[img=101311_nimrod.jpg]Nimrod was released as Green Day's 5th studio album in 1997, 14 years ago today. The album reflected a progressive period for the band as they came to terms with rejection from their local East Bay punk scene and dealt with the pressures of parenthood.

The album itself demonstrated creative progression, with the most musically diverse array of songs heard on a Green Day album to date. From the signature ballad of Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life), to the 'in your face' hardcore punk of Platypus (I Hate You), and the drag-party tune King For A Day, this album is a great example of Green Day's early ventures to push their musical boundaries. It also saw the addition of string and horn arrangements (cue the bumble bees). Billie Joe has jokingly referred to this period, together with Insomniac, as Green Day's "metal years."

The album was recorded May to July, 1997, with producer Rob Cavallo. It's gone on to sell over 5 million copies worldwide. Hitchin' A Ride, Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life), Redundant and Nice Guys Finish Last were released as singles from the album.

Nimrod's diversity is further demonstrated through it's non-singles. We have some of Billie Joe's most open and honest lyrics in 'snot-nose' punk of The Grouch, Take Back & Reject. Scattered and Worry Rock provide some more of the melodic sound that is Green Day's speciality. It was also an early example of Green Day venturing in to longer, story based songs, with the intertwining Jinx/Haushinka. Last Ride In offers a first instrumental track for the band, which almost acts as a 'surfy' interlude for the album. It would probably be fair to say that this album is one of the more challenging listens in Green Day's catalogue, with the variety of the music taking you on quite a trip.

Of course, it's difficult talk about Nimrod without properly acknowledging Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life). The song has gone on to be probably Green Day's most well known, being played most notably during the finale for American sitcom Seinfeld. Billie Joe later said that this song was written around the time of Dookie, so it's appearance on this album conveyed a willingness to take risks and move away from the traditional 'punk-rock' song structure Green Day had mostly employed to date.

The Nimrod era was something of a return to form for the band, from a touring perspective particularly. After exhaustion brought a premature end to their Insomniac tour, Green Day came back after a 2 year break re-energized and put in some of their most ferocious and fun performances to date. This was demonstrated early on with their infamous album launch in-store show at Tower Records in New York, where anarchic scenes saw Billie Joe encouraging the crowd to "start a riot" - what a nimrod!

Please join us in our tradition of listening to the album front to back some time today, and leave us your thoughts on the album and the impact it's had on you.

Click here to read a few of our visitors memories and thoughts on the album, as well as my own...