''39/Smooth'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Green Day, released on April 13, 1990, by

Lookout Records Lookout Records (stylized as Lookout! Records) was an independent record label, initially based in Laytonville, California and later in Berkeley, California, Berkeley, focusing on punk rock. Established in 1987, the label is best known for having ...

. It was the band's only album to feature second drummer

John Kiffmeyer John Kiffmeyer (born July 11, 1969), known professionally as Al Sobrante, is an American cinematographer and retired musician and songwriter. He is best known as the first drummer for the punk rock band Green Day. His stage name is a reference to ...

Jesse Michaels Jesse Michaels (born 1969) is an American songwriter, vocalist, guitarist, artist, and author from Berkeley, California. His lyrics deal with politics, racism, and general social issues. He is most well known as the vocalist for the ska punk ba ...

of Operation Ivy contributed the artwork on the album. The inner sleeve shows handwritten lyrics by

Billie Joe Armstrong Billie Joe Armstrong (born February 17, 1972) is an American musician who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Green Day, which he co-founded with Mike Dirnt in 1987. He is also a guitarist and vocalist for ...

and letters by drummer John Kiffmeyer and Lookout owner

Larry Livermore Lawrence Hayes (born October 28, 1947), better known by his stage name Larry Livermore, is an American singer, musician, record producer, and author, best known as the co-founder of Lookout Records. Biography In 1977, Hayes began to attend pun ...

to I.R.S. Records, rejecting a fake offer to sign to the label and declaring its loyalty to Lookout (however, the band would later leave the label and move to Reprise Records). There were no official singles released from the album, although "Going to Pasalacqua" was released as a mock-up single in a Green Day singles box set entitled ''Green Day: Ultimate Collectors''. ''39/Smooth'' was later re-released, along with the band's two previous extended plays '' 1,000 Hours'' and '' Slappy,'' and the song "I Want to Be Alone" (from ''The Big One,'' a compilation album released by Flipside Records in 1990) on the 1991 compilation '' 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours,'' which also used the same cover sleeve as ''39/Smooth''.

Release

''39/Smooth'' was released in 1990 and the first few releases were black vinyl. It was later released in green vinyl and only around 800 exist in green. The old pressings of the LP have the old Lookout Laytonville address on the back. Following a move from Laytonville to Berkeley in 1992, a change was made to the address listed on the jacket. The album was only modestly successful when initially released, selling just short of 3,000 copies for Lookout Records in its first year.Larry Livermore, "Life with Larry," ''Punk Planet,'' whole no. 13 (June–July 1996), pg. 19. While an insignificant sales count for a major label, this represented a healthy and profitable tally for the fledgling underground label. In the spring of 1994, following the release of ''

Dookie ''Dookie'' is the third studio album and the major label debut by American rock band Green Day, released on February 1, 1994, by Reprise Records. The band's first collaboration with producer Rob Cavallo, it was recorded in late 1993 at Fantas ...

,'' Green Day's first major label offering, Lookout's sales of the title reached the 55,000 mark.Larry Livermore, "Life with Larry," ''Maximum Rocknroll,'' whole no. 133 (June 1994), pg. 29. A CD version of the album has not been made, but the LP's contents were later featured on the compilation album ''1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours'', which was released in 1991. The compilation was re-released in a remastered form in 2004. It was re-released on CD on January 9, 2007, by Reprise Records, the label Green Day has been signed to since leaving Lookout!. Note that in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, the album was already re-released by

Epitaph Europe Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo band ...

, and has remained in print. It was reissued on

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from 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. No official singles were released from the album, but "Going to Pasalacqua" was released in a Green Day singles box set entitled ''Green Day: Ultimate Collectors''. “Disappearing Boy” was used as the backing track for the “Contests, Demos, Skate Parks” part in Plan B’s 1992 '' Questionable'' video at the height of Plan B’s success.

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

rated the album 3 out of 5, commenting that "39/Smooth isn't a truly great album in the first place. It's not bad, by any means, and quite arguably just about everything on it could be transposed with a slight aural tweak here and there to ''Kerplunk'', ''Dookie'', ''Insomniac'' or ''Nimrod'' without anyone batting an eye."

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

said that "It's raw stuff, but even at this point Green Day's records were at least halfway decently recorded, unlike most of their peers' tin-can-and-twine set-ups, and songs like 'At the Library' and 'Don't Leave Me' were downright hummable."

Track listing

Personnel

Green Day *

– lead vocals,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

Mike Dirnt Michael Ryan Pritchard (born May 4, 1972), better known by his stage name Mike Dirnt, is an American rock musician who is the co-founder, bassist, backing and occasional lead vocalist, and former guitarist of Green Day. He has also played in seve ...

– bass, backing vocals *

– drums, percussion, backing vocals Production * Andy Ernst – producer,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

* Green Day – producers * John Golden – mastering * Susie Grant – front cover photo *

– artwork * Pat Hynes – artwork, graphic design, layout design * Chris Appelgren; Aaron Cometbus; Rich Gargano; David Hayes – artwork * Murray Bowles; Arica Pelino – photography

References

{{Authority control Green Day albums 1990 debut albums Lookout! Records albums Albums produced by Andy Ernst Reprise Records albums Epitaph Records albums