Smooth. The cover of 39/Smooth, which was designed by Jesse Michaels of Operation Ivy, depicts a black-and-white image of a woman in a cemetery. Michael Roffman of Consequence of Sound said the cover was "a little eerie" which he attributed to the shining tree branches seen in the image. Out of all of the band's albums, Myers remarked that its monochrome and somber nature made it stand out as the "least Green Day-looking" cover. Aaron Cometbus, editor of the Cometbus zine, created some additional artwork for the sleeve; Myers said his "recognizable pen-and-ink style came to define the band's early works and nicely complemented the content within."Myers 2006, p. 61 The back of the sleeve featured three photographs, shot by Murray Bowles, of Green Day performing at Gilman. Accompanying the images were cartoon illustrations, done by Michaels, which included keys, safety pins, a matchbox and faces of monsters. A martini glass can also be seen, which Gaar said was a comment on the no-alcohol policy enforced at Gilman. The lyric sheet included in the sleeve included an alleged letter from major label I.R.S. Records, who claimed to have an interest in the band, saying they were best act from the Bay Area since the emergence of the Dead Kennedys. In addition to this was two response letters, one from Kiffmeyer and other from Livermore; Gaar said the I.R.S. letter was forged as the result of Kiffmeyer having located some stationery belonging to the label from a trash receptacle. Around two years after the album's release, Livermore received threatening letters from I.R.S. for the incident, and apologized to them.
US tour and related events