Weezer, (The Red Album)

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Weezer, (The Red Album)

POSTED: Monday, June 9, 2008, 5:52 PM

Filed Under: Music

Weezer
self-titled (The Red Album)
(Geffen)

As a devoted fan of a fan of a band hasn’t delivered a truly satisfying album since 1996, I highly anticipated Weezer’s third eponymous-titled and sixth studio album, Weezer (Red Album). Would eccentric frontman Rivers Cuomo execute a return to form?

The answer is no, followed by a snarky scoff.

Aside from the buzzsaw guitar-rocking single “Pork and Beans,” the album ostensibly consists of slower Death Cab-lite tracks that diverge from Weezer’s trademark power pop ballads. There’s the nostalgic “Heart Songs,” where Cuomo opens his 10-track mind to namedrop his favorite childhood artists (from “a Cat named Stevens” to ABBA) in a more forgettable version of the Blue Album’s “In the Garage.”

In a creative decision to play musical chairs with their instruments this time around, Cuomo’s vocals are MIA on several songs, which may distress fans. By the sixth track, Cuomo has vanished from the forefront, replaced by guitarist Brian Bell, and subsequently, bassist Steven Shriner, making the listener suspect they’ve been tricked into buying some band’s record.

Another curious exclusion is the absence of a single guitar solo, a reliable constant in their previous hit anthems.

The best thing one could say about Weezer (Red Album) is the band’s refusal to repeat themselves, which it could be argued the band has attempted unsuccessfully in the past. The Green Album tried to reproduce the good-natured gawkiness of the Blue Album. Maladroit aspired to duplicate the shrill punk-alt edge of Pinkerton. This time, it’s a new color but may be the wrong hue.

Jakob Dorof

Posted 2008-06-09 16:21:19

The fact is, if you aren't listening to the Deluxe version of this album, you're really missing out; Weezer is a band that has rolled over in the face of record label pressure ever since Pinkerton bombed, which is why, time after time, they've jettisoned an album session's best and most interesting songs in favor of marketability. Thankfully, at least this time, we get an additional four tracks that, on previous efforts, would've gone completely unheard...Scott's "King" is pretty forgettable (at least better than his main album contribution, the God awful "Cold Dark World"), but the other three songs -- all Cuomo tunes -- mark the best songs to be officially released by Weezer since 1996. "Miss Sweeney" (a companion to Blue-era classic "Susanne"), "Pig" (a decent studio rendering of one of the best songs Cuomo's ever written), and "The Spider" (an answer to "Butterfly") all sound like 90s-era Weezer, evolved. And they are all fucking excellent. Seriously, just get those three if nothing else...It's sincerely depressing to think how close the Weezer fanbase was to never hearing these brilliant recordings. As it is, this is a 2 (out of 5) star album â sub in those three songs for its three weakest tracks and you're looking at a 4. Oh, and I love "The Angel and the One," too. To argue some points you made: "Automatic" has a pretty killer solo. And Cuomo has gone on record to say that Green (vapid, formulaic, unfeeling radio fodder; he publicly stated that the lyrics "sucked" the week it was released) and Maladroit (craptastic imitation pop-metal) were never efforts to mimic '90s-era Weezer, but rather an actual conscious attempt to "kill the Weezer brand" that he was so disdainful of at the time.

Aly

Posted 2008-06-09 16:51:55

Oh, that stache on Rivers must go away. Now.

Posted 2008-06-09 17:41:34

agreed, aly. a-greed.

Steve

Posted 2008-06-12 10:25:21

Jakob, The Green album is awesome. Yeah it sounds like Rivers wasn't trying at all, but he could still write good songs. The new album is a disgrace.

Posted by mark maurer @ 5:52 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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