Various Artists : Pickin On Green Day

Honeywagon has been one of the better trios cranking out these bluegrass tributes to pop bands for CMH Records. See Grass Stains, their fun run through blink-182's catalog, as proof. Green Day gets the treatment here, and for what it is, Green Day Blue Grass (natch!) is enjoyable enough. Principal vocalist Bryan Clark has an engaging warmth in his voice; he sounds like a bluegrass singer and not a wannabe Buzzcock from the Bay Area, but Clark matches Billie Joe Armstrong's youthful exuberance note for note. The mandolin and banjo work is strong throughout, particularly on 'Welcome to Paradise' and 'F.O.D.,' and Honeywagon's harmonies sweeten up even the apathetic tallywacker fantasy 'Longview.' 'Good Riddance' -- easily one of the most overplayed songs of the 1990s -- doesn't do anyone any favors here. But Green Day's underrated 2000 single 'Warning' works great in the bluegrass context. Green Day Blue Grass is definitely a novelty. But at least it's a well-played novelty. ~ Johnny Loftus, Rovi