Before Green Day's epic album "Dookie", there was "Kerplunk". An album that clearly shows the band at their beginning musical roots of punk. What may catch most off guard is the fact that even though they were slamming on their guitars and being as immature as possible, they still remained serious musicians. "No one knows" lyrics and tone flow differently from the whole album, much slower and more in depth.

But, the side of the band that most came to know and love is heard in full force throughout the album. To this date, I have not heard one band do a better punk cover of The Who's "My Generation" then Green Day. A great album in every aspect.

Whether they are playing Alternative ("Nimrod"), Punk ("Dookie" "Kerplunk"), or just showing full fledged maturity ("Warning"), Green Day never dissapoints.

Let's face the facts; Green Day's 1994 release of "Dookie" would have never been a blockbuster without Nirvana. Much like Nirvana's "Nevermind", "Dookie" was a case of accidental success. Nirvana opened the door for several underground artists in the early 90s. With that said, it comes as no surprise that Green Day hit the big time with "Dookie" after listening to it's predecessor, 1992's "Kerplunk". The band really settled into their sound, replacing drummer John Kiftmeyer, with Tre Cool. Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool provide a phenomenal rhythm section for Billy Joe Armstrong's Irreverent, snide and sarcastic lyrics.

There are plenty of quality standout tracks on this album. "2000 Light Years Away" is the biggest highlight of their premajor-label years. The original version of "Welcome To Paradise" shines here as well. "Christie Road", a slower number, is among my favorites. "Dominated Love Slave", a Tre Cool original, is a hilarious pseudo country tune. They also belt out a sweet cover of The Who's "My Generation".

"Kerplunk" proves to be a solid effort that brought Green Day to major label success. It is one of those lost gems that many people will never hear, but the true fans can enjoy it with glee.

I got into their later stuff before this. But I must say, this is green day at their best. Each song on here gives you a totally different vibe as to what is going on in their lives. At this point in time in their careers they were so unknown that it made their music so much better than it could be now.

1. 2000 Light Years Away - Catchy and almost too sweet, but perfect for everyone's 'long lost love'

2. One For The Razorbacks - Another catchy tune, great placing on the album

3. Welcome to Paradise - This is the pre-dookie version of this song, and it is the better version. It's more punk than the dookie version and you get more of a feel for what Billie Joe is saying...just listen to both versions and you'll get what i mean

4. Christie Road - This is one of my favorite songs on this album, it's very hard to explain why. But Billie Joe turned a place where he and his friends used to smoke pot into a wonderful punk song.

5. Private Ale - Another catchy punk rock tune. It's a hard to explain though.

6. Dominated Love Slave - Tre Cool's entrance into the band comes from this song. It is an earlier, more redneck, version of Blood Sex and Booze (From WARNING:). It's enough to give anyone a laugh.

7. One of My Lies - Another catchy great writing job by Billie Joe

8. 80 - This song is about Billie Joe's wife Adrienne, this song is ridiculously sweet, but it is so easy to relate to.

9. Android - The lyrics to this song almost seem like a predecessor to "basketcase" but all the same its an awesome song.

10. No One Knows - My second favorite song on this album. It is a great song about being confused and not knowing what to do. It's more mellow than the rest and has an awesome bass line.

11. Who Wrote Holden Caulfield? - My personal favorite. This song was written after Billie Joe read "Catcher in the Rye". This song has an awesome guitar line to it.

12. Words I Might Have Ate - Another great catchy tune, and wonderful writing job by Billie Joe.

13. Sweet Children - You can totally get the vibe of this song just from the title.

14. Best Thing In Town - This is another great song by Billie Joe

15. Strangleland - same as best thing in town, just a great song.

16. My Generation - A cover of The Who's song, but a very good one, i believe that Mike Dirnt has a little lead vocal on it in the beginning, all very cool.

This is the best green day album in my personal opinion, and i think that any green day fan should get it...it's just an awesome cd, and it foreshadows how great their other albums will be.

Green Day have become one of the greatest punk bands of all time in recent years. 'Kerplunk', their second and last album with Lookout! Records shows many of the influences that would lead to the 1994 smash-hit 'Dookie'. The album begins with back to back anthems '2000 Light Years Away' and 'One For The Razorbacks'. The early version of 'Welcome To Paradise' that follows lacks the drive of the 'Dookie' version, but that lack of energy is made up for with the classic 'Private Ale'. 'Dominated Love Slave' is a hillbilly parody that is hilarious to begin with, but swiftly turns irritating. 'One Of My Lies' is a precursor to Dookie's 'Basket Case', and is one of many Green Day songs in which the lyrics focus on death. My particular favourite on 'Kerplunk' is '80', about a boy being driven insane by a girl. (Original idea.) The band give us our first glimpse of their softer, ballad-writing side with 'No-one Knows'. This style would reappear on 'Nimrod' with 'Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)'. 'No-one Knows' is a brilliant song, and Mike's bass intro is quite moving. All in all, 'Kerplunk' is a very good album. Tre Cool brings an experienced flair to the drums, and the band first start to experiment with the multi-layered harmonies that would be the trademark of pop-punk in the Nineties.

Green Day's second and final album with Lookout! Records, and much better quality than the first album off the Lookout! label (more funding went into this one). Includes first recording of the punk rock trio's hit 'Welcome To Paradise'. 'Christie Road' is a slower paced song about a place to escape to, much in the theme of the young Green Day. 'Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?', a song based on the main character in the classic book 'Catcher In The Rye' by J.D. Salinger, and The Monkees inspired 'Words I Might Have Ate' closes the album before the 4-track recording of the very early Green Day, Sweet Children. These and many more Green Day material make up the Kerplunk collection, which seem to be very much inspired by singer/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong's early musical interests. A fantastic Green Day album if you're into them, 'Kerplunk' has many punk-pop tunes that should keep you entertained until they release something new!