There was a unified sense of acceptance and belonging invoked as Weezer front man, Rivers Cuomo, and his band earnestly pleaded, "Do you believe what I sing now?" in their epic 1995 self-titled debut. That was one of the many memorable moments that characterized the album and stamped a new label into the rock and roll world: "geek" rock.
I believed what they sang and so did hordes of other angst-ridden teens as Weezer's self-titled first release (and what fans refer to as the Blue Album ) propelled the band into platinum selling success and nestled the record high on many "Best Album" lists.
Now, Weezer has returned with their sixth studio release (and third color-coated release following 2001's Green Album ), the self-titled, yet nicknamed in tradition, the Red Album because of its all red color.
The catchy radio hit single Pork and Beans is, as the story goes, Cuomo's rebellious response to Geffen Records' insistence that Weezer produce a commercial hit. The song drives forward with a minimal, fuzzy four-note guitar line that builds alongside a chirping piano, and a nice vocal hum before it unleashes into a classic explosive chorus. "Ima do the things that I wanna do, I ain't got a thing to prove to you," Cuomo mocks as the song is reminiscent of the band's earlier glory with grungy guitars and a driving single kick drum beat driving the chorus all the way to the end.
Unfortunately for old Weezer fans, Pork and Beans is one–of-a-kind on the Red Album. The disc fends off any inkling of an organic sound with a heavy production barrage of synthesizers, piano, drum machines, and multilayered vocals. All the "geek" rock charm and catchy pop, punk riffs that made Weezer an alt rock icon are instead replaced by a handful of stadium rock sounds that blandly translate into an uneventful experience.
For example, the first track on the album is Troublemaker, in which Cuomo matches tired guitars to tired ideas, singing: "Movies are as bad as chocolate ice cream" and "Don't let me play football, I'll sack the quarterback."
The band members appear especially unsure of themselves and desperate for material on Everybody Get Dangerous, where Weezer recycles a thin repetitious 1970s lick into an even cheesier chorus when the front man seems all too out of place singing, "Everybody get dangerous." Overall, the Red Album is yet another Weezer release that hints at having elements akin to its 14-year-old counterpart, the Blue Album, but fails to deliver the originality and relevance that launched the band.
Feeds