ALBUM OF THE WEEK: BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG: NO FUN MONDAYS

If you want to be cynical, you can find plenty of bones to pick with this collection of covers.

First off, it’s a covers collection, and they tend to be kitschy at best. Secondly, Armstrong, best know for his day job leading mainstream punk-pop royalty Green Day doesn’t exactly take many risks–the songs don’t differ all that much from the originals. Third, all this stuff has been available elsewhere, as Armstrong spent the early weeks of the pandemic releasing a new track/video a week from his self-imposed quarantine. This just compiles them in one place. Lastly, I’m not sure Armstrong/Green Day have done anything that’s caught my attention since in well over a decade.

So the cynics who might want to write this off as an ego exercise by another member of the rock canon royalty have an easy target. As far as I’m concerned, this is no time to be cynical.

“No Fun Mondays” arrives as a breath of fresh air, much the same way Green Day’s juvenile masterpiece “Dookie” did more than a quarter century ago. 14 punk(ish) power-pop gems from a surprisingly wide range of sources rendered in winsomely wonderful (if occasionally overly-faithful) versions. There’s not an ounce of ironic detachment to be found here–just loving buzzsaw bubblegum tributes rendered from a true fan and offered with a generous spirit.

The biggest scores come from the poppiest influences. Things kick off with an irresistible take on Tommy James and the Shondell’s 60’s paen to teeniebopper romance”I Think We’re Alone Now” (no doubt filtered through Tiffany’s mall-pop cover) followed two tracks later by an even better romp through “Manic Monday”, the Prince-penned Bangles hit. Another winner is the left-field inclusion of “That’s Rock ‘N’ Roll” , a hit for mid-70’s teen heartthrob Shaun Cassidy (and written by the Raspberries’ Eric Carmen who knew a bit about the genre). Although lightweight, all are the work of top-notch songwriters and Armstrong’s irrepressibly energetic way with a melody and delightful inviting vocals are a perfect fit.

Elsewhere he pays tribute to some of his heroes with wholly credible takes on tracks from the indie-rock canon by Johnny Thunders (“You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory”) Wreckless Eric (“Whole Wide World) and Stiv Bators (“Not That Way Anymore”) as well as calling attention to more obscure acts like The Starjets and The Avengers.

Not everything works perfectly, He doesn’t have much to add to the ONE-ders “That Thing You Do” although the tune remains impossibly catchy. His version of John Lennon’s “Gimme Some Truth” owes more to the Generation X cover but Armstrong doesn’t have even the cartoon menace of Billy Idol’s vocal and his take on the Clash’s powered-up version of the reggae nugget “Police on my Back” lacks punch, but I’m nitpicking.

Taken on it’s own terms, “No Fun Mondays” is a blast. It will have you pogo-ing politely as you do the dishes or singing along unguardedly in the car and we all could use a little of that to get through pandemic fatigue? Is this an album I’ll be pulling out of the stacks six months or six years from now? Who knows? Who cares? It’s exactly what I needed this week and that’s more than enough to ask.

GRADE: A-