A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…there were four young boys that sang really cool songs about sweaters, surfing and Buddy Holly. Seven years later they became absolute megastars. That band’s name? Weezer.
After the release of this years ‘The Green Album’ and the stupendous ‘Pinkerton’ it’s pretty easy to forget about Weezer‘s first release. Mainly because it was released way back in 1994, way before the real pop-punk explosion and riding high on the wave of the grunge explosion that came right out of Seattle. But four spritely young scamps from the good ol’ USA released a single, and its accompanying video, that grabbed the attention of many a music fan and gave it a good shake. Weezer were here.
Let me start how I mean to go on. ‘The Blue Album’ is an absolute classic. But, it’s not as good as ‘Pinkerton’ or the bands newest release. If neither had been released, you’re looking at a bona-fide 5 star effort. But Weezer have somehow managed to better every single effort that they have done so far.
The CD kicks off with the anthemic ‘My name Is Jonas,’ which is now pretty much legendary in Weezer folklore. Rivers Cuomo somehow manages to coax the pop part out of every single melody and riff, and what a finer example to kick off than this? ‘No One Else’ is your basic riffy rock effort, which is Weezer-by-numbers to the critics, and a great song to the fans. I kind of lie in between with this one, mainly because I’m a Weezer fan, and because, hey, I’m a music critic!
‘The World Has Turned And Left Me Here’ has a beautiful accoustic overlay on top of the guitar riff, giving it a really three dimensional sense. Plus it’s as catchy as hell. If you’ve never heard ‘Buddy Holly’ then you must have been sharing a cave with Osama Bin Laden. And the Happy Days inspired video is still perhaps the finest music video that MTV has ever seen. It’s kookie, it’s kitsch, it’s cool. And I think that about sums Weezer up perfectly.
The second single from the album, and another MTV fave, was ‘Undone – the Sweater Song’ and despite its rather bizarre title, it’s another top track. It starts off with what appears to be faulty drumming, followed by a slow introductory riff. And when Rivers opens his mouth it really does hit the spot. So many bands will credit Weezer as influences and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out why. “Watch me unravel, I’ll soon be naked,” Rivers tells us, and I’m sure many Weezer nuts would pay to do so. The guy is a genius.
Surfing is a cool California past-time, and ‘Surf Wax America’ opens up with a cracking arpeggioed riff. More up-tempo than the previous track too, it rocks yet still has a huge catchy hook. ‘Say It Ain’t So’ is one of the greatest ’emo’ songs ever written. A huge thudding chorus is preceeded by a thoughful and angst-ridden verse. Deftones fans really should check out their version as that rocks too. If you’re not singing “say it ain’t so” by the end of the track, then I’m afraid I’ll have to diagnose you deaf. ‘In The Garage’ has a fuzzed-up opening riff that recounts all the members of Kiss, and describes Rivers’ bedroom walls. Did I hear that word anthem mentioned again? ‘Holiday’ is another cool song, even if the melodic “heartbeat” bits do sound a little bit cliched. But what the heck, it doesn’t make it a bad song, just weaker than the rest that’s all. ‘Only In Dreams’ is nothing short of breathtaking. Brooding and heart-wrenching throughout its 8 minutes, it is one hell of an album closer.
So, why does it lose half a star? Well, it’s only ten songs. And, it’s not quite as good as ‘The Green Album’. But these are the only two reasons. This is an absolute classic. Buy, buy, buy.
Oh, and if anyone from the Weezer camp happens to read this, please come back to the UK and play those gigs you cancelled, like you promised…
Paul Savage