Awesome as Fuck (marketed as Awesome as F**k, Awesome as ****, or Awesome: Live[4]) is a live album by American rock band Green Day, released on March 22, 2011, by Reprise Records.[5][6] The album is composed of tracks recorded during Green Day's 2009–10 21st Century Breakdown World Tour in support of their eighth studio album 21st Century Breakdown (2009). It includes a DVD of a concert recorded at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.[6] It is also available in Blu-ray.[7]

Awesome as Fuck
Live album by
ReleasedMarch 22, 2011 (2011-03-22)
Recorded2009–2010
VenueSaitama Super Arena, Saitama
Genre
Length146:56 (CD + DVD or Blu Ray)
LabelReprise
ProducerGreen Day
Green Day chronology
American Idiot: The Original Broadway Cast Recording
(2010)
Awesome as Fuck
(2011)
¡Uno!
(2012)
Singles from Awesome as Fuck
  1. "Cigarettes and Valentines (Live)"
    Released: February 21, 2011 (promo)[2]
  2. "21 Guns (Live)"
    Released: 2011 (promo)[3]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic64/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic     [9]
The A.V. ClubB[10]
Consequence of SoundC+[11]
Entertainment WeeklyC[12]
Kerrang!     [13]
Mojo     [14]
PopMatters          [15]
Q     [16]
Rolling Stone     [17]
Sputnikmusic2/5[1]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 64, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[8] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic remarked that Awesome as Fuck "satisfies without surprising [...] The set list is a good mix that leans heavily on Green Day's new millennium standards and the bandmembers never sound tired playing: they hit their marks with enthusiasm, which is enough to make Awesome as F**k fun, if not quite a live album for the ages."[9] David Fricke of Rolling Stone commented "This set is a contagious account of the power-fun streak that still runs through the band even after the two punk operas [...] Billie Joe Armstrong thoroughly enjoys his spotlight: shouting, cursing and letting audiences take whole verses of 'American Idiot' and 'Good Riddance.' And drummer Tré Cool is way up in the mix, channeling the Clash's Topper Headon and the Who's Keith Moon with precise demonic glee."[17]

Chris Conaton of PopMatters said that the album "has a bit of the odor of a record-company stopgap about it", noting the five-year gap between the band's last two studio albums, American Idiot (2004) and 21st Century Breakdown (2009), that was filled by the live album and DVD Bullet in a Bible (2005).[15] He noted that the band was "at least trying to do something different" with this second live album: Bullet in a Bible's album and video documented a single two-night stand in England, while Awesome as Fuck's album draws from sixteen different concerts around the world and the video is taken from a single show.[15] He also remarked that the album's track list contains "treats for longtime fans" in the form of "some of the band's lesser singles and even some deep album tracks"—including the previously unreleased "Cigarettes and Valentines" and the older tracks "Burnout", "Going to Pasalacqua", "J.A.R.", and "Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?"—saying "It's this quintet of songs that really sets Awesome as F**k apart and gives it a kick as a live set."[15] He criticized the fact that hearing the songs played live was not that different from hearing the studio recordings, calling them "generally the same beyond Armstrong telling the crowd to sing this part or that" and remarking that Green Day's arena show is "a wonderful experience in person, but it understandably loses something in the translation to CD and DVD."[15]

Track listing

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[6][9]

Album

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All lyrics are written by Billie Joe Armstrong except where noted; all music is composed by Green Day (Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool) except where noted

No.TitleLocationLength
1."21st Century Breakdown"Wembley Stadium, London, England (June 19, 2010)5:51
2."Know Your Enemy"Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester, England (June 16, 2010)4:50
3."East Jesus Nowhere"Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, Glasgow, Scotland (June 21, 2010)5:09
4."Holiday"Marlay Park, Dublin, Republic of Ireland (June 23, 2010)4:16
5."¡Viva la Gloria!"SuperPages.com Center, Dallas, Texas, United States (August 26, 2010)4:12
6."Cigarettes and Valentines"Cricket Wireless Pavilion, Phoenix, Arizona, United States (August 30, 2010)2:44
7."Burnout"Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Irvine, California, United States (August 31, 2010)2:16
8."Going to Pasalacqua" (music by Armstrong, Dirnt, and John Kiffmeyer)Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre, Chula Vista, California, United States (September 2, 2010)4:02
9."J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva)" (lyrics by Dirnt)DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkston, Michigan, United States (August 23, 2010)2:44
10."Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?"Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States (July 28, 2009)3:22
11."Geek Stink Breath"Saitama Super Arena, Chūō-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan (January 23, 2010)2:07
12."When I Come Around"O2 World, Berlin, Germany (October 7, 2009)3:11
13."She"Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (December 8, 2009)2:40
14."21 Guns"Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, California, United States (September 4, 2010)5:56
15."American Idiot"Quai Jacques-Cartier, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (August 21, 2010)4:23
16."Wake Me Up When September Ends"Pannonia Fields II, Nickelsdorf, Burgenland, Austria (June 12, 2010)3:11
17."Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)"Pannonia Fields II, Nickelsdorf, Burgenland, Austria (June 12, 2010)3:00
Total length:63:46
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLocationLength
18."Letterbomb"Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre, Chula Vista, California, United States (September 2, 2010)4:34
19."Christie Road"XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut, United States (July 24, 2009)4:01
Total length:72:21
iTunes deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLocationLength
20."Paper Lanterns / 2,000 Light Years Away" ("Paper Lanterns" music by Armstrong, Dirnt, and Kiffmeyer "2,000 Light Years Away" music composed by Green Day, Jesse Michaels, Pete Rypins and Dave "E.C." Henwood)Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Alpharetta, Georgia, United States (August 9, 2010)6:00
Total length:78:21

Video

edit

All lyrics are written by Billie Joe Armstrong except where noted; all music is composed by Green Day (Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool) except where noted

Live at the Saitama Super Arena, Chūō-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan on January 23 & 24, 2010
No.TitleLength
1."21st Century Breakdown" 
2."Know Your Enemy" 
3."East Jesus Nowhere" 
4."Holiday" 
5."The Static Age" 
6."¡Viva la Gloria!" 
7."Boulevard of Broken Dreams" 
8."Burnout" 
9."Geek Stink Breath" 
10."Welcome to Paradise" 
11."When I Come Around" 
12."My Generation" (music and lyrics by Pete Townshend, originally performed by The Who) 
13."She" 
14."21 Guns" 
15."American Eulogy" 
16."Jesus of Suburbia" 
17."Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" 
Live at the Cricket Wireless Pavilion, Phoenix, Arizona on August 30, 2010
No.TitleLength
18."Cigarettes and Valentines" 

80 Mins Approx.

Personnel

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[18]

Charts

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Weekly chart performance for Awesome as Fuck
Chart (2011) Peak
position
Argentinean Albums (CAPIF)[19] 1
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] 69
Australian Music DVD (ARIA)[21] 1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[22] 8
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[23] 19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[24] 20
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[25] 12
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[26] 17
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[27] 9
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[28] 20
French Albums (SNEP)[29] 16
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[30] 5
Greek Albums (IFPI Greece)[31] 9
Hungarian Albums (Mahasz)[32] 12
Irish Albums (IRMA)[33] 9
Italian Albums (FIMI)[34] 4
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[35] 11
Mexican Albums (AMPROFON)[34] 12
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[36] 4
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[37] 17
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[38] 8
Scottish Albums (OCC)[39] 9
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[40] 5
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[41] 9
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[42] 11
UK Albums (OCC)[43] 14
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[44] 1
US Billboard 200[45] 14
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[46] 4

Certifications and sales

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Certifications and sales for Awesome as Fuck (album)
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[47] Gold 100,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Certifications and sales for Awesome as Fuck (video album)
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[48] Gold 25,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Green Day: Awesome as Fuck". Sputnikmusic. April 16, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  2. ^ Cigarettes and Valentines (track listing). Green Day. Reprise Records. 2011.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ 21 Guns (track listing). Green Day. Reprise Records. 2011.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ^ "Green Day: Awesome Live - Channel 4". www.channel4.com. Archived from the original on April 25, 2011.
  5. ^ Rutherford, Kevin (January 10, 2011). "Green Day Confirms Awesome as F**k Live Album in New Trailer". Billboard. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
  6. ^ a b c "Green Day to Release Live Album – Awesome as Fuck – on March 22nd, 2011, on Reprise Records". greenday.com. Green Day. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
  7. ^ "Green Day: Awesome as F**k Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  8. ^ a b "Reviews for Awesome As F**k By Green Day". Metacritic. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  9. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Review: Awesome as F**k". Allmusic. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
  10. ^ Murray, Noel (March 22, 2011). "Awesome as F**k". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  11. ^ Gerber, Justin (April 5, 2017). "Green Day – Awesome as F**k". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  12. ^ Kot, Greg (March 17, 2011). "Awesome as F---". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  13. ^ "Green Day: Awesome as Fuck". Kerrang!: 50. March 19, 2011.
  14. ^ "Green Day: Awesome as F**k". Mojo: 105. May 2011.
  15. ^ a b c d e Conaton, Chris (March 23, 2011). "Review: Awesome as F**k". PopMatters. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
  16. ^ "Green Day: Awesome as F**k". Q: 124. May 2011.
  17. ^ a b Fricke, David (March 22, 2011). "Review: Awesome as F**k". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
  18. ^ Awesome as Fuck (CD/DVD booklet). Green Day. Burbank, California: Reprise Records. 2011. 526235-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ "Argentine – Top Album Chart". Allcharts.org. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  20. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 28 March 2011" (PDF). The ARIA Report. No. 1100. Australian Recording Industry Association. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 30, 2011. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  21. ^ Top 40 DVD Chart – Australian Record Industry Association Archived February 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Green Day – Awesome As F**k" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  23. ^ "Ultratop.be – Green Day – Awesome As F**k" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  24. ^ "Ultratop.be – Green Day – Awesome As F**k" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  25. ^ "Green Day Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  26. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Green Day – Awesome As F**k". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  27. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Green Day – Awesome As F**k" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  28. ^ "Green Day: Awesome As Fuck" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  29. ^ "Lescharts.com – Green Day – Awesome As F**k". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  30. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Green Day – Awesome As F**k" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  31. ^ "Top 75 COMBINED REPERTOIRE (ALBUMS) – Ελληνικο Chart". Ifpi.gr. Archived from the original on August 6, 2003. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  32. ^ "MAHASZ – Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége". mahasz.hu. Retrieved March 31, 2011.
  33. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Green Day". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  34. ^ a b "Italiancharts.com – Green Day – Awesome As F**k". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  35. ^ "Green Day - Awesome as F**k - Oricon Style". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  36. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Green Day – Awesome As F**k". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  37. ^ "Official Retail Sales Chart - Top 100". Polish Music Charts (in Polish). ZPAV. Archived from the original on April 7, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  38. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Green Day – Awesome As F**k". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  39. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  40. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Green Day – Awesome As F**k". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  41. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Green Day – Awesome As F**k". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  42. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Green Day – Awesome As F**k". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  43. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  44. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  45. ^ "Green Day Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  46. ^ "Green Day Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  47. ^ "British album certifications – Green Day – Awesome As Fuck". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  48. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Green Day; 'Awesome As Fuck')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved July 14, 2022.