Weezer - Red Album Deluxe Version - Review
It was Monday, at work when someone sent me a link to an advance copy of Weezer’s album, also called the Red Album. I was very excited at the prospect of listening to Weezer’s newest tracks. The idea of hearing Rivers pour over his songs with his emo lyrical goo and air guitaring to the solo acts, were… lemme just say, I was long overdue for a new Weezer album. If you don’t know by know, Weezer is my favorite rock band of all time.
On Tuesday, June 3rd, having mixed feelings about the pirated album I heard, I drove to my local Best Buy and purchased the Deluxe Version of the album, sporting four extra tracks. I ripped the CD, made great sounding MP3’s with LAME 3.97 (I don’t like how iTunes rips CDs and those mp3s I heard were at 128kbps), adjusted my volume and I sat and listened to Weezer sixth and third self titled album, aka the Red Album.
“Troublemaker” begins with the catchy power pop sounds Weezer is recognized for. Reminiscent of the Blue Album’s first track, “My Name is Jonas”, this song helps introduce the Red Album’s overall theme, “we’re back, and we’re personal, take it or leave it.”
“The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)”, is where I start getting my doubts about this new direction Weezer is taking. The track begins with melodic piano intro segueing into Rivers rapping, yes that’s right rapping, over a police siren sound bit. This is where I took a step back and readjusted my ears to what I was hearing. It wasn’t getting much better as the song continued on its path of changing bars and musical styles every so often, Midway into the six-minute track the song explodes into a Rivers falsetto and hard rocking melodies, suggestive of Green Day’s rock opera, American Idiot. My favorite lines, “… Act II, I hit the big time/ And bodies be all up on my behind/ And I can’t help myself/ Cuz I was born to shine/ If you don’t like it you can shove it/ But you don’t like it, you love it…” As grandiose as this song gets, it’s always infused with Weezer mannerisms and hard riffs.
“Pork and Beans”, the single launched weeks before the album release, is the stereotypical Weezer fluff song created with the sole intent of shoving pop down the mouths of young teens across America. It’s great fun song, with a very catchy chorus, and yes Rivers even throws in the words, “I don’t give a hoot.”
“Heart Songs”, which I give top marks for, is a typical Rivers song, with references to artists and their hit songs, written masterfully and arranged to bring those memories flooding back to the front of the cortex. According to the booklet accompanied with the Deluxe Version album I bought, Rivers got the notion of writing a song about all the music he remembers listening to while growing up. “Heart Songs” ends up being a very personal song and if you didn’t grow up listening to those songs like Rivers, well you’re simply not gonna relate to “Heart Songs” at all.
“Everybody Gets Dangerous” is probably my least favorite track of the album. It really seems like a pop/albym filler to me, that’s not to say the track isn’t Weezer at all. The track is full of hard riffs, and great power chords. However, I feel that between the third verse and the last chorus, really should have been left on the chopping block, a 26 second note holding Rivers isn’t necessarily a good thing, anytime.
“Dreamin’” would have to be this album’s fluffiest track. If “Holiday” from the Blue Album mated with “Smile” from the Green Album, this track would be it’s offspring. I do have to say, great background vocals on this track.
“Thought I Knew” is a first on any Weezer album; Rivers isn’t main vocals. The song was written by guitarist Brian Bell and sang by Brain as well, with Rivers on the drums and Pat on guitars, in Brain stead. The song has very strong message and fantastic guitar work; the song could very well draw intrigue from the most die hard indie rockers out there. Personally I think it’s great the Weezer members swapped instruments, Brain vocals really and depth to this already good song.
“Cold Dark World”, begins with another rapping session for but not from Rivers, it’s actually Scott Shriner the bassist, who also takes a writing credit for the track. This is another one of least favorite tracks; it just doesn’t have that polished Weezer feel to it.
“Automatic” the third back-to-back track not featuring Rivers as lead vocals was written and sung by drummer Pat Wilson. Again, I’m gonna have to say not a favorite for me, and it feels like this song is another album filler. The guitars, played by Pat also, are clean and the riffs are hard and shredding, but it lacks the polished Weezer feeling mentioned earlier.
“The Angel and the One”, the album closer begins with a lot of potential to being my favorite track on the entire album, in fact… I’m gonna listen to it a few times before I continue. Ok people, if you’re a fan of the Blue Album’s “Only in Dreams” you’re going to love this song. The song begins with slow acoustic strumming followed by Rivers lines, “It’s not my destiny to be the one that you will lay with/ So many reasons why I have to go but want to stay here…” I could already feel the build up on this track. Soon after Pat’s cymbals and snare and soon after the kick drum chime in. Slowly all the instruments make their appearance, with an organ in the background making it presence known fully by the bridge of the song. The song’s climax culminates and fades into blissful obscurity.
Bonus Tracks found on the Deluxe Album: “Miss Sweeney” another track that begins with a semi-rapping tones, at first I roll my eyes as I listen to this track, but the bridge, the songs picks up immensely and blossoms into a authentic Weezer love ballad ala the Blue Album years. The drums are on point; the vocals end up being spot on and the catchy chorus, guitar riffs, and the background vocals are simply not to be messed with.
“Pig”, I harbor mixed feelings about this song. I didn’t like the execution of the song at the beginning of the track, however the vocals lead into a rich full sound by mid song. I dig the overall sad tone to the song and reminds of River’s Pinkerton work.
“The Spider” is a beautiful acoustic song, which only Rivers and the Weezer crew can execute. The drawback of this song is ethereal/heavenly theme and reverb put on the voices. I think this song would have worked beautifully just as an acoustic piece.
“King” written by Rivers but sung my Scott Shriner begins as what could be an acoustic masterpiece, but instead turns into a full band song worthy of being on the actual album. I would gladly give up “Automatic” or “Cold Dark World” in lieu if this track. The chords are rich and full and Scott’s gritty vocals complement this track perfectly. With lyrics like, “You see, I own this town. You best not be coming around./ If you wanna get by, then cool it down./ If you wanna start something, know one thing: I’m king.”, leaves a no frills meaning to this song.
In conclusion, a solid performance from Weezer on this album with its guitar shredding and its poppy lyrics, infused with both comical and personal tones, will always define and set Weezer apart from the rest of super saturated power pop, punk, and emo bands since the Blue Album’s 1994 release to 2008. Although I don’t agree with some decisions the band made in song choice and lead vocals, I do admit that Weezer has grown immensely from the Blue Album years, and this album only solidifies Weezer as band willing to make changes to their sound and style while staying true to power pop genre of yesteryear. =w= for life.
