This review covers the punk rock track Green Day – Nice Guys Finish Last.
This track was released in 1997 on the album Nimrod.
The track starts with a drum roll. From there, the lead guitars then come in. The lead guitars drop out and a secondary guitar comes in. The vocals then come in for a verse. As the verse progresses, the lead guitars come in.
After that, the vocals take the track into the main chorus. Backup vocals also join the main vocals at this point as well.
The lead guitars then drop out partially as the vocals take the track into the next verse. When the backup vocals come back, the track is led into the main chorus. This section is followed up by an instrumental section.
After this, the vocals take the track into another round in the main chorus. From there, the lead guitars lead the track out.
For me, a strength in this track lies in the overall concept of the track. It is expressed nicely through the lyrics.
Another strength in this track is the guitars. The lead and secondary guitars sound quite well done. On the one hand, they really carry through that upbeat sound Green Day is known for. On the other hand, I’m not entirely sure it fits the lyrical theme of this track. Don’t get me wrong, the guitars sound great here, but it’s the thematic conflict that I’m unsure about.
Meanwhile, the length is pretty much borderline. It is definitely on the shorter side of things, but I’m willing to let that slide in this case. The reason is that if this track was over three minutes long, I’m thinking it would run into issues of it wearing out it’s welcome part way through.
Overall, this is an alright track. It has a well thought out concept through the lyrics. The guitars sound pretty good as it does catch that style this band is known for. My problem is the clash of themes between the upbeat guitars and the lyrics. Still, it’s a decent enough track, so it gets a thumbs up from me.
Score
7/10
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Facebook.
