Nimrod (stylized as nimrod.) is the fifth studio album of Green Day, released on October 14, 1997 by Reprise Records. The band began recording at Conway Studios in Los Angeles, California with producer Rob Cavallo, with ideas that would depart from their dark and bleak tones of their previous album Insomniac. Nimrod overall would do around the same as their previous work at the charts, but would be around the start where Green Day's popularity would start to slip, only gaining relevance with the success of Good Riddance (Time of Your Life), pushing total album sales to around where Insomniac would end up at.
Background[]
During the late stages of the Insomniac tour in 1996, the band became increasingly less comfortable with their stardom position, mainly cause of having to leave their family behind while out on tour. They would cancel the late European leg of the tour in 1996 and go back into the studio, writing dozens of new songs by 1997. Nimrod would incorporate elements from surf rock and ska punk genres, adding additional sounds such as horns and acoustic guitars. Lyrically, the album discusses themes such as maturity, personal reflection, and fatherhood. They were tracks that hugely contrasted songs from the previous album such as Last Ride In, Take Back, and King for a Day. The front cover depicts two Canadian medical scientists in black and white, famous for co-discovering insulin, with their faces covered with a yellow circle with black text that says "nimrod." They both are surround with a tiny yellow-ish border followed by a big black border with the band's name in white at the top. The back cover sees pictures of various people in the same style as the front cover, all on the left side with the track list split into three sides. The album title takes up the majority of the bottom of the cover in tan.
Reception[]
Nimrod debuted at a modest No. 10 on the Billboard 200 chart, and went on be certified double platinum in the United States.. The album included the acoustic ballad "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)", which became heavily popular and a staple in graduation ceremonies and prom dances. Three more official singles were released off the album, "Hitchin' a Ride", "Redundant", and "Nice Guys Finish Last", all of which received radio airplay and moderate popularity. Nimrod received positive reviews from critics, many of whom praised Billie Joe Armstrong's songwriting. It has sold 2 million copies in the United States and 10 million worldwide.
Track Listing[]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Nice Guys Finish Last" | 2:49 |
| 2. | "Hitchin' a Ride" | 2:51 |
| 3. | "The Grouch" | 2:12 |
| 4. | "Redundant" | 3:17 |
| 5. | "Scattered" | 3:02 |
| 6. | "All the Time" | 2:10 |
| 7. | "Worry Rock" | 2:27 |
| 8. | "Platypus (I Hate You)" | 2:21 |
| 9. | "Uptight" | 3:04 |
| 10. | "Last Ride In" | 3:47 |
| 11. | "Jinx" | 2:12 |
| 12. | "Haushinka" | 3:25 |
| 13. | "Walking Alone" | 2:45 |
| 14. | "Reject" | 2:05 |
| 15. | "Take Back" | 1:09 |
| 16. | "King for a Day" | 3:13 |
| 17. | "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" | 2:34 |
| 18. | "Prosthetic Head" | 3:38 |
| Total Runtime: | 49:09 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 19. | "Desensitized" | 2:49 |
| Total Runtime: | 51:58 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 19. | "Suffocate" | 2:54 |
| 20. | "Do Da Da" | 1:30 |
| 21. | "Desensitized" | 2:49 |
| 22. | "You Lied" | 2:26 |
| Total Runtime: | 58:48 | |
Singles[]
Hitchin' a Ride[]
Green Day - Hitchin' A Ride (Video)
Released as the only single prior to the album's release date, the song features a violin and heavy bass along with being one of many songs in the album where Billie Joe's personal struggles are openly discussed. The single would later be featured on many compilation and live albums, along with being given a music video directed by Mark Kohr.
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)[]
Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) (Video Version)
First being an outtake from Dookie, Good Riddance is considered to be Green Day's biggest hit from Nimrod, along with being considered one of their most memorable and popular songs from the general public. The song features folk-sounding strings, violins, with somewhat more upbeat lyrics compared to the reset of the album. Due to it's wide share of success, it has been used as a pop culture reference in various medias, and the music video would go on to win Best Alternative Video from the MTV Video Music Awards.
Redundant[]
Green Day - Redundant (Video)
Redundant is another track in the album where Billie Joe Armstrong expresses his personal frustrations, this time being related to his rocky marriage with Adrienne Armstrong. While initially not receiving much airplay when released as a single, it slowly gained a fanbase either long after the album or when released with other hit singles. While the song is pretty inline with the Green Day formula, it is one of the very few songs where an effects medal was used. Like the title implies, the music video of Redundant also features people doing tasks repeatedly in loop, nearly up until the very end.
Nice Guys Finish Last[]
Nice Guys Finish Last - (Green Day Official Music Video)
Released way after the album release in 1999, Nice Guys Finish Last ended up being a smaller hit for the album, but was still popular among both fans and critics when initially released on the album. With the release of the single, also followed an official music video for the song, first recorded in 1998 where fans of the band made cameos in the video.
Prosthetic Head[]
Green Day - Prosthetic Head (BBC Live Session)
Prosthetic Head is the only song in the album to be released as a promotional single, however to be only released in Germany around 1998. Despite having some success in Germany and being the final track of the album, it would never see another appearance in another album until BBC Sessions, nor would a music video ever be released alongside it.
Charts[]
Weekly Charts[]
| Chart (1997–1999) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA) | 3 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) | 28 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) | 4 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) | 80 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) | 40 |
| French Albums (SNEP) | 43 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) | 31 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI) | 15 |
| Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi) | 23 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) | 22 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) | 13 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) | 36 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) | 33 |
| UK Albums (OCC) | 11 |
| US Billboard 200 | 10 |
Year-end Charts[]
| Chart (1998) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA) | 56 |
| US Billboard 200 | 75 |
| Chart (1999) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA) | 84 |
Personnel[]
Green Day[]
- Billie Joe Armstrong – vocals, guitars, harmonica on "Walking Alone"
- Mike Dirnt – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Tré Cool – drums, bongos, tambourine, backing vocals
Additional Musicians[]
- Petra Haden – violin on "Hitchin' a Ride" and "Last Ride In"
- Conan McCallum – violin on "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)"
- Gabrial McNair, Stephen Bradley – horns
- David Campbell – strings arranger
Production[]
- Rob Cavallo; Green Day – producers
- Ken Allardyce – recording, engineer
- Tony Flores, Mike Dy, Barry Goldberg, Bill Kinsley, Wes Seidman – additional engineers
- Chris Lord-Alge – mixing
- Snorri Brothers – photography
- Chris Bilheimer – photography, art direction, design
- Timmy Chunks – guitar technician
- Bill Schneider – bass technician