1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours

1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours is a compilation album comprising early recordings by American rock band Green Day, released October 1, 1991, on Lookout Records. Often erroneously referred to as the band's debut album, the compilation combines the band's actual debut 39/Smooth (1990) and its first two EPs 1,000 Hours (1989) and Slappy (1990) (all currently out of print), as suggested by the amalgamation of the titles of the debut album and two EPs for the resulting compilation album. The album includes one cover, "Knowledge" (originally from the Slappy EP), which was originally by influential California punk band Operation Ivy, whose singer, Jesse Michaels, contributed the artwork for the album. The cover art features the same image from 39/Smooth.

1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours
A photograph of a woman stood in a park with the band's name in the top-right corner and the release's along the bottom
Compilation album by
ReleasedOctober 1, 1991 (1991-10-01)
RecordedDecember 1988 – April 20, 1990
StudioArt of Ears Studios, San Francisco, California
Genre
Length56:15
Label
Producer
Green Day chronology
Sweet Children
(1990)
1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours
(1991)
Kerplunk
(1991)

Lookout re-released the album in 2004 with special limited packaging and all-new enhanced CD-ROM features, including live performances and pictures. The album was re-issued in the same packaging in 2007 through Reprise Records after Green Day pulled the album, along with the remainder of the band's catalog previously released through Lookout, from the label in August 2005 due to unpaid royalties.

1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours has been certified Gold in the U. S. by the RIAA; according to Nielsen SoundScan, it has sold 632,000 copies in the U. S. as of August 2010.[2] The album was certified Gold in the UK on July 22, 2013, representing sales of at least 100,000 copies. It has sold more than 2 million copies worldwide.[3]

Release

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Initially released in 1991 through Lookout! Records (despite the 1990 copyright date on the album), the label re-issued the album in a remastered form in 2004.[4] It was re-released on CD on January 9, 2007, by Reprise Records, the label Green Day has been signed to since leaving Lookout!.[5] In Europe, the album was already re-released by Epitaph Europe, and has remained in print. It was reissued on vinyl on March 24, 2009, by Reprise in a package containing the original 10-song 39/Smooth LP along with reissues of the 1,000 Hours and Slappy EPs.[6] On the 2009 reissues, the song "I Want to Be Alone" is omitted.

Composition

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Musically, the record has been labeled as punk rock,[7][8][9][4][10] pop-punk,[11][12][13][14] and skate punk.[15]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [16]
Alternative Press     [17]
Blender     [18]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [10]
Pitchfork6.2/10[8]
Punknews     [19]
Robert Christgau [20]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide     [9]
Sputnikmusic3/5[14]

Reviews of 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours were largely mixed; for example, The New Rolling Stone Album Guide gave it 2.5 out of 5 stars.[9] Brad of Punknews.org gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars, writing, "All in all, this album succeeds at being quite good. It shows obvious influences from the Clash and the Ramones, and is a good debut for a young band that would later change the course of Punk Rock forever by opening the floodgates for New School bands."[19]

Track listing

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

39/Smooth (1990)
No.TitleLyricsLength
1."At the Library" 2:26
2."Don't Leave Me" 2:37
3."I Was There"John Kiffmeyer3:36
4."Disappearing Boy" 2:52
5."Green Day" 3:29
6."Going to Pasalacqua" 3:30
7."16" 3:24
8."Road to Acceptance" 3:35
9."Rest" 3:05
10."The Judge's Daughter" 2:34

All lyrics are written by Billie Joe Armstrong, except where noted; all music is composed by Green Day, except where noted

Slappy EP (1990)
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
11."Paper Lanterns"  2:23
12."Why Do You Want Him?"  2:31
13."409 in Your Coffeemaker"  2:52
14."Knowledge" (Operation Ivy cover)Jesse MichaelsOperation Ivy2:19

All lyrics are written by Billie Joe Armstrong, except where noted; all music is composed by Green Day

1,000 Hours EP (1989)
No.TitleLyricsLength
15."1,000 Hours" 2:25
16."Dry Ice" 3:45
17."Only of You" 2:47
18."The One I Want"
  • Armstrong
  • Dirnt
3:01
No.TitleLength
19."I Want to Be Alone" (from The Big One compilation by Flipside Records, omitted from 2009 reissues)3:09
Total length:56:15
Deluxe version
No.TitleLength
20."Studio Banter" (Interview)2:56
21."One for the Razorbacks" (Live from WMMR)1:25
22."Paper Lanterns" (Live from WMMR)1:36
23."Words I Might Have Ate" (Live from WMMR)1:46

Personnel

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Green Day

Additional performers

  • Aaron Cometbus – backing vocals on Slappy EP tracks, "teeth" on "Knowledge"

Production

Charts

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Chart (1995) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[21] 176

Certification

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[22] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "Green Day - 1,039 / Smoothed Out Slappy Hours". Epitaph Records. Archived from the original on 2012-06-29. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  2. ^ Grein, Paul. "Week Ending Aug. 8, 2008: Taylor Swift Returns (Comments by Paul Grein)". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 29 April 2011.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "From Paul McCartney to Madonna, the BPI's iconic Platinum, Gold and Silver Certified Awards have long been presented to music artists to celebrate major record sales milestones. Originally introduced in 1973, more than 9,000 awards have been issued to date during their illustrious 40 year history". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 2013-01-24. Retrieved 2015-09-24.
  4. ^ a b "Lookout! downsizes, scales back plans for the future". Punknews.org. August 2005. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  5. ^ "1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours Music: Green Day". Amazon.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  6. ^ "Green Day Reissuing 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours and Kerplunk". Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  7. ^ Myers, Ben (May 26, 2005). Green Day - American Idiots & The New Punk Explosion. John Blake. ISBN 9781784189433. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  8. ^ a b "1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours Review". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  9. ^ a b c Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Green Day". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 347. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  10. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  11. ^ Raub, Jesse (2010-06-22). "GREEN DAY – 1,039/SMOOTHED OUT SLAPPY HOURS". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on 2021-12-08. Retrieved 2021-12-08. 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours shows the band using upbeat three-chord pop-punk songs to manifest their scorned love, budding alienation and youthful scrappiness
  12. ^ Ryan, Kyle (2019-05-19). "Green Day: 21st Century Breakdown". AV Club. Archived from the original on 2021-12-08. Retrieved 2021-12-08. playing dopey pop-punk on an even-dopier-titled 1991 disc (1,039/Smooth Out Slappy Hours)
  13. ^ "Green Day - 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours (reissue)". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  14. ^ a b Adam Downer (2 November 2005). "Green Day: 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  15. ^ "Green Day: Worst to Best". IGN. 12 May 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2022. Naturally, this is Green Day at its least refined, and therein lies its charm and primary appeal. 39/Smooth is honest skateboard punk.
  16. ^ "1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  17. ^ Raub, Jesse (22 June 2010). "Green Day 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  18. ^ "1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours Review". Blender.[permanent dead link]
  19. ^ a b Brad (21 May 2002). "1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours (1991)". Punknews.org. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  20. ^ "Green Day Review". Robert Christgau. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  21. ^ "Green Day ARIA chart history (albums) to 2024". ARIA. Retrieved July 21, 2024 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  22. ^ "American album certifications – Green Day – 1039/SMOOTHED OUT SLAPPY HOURS". Recording Industry Association of America.
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