Product Description

Weezer, the quirky Californian pop-rock veterans, return with their sixth studio album, and their third to be self-titled (although, like previous eponymous efforts, a subtitle has been attached, in this case 'The Red Album'). Produced by the band itself, Rick Rubin and Jacknife Lee and featuring songwriting contributions from all the band members for the first time, this is possibly the most collaborative, band-orientated recording Weezer have made. Frontman Rivers Cuomo isstill very much at the centre, tirelessly emoting and listing his influences in 'Heart Songs', and laying into the band's record label on 'Pork And Beans' after they demanded thatmore commercial material be present on the album. 'The Red Album' may not convert too many newcomers, but the die-hard fans will be delighted by this continuation of the Weezer saga.

Track Listing

1. Troublemaker
2. The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)
3. Pork And Beans
4. Heart Songs
5. Everybody Get Dangerous
6. Dreamin'
7. Thought I Knew
8. Cold Dark World
9. Automatic
10. The Angel And The One/Non Musical Silence
11. The Weight
12. Life Is What You Make It

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #829 in Music
• Released on: 2008-06-16
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 64 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Early word on the sixth album from Weezer--and their third self-titled record, although fans, sensibly, are referring to it as 'The Red Album'--is that this is their 'experimental' record. Luckily, Rivers Cuomo isn’t interested in penning his own jazz odyssey; for him, experimental is just finding cunning ways to nuance Weezer’s stock-in-trade--crunchy, candy-sweet guitars and vocal harmonies--with new pop tricks. The sardonic lyric of "Pork and Beans" hints at a new direction: "Timabaland knows the way to reach the top of the charts," Cuomo sings, "maybe if I work with him I can perfect the art". Actually, Timbaland’s not on board, but producer Jacknife Lee brings a variety of drum machines and electronics, and Weezer rise to the challenge with some generally inspired messing around. "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Theme)" sees Cuomo adopt a gangsta rap slur over screaming sirens, while elsewhere, the other three Weezer members take a turn at the microphone. But it’s Cuomo’s songs that are the winners--notably "Heart Songs", a tribute to the songs that "never feel wrong" that swoops from melodic schmaltz to grunge scuzz with a deft invocation of Nirvana. Skip to the bonus tracks, meanwhile, for a great cover of "The Weight" that takes The Band’s original and drenches it in chundering guitars.--Louis Pattison

Customer Reviews

If you like Weezer, you'll LOVE most of this
Or the "Red Album" if you're losing track as this is the third self-titled Weezer album out of six. It's also the first since the debut (the Blue Album for those keeping track) to see Rivers Cuomo slightly loosen his autocratic leading of the band to let his bandmates show us their own songwriting chops.

Things didn't seem all that promising at first; not only were there rumours that this album was to see a highly experimental Weezer but record label Geffen were apparently of the opinion that the album didn't have any hits on it. The result was Pork and Beans, the album's lead single and one written entirely as a sly knock to the label's opinions. "Timbaland knows the way to reach the top of the charts" sneers Cuomo, "maybe if I work with him I can perfect the art". Ironically, of course, it turned out to be Weezer's biggest American hit in years.

Long-term Weezer fans are certainly catered for here; alongside Pork and Beans the likes of Troublemaker are the catchy pop nuggets you've come to love.

That said, there are definite departures from what you might expect. Heartsongs, which sees Cuomo list the songs and artists that have shaped his musical identity may eventually "rock out" but it's lilting and saccharine sounds take some getting used to. Nothing I write could amply explain The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations On A Shaker Hymn) to you but if you imagine six minutes of sonic eccentricity that takes in such different musical styles as metal, hip-hop, male voice choir, folk and glam rock then you get some idea of the huge scale we're talking about. More amazingly, it's a catchy track too.

Of the band members contributions, I Thought I Knew is passable, but nowhere near becoming a Weezer classic, Cold Dark World is plodding and only drummer Patrick Wilson's Automatic comes close to matching the best of what Cuomo can deliver.

Naturally, the "Red Album" is no Pinkerton (still Weezer's finest collective moment for me) but, to put it into perspective, it's nowhere near the disappointment that was Maladroit. It might not convert to many new listeners to Weezer, but those of us that have been with them for over a decade will find much to enjoy on this fine collection

A treat: weezer has grown musically - and become even better
'The Red Album' is weezer's masterpiece so far. Don't let it fool you that the opener 'Troublemaker' is an archetype of the dynamic and melodic power rock known so well from earlier releases, 'cause what follows adds new and surprising dimensions to weezer's style. The second track 'The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations On A Shaker Hymn)' plays with the surprised but spoiled listener in its style variations based on the same rough yet harmonious theme and is, in my opinion, not only weezer's best composition ever, but no less than one of the most surprising, catchiest and simply... best rock songs released in years!

Yes, you read right: weezer goes from straight-forward melodic rock craftmanship to boasting out their musical talents in touching semi-epic progressive rock. From the 3-minute outbursts, they even dabble with songs twice as long. The other - brillliant - example is 'The Angel And The One'.

Before these highlights on an overall treat, it is almost relieving to give your concentration a break with the average 'Thought I Knew' and 'Cold Dark World', which surprisingly have found their way to the standard version, contrary to the sweet, almost symphonic 'Pig', the country rock style 'The Weight' or a more than decent cover of Talk Talk's 'Life's What You Make It', featured on the UK Edition. If you can get your hands on this release, or even better the Deluxe Edition, it is worth the search and the investment, as all of its tracks are wonderful and each has its own unique soul.

But even if not, weezer's Red Album is a gift to the rock public, proving courage and an unexpected maturity from a band that has so far not disappointed.

Alternative Rock at it's experimental best!
Weezer are one of those bands that stand out on their own, quite happy to mix it up with different musical styles over an Indie-Alternative-Rock backbone. Personally I got into the band on the back of Weezer's first of their 3 eponymous albums (with this one being the third) that have an unspoken subtitle of colours (`94's Blue album; 01's Green album; and this one the Red album). In 1994 the rock scene had changed from Party-Rock to Grunge, and whilst the likes of The Offspring and Green Day were starting to make waves to stardom, it was also Weezer who grabbed my attention with what used to be known as Geek-Rock, but was a slightly Harder Indie-Rock with a few Beach Boys-esque harmonies (in Britain we had Silver Sun), and their breakthrough single, `Buddy Holly' was over played everywhere.

So here we are with the Red album and I am pleasantly surprised that it both plays nicely along side the Blue and Green album (and of course the band's otheres), whilst still having a fresh mix of songs. First song, `Troublemaker' is a quick and catchy Pop-Rock number that has chunky riffs and the ability to stick into your brain straight away. This then goes straight to the longer and more complex song, `The Greatest Man That Ever Lived' which is slightly Prog-Theatrical-Rock in the different changes of tempo and melodies, starting from big riffs, before switching to a marching band, then a piano and vocal part, before chugging guitars carry on. This is where people will say that this is a show of the band's maturity, however I think that this says more abut the creativity of the band, and how sometimes they let their collective muse get pissed and go on a rampage with excellent results.

I don't need to go into `Pork And Beans' as it's the first single off of the album and so is bound to have been played loads on the radio and television music stations by the time you read this. It's another catchy and totally Weezer-like song with harmonies and fuzzy guitar riffs. Good stuff. Next is a gentle and slow song in, `Heart Songs' which sounds very much like Red Hot Chilli Peppers in the slow melodic guitar and Rivers' gentle voice as he sings about his music influences like, Quiet Riot, Iron Maiden, Debbie Gibson and Michael Jackson. Then in `Everybody Get Dangerous' we have a more funky Red Hot Chilli Peppers in the verse before a rocking catchy chorus.

Now, `Dreamin'' does take me right back to the Blue album as it sits there with it's arms snugly around tracks like, `Undone- The Sweater Song' and `Holiday'. Then we have the rest of the band getting involved in the writing of the songs. Firstly guitarist Brian Bell wrote and sings his way through, `Thought I Knew' which is a middle-of-the-road rock song, then bassist Scott Shriner co-wrote, `Cold Dark World' whist drummer Pat Wilson writes and sings on the `70's influenced, `Automatic' which is a great chunky and meaty number that has a nice raw edge to it. The last original song is the epic, `The Angel And The One' which is a slow and thoughtful number that starts off gentle and rips into a raw power-ballad of a song.

The last two songs are covers, the first being the great Folk-Rock of `The Weight' which was originally done by The Band and always sounds a little like, `Lodi' by Creedence Clearwater Revival, before the slightly Psychedelic fuzzbox Rock of, `Life Is What You Make it' originally done by Talk Talk.

It's been said before that Rivers Cuomo is a little bit cuckoo, and that at times the engine is running but there is no one behind the wheel, however whatever your feelings on his mental state, there is no denying that he is a musical genius, and once again Weezer have produced an album that not only is very good, but is also very hard to pigeon hole again.

It's funny how one of the purveyors of Geek Rock are now more Jock-mixed-with-Stoner Rock! In between the colours albums we've also had, `Pinkerton' (96), `Maladriot' (02) and `Make Believe' (05), and whilst the Red album is a little more complex than previous albums there is nothing here that Weezer fans won't be scared by, and more so a little more depth suggesting that they have fully let their proverbial hair down. Love it!