Weezer - Red Album

[Jonas]

Just so you know, I use to be a major Weezer fan ever since I saw the premiere of Undone on MTV. It was pretty sickening to be honest, everything about me revolved around Weezer for the next 6 or so years. I was made fun of but whatever, haters to the left.

Anyway...
 
What would normally be a major FAIL, Im thoroughly surprised by their new album. Patrick Wilson was wrong in saying that fans of the Blue Album/Pinkerton will be happy with the outcome of this album, because IMO its still missing a pivotal role (coughcoughmattsharpcough) but I will agree that its much better than everything else they came out with since the Pink.

Has anyone else heard any of the songs? Im gonna pick up the deluxe cd when its released, its gonna be the first weezer album I buy since Pinkerton.

[Ptolemaios]

Pork and beans is a pretty good song. Got my hopes up for the album. And I also listened to the song Troublemaker but I can't say if I like it or not. I'm going to give Weezer one last chance and wait for the album to come out before I listen to the rest of the stuff. Make believe was a huge disappointment and the way it was mastered made me hate it; it was impossible to listen to it with headphones because every single song was too loud and peaking like hell.

Maladroit was crap. Green album was pretty good when I first got into Weezer years ago but I never listen to it anymore. I rarely listen to any other Weezer albums except Pinkerton.

It's the production that has sucked ever since Pinkerton; there have been lots of good songs. And now that I think of it, Rick Rubin has produced this new album; I'm gonna listen to the album beforehand before I go out and buy it. Rick Rubin sucks.

[BiNNS]

Coming from someone who LOVES Blue and Pinkerton, and who really likes their following three albums, i gotta say that i was not at all impressed with what i heard so far of the Red album. I understand that this is Rivers' "i don't care what the fans think" album, but to my ears, it was pretty awful. Yes it's different, but that doesn't always make it good. I've only heard about 50% of the album, so i'm hoping that the other half is much, much better. (much!)

[CosmicDancer]

I have only heard Pork and Beans, but I can't stand it.  I LOVED Weezer from the beginning  through the Green album.  They have been nothing but dissapointing to me ever since.

[Jonas]

Pork and beans is a pretty good song. Got my hopes up for the album. And I also listened to the song Troublemaker but I can't say if I like it or not. I'm going to give Weezer one last chance and wait for the album to come out before I listen to the rest of the stuff. Make believe was a huge disappointment and the way it was mastered made me hate it; it was impossible to listen to it with headphones because every single song was too loud and peaking like hell.

Maladroit was crap. Green album was pretty good when I first got into Weezer years ago but I never listen to it anymore. I rarely listen to any other Weezer albums except Pinkerton.

It's the production that has sucked ever since Pinkerton; there have been lots of good songs. And now that I think of it, Rick Rubin has produced this new album; I'm gonna listen to the album beforehand before I go out and buy it. Rick Rubin sucks.

Rick Rubin co-produced, I think someone else did all the final productions/mixes, I forgot his name. Also, please check out the Blue album, its amazing x 1000000000000finity.

I dont know what it is, but the more I listen to it the more it grows on me. None of the past albums have grown on me, I just detested every single listen (sans a few songs ofcourse)...none of them have captured me like blue/pink...but this one is slowly but surely getting to me.

[egamipeaks]

I love The Greatest Man That Ever Lived

[Ptolemaios]

I only like couple of the songs on Blue album. I like the sound of the album a lot.

[Jonas]

After listening to this A LOT over the weekend I am totally happy with how it came out. Ofcourse there are little blurbs here and there that couldve been fixed, but whatever. My highlights are: Dreamin, Greatest Man, Troublemaker, Heart Songs, and Get Dangerous. I cant wait for the deluxe package to arrive, I hope the bonus material is just as good.

I can't believe it took them this long to put something out that didnt make me want to run face first into a wall. Thank you Weezer!

[Billgoodman]

I think this is a return to form on some of the songs

Dreamin', Angel and the One, Pork and Beans   are great, Greatest Man and Troublemaker are ok (don't like the rappin though).

All the other songs are mediocre and badly produced.  This is comming from a boy who loves Weezer and sees their decline as something wrong. I know Rivers can write good songs, I know Weezer can produce and arrange a masterpiece. But somehow I think their label only wants them to ship millions of units and they are happy to jump on the bandwagon of US MOR Rock.

Heart Songs and Everybody Get Dangerous are ok songs, but there's nothing original about them, nothing authentic one sounds like  Boys 2 Men the other like a bad-RHCP.

There is some talk about album 7 to be recorded at the end of this year, fingers crossed.

my ranking:
Pinkerton
Blue
Green
Maladriot
Red
Make Believe

[Ptolemaios]

ok,

now I've heard the new album. One or two good songs on it but most of it is just boring. I ain't buying it. One of the extra songs 'Pig' could have been a great song but of course Rick Rubin had to turn it into crap! It is unbelieveble they can screw up such a good song. The demo is pretty good. I'm disappointed and now I've officially given up on Weezer. Whatever. This band is irrelevant to me from now on except when I feel nostalgic and wanna listen to Pinkerton. It is pretty obvious that pop music is dead and there is nothing left. Shame. I guess I must get more deep into classical to satisfy my need for music.

[Jonas]

oh well to each their own, i love this album.

ill tell you what, a lot of people slagged pinkerton when it first came out...10 years later they praise it as one of the best albums in the 90s...if you guys wanna wait 10 years t appreciate this album then by all means.

ill appreciate it now.

[egamipeaks]

They definitely put the most effort into this one compared to their last 3. There are some great tunes on here as well, especially the first three tracks, Dreamin' and The Angel And The One. The Greatest Man That Ever Lived is probably the best thing they have released since Pinkerton.

I am still amazed at Cuomo's inability to pick the best tracks for albums. Starting with the Green album he seems to make lots of odd decisions for what gets on to an album. All of the Bonus tracks are better than some of the stuff on the album though.

[Ptolemaios]

I am still amazed at Cuomo's inability to pick the best tracks for albums. Starting with the Green album he seems to make lots of odd decisions for what gets on to an album. All of the Bonus tracks are better than some of the stuff on the album though.

I agree. There are so many good songs that have been put aside over the years for no real reason and it amazes me. I mean, what's going on when they pick the songs?! Are the other members of the band jealous and just want Rivers to put mediocre songs on the albums? They do vote about the songs, atleast that's what I remember reading. But the latest notable miss is 'Pig'. When I heard the demo I thought it was so good. And then when I heard Pork & Beans I was hoping the new record would be good but there are some really irrelevant songs in there. I guess I'm gonna wait a few days and start listening to the album again and maybe it opens up some more.

I'm still wondering what the band was thinking when they put out 'Beverly Hills'. I mean, that's not even a mediocre song; it's crap. I can't think they were in the studio saying "dude, this is like Mozart. We are gonna sell a million copies." Neither can I believe the record company seriously believed it's a hit song. The fact that some people actually bought the single just proves that the loyal Weezer fans kept on supporting the group, I think. 

I'm being quite negative but I'm annoyed right now.

[Jonas]

I have to agree with a lot you guys are saying!

[Vega-Table Man]

I haven't liked much of what Weezer's done since the green album (I'm one of the fans of that album, though I'd never claim it's anything but lightweight), with the notable exception of the single version of "Keep Fishin'" (maybe it was the Muppet video that got me, heh).

But it seems like it's been years since a new single by anyone has sunk its teeth into me like "Pork and Beans" has. Even by my 2nd or 3rd listen to it, I was shouting along with the chorus and really, really digging it ... It reminds me so much of the blue-album period and I just find it totally infectious.

I just picked up the deluxe CD yesterday and have only listened to the first half ... but I can already tell this will be for me their most worthwhile effort since the green album.

[Luke_Barshack]

I always thought that Maladroit sounded like a bunch of 'snippets' of songs - small musical experiments such as ideas for riffs and hooks all flying around that were unfocused and in the end led to a messy record.

Green is an odd one.  It's very sterile and lacks emotion, as if it's a direct reaction to the criticism Rivers' met with over the raw feeling he expressed on Pinkerton.  However, those tunes are catchy as hell.  It's 'pop by numbers' but a truly excellent experiment in that direction.

Make Believe, in my opinion is near impossible to listen to.  Someone already mentioned the vile mastering job and I have to agree with them.  It seems like a venture into the emo genre they helped create a decade earlier with Pinkerton, and it's very misguided.  Funnily enough, Weezer fans seem to despise 'Beverly Hills' but I believe it's the only worthwhile track on the record.  Quirky, catchy and very funny.  If anyone can inform me as to why the song is despised so - I would be very glad.

I've heard those first 8 tunes from Red (it isn't out in the UK yet) but I've really enjoyed it.  A very tongue in cheek 'I don't care about the fans' record.  I've had Dreaming stuck in my head for weeks.  I had high hopes for 'Pig', so I'm hoping some of the criticism here doesn't ring true for myself later on.

It comes out on the same day as Pacific Ocean Blue over here...it'll be a fine day!

[Ptolemaios]

I think Make believe had some good melodic songs on it but the production side was horrible! Especially the mastering! Didn't they listen to it before they released it?! I remember the wrong version of 'We are all on drugs' was accidentally pressed in the first pressings of the CD so that actually shows that they didn't listen to it before releasing the album. What a joke! It was impossible to listen to with headphones because the cd was so loud it kept peaking all the way to the end and was distorted. I actually first thought my copy was broken or something and went back to the store to complain but all the copies were the same. I was very angry. Whoever is responsible should have been sued over and over again for releasing something in that shape. I guess the band is to blame. I assume they make the ultimate decision.

This time I decided to listen to the new album before going out and buying it... it still sounds bad, by the way. Totally irrelevant. The songs of Make Believe were a lot better even though the production was horrible. I can't believe Cuomo didn't have better songs ready for this album! On the other hand, maybe he realised there is no point in putting out good songs because Rick Rubin's production would turn them into crap anyway. Maybe they have a somekind of contract that ties their hands and instead they decided to release songs written by other members of the band just to fill the album with something... or  maybe Cuomo truly doesn't care anymore. Well, what can I say, me neither!

[Billgoodman]

I think this is the first record in a long time that they care about
It features the weakest song ever to appear on a Weezer record, but at least they care about it.
Dreamin' and Greatest Man have some sappy vocals with some emotion behind it that I haven't heard
since Pinkerton (besides 'Slob' or 'Slave' from Maladroit).

But 'Heart Songs', really?

As for the Deluxe: why oh why they didn't choose Ms Sweeney and Pig for the original release is beyond me.
Everybody Get Dangerous and Heart Songs should have been b-sides. Of course, those will be singles and millions
of people will buy them and proove me wrong. Still...I hate those songs.

BTW, letting other people sing was also a big mistake.

[Ron]

Since Rivers has shown that he's determined to run the damn thing into the ditch, I think he probably had to let some of the other band members do their thing on the album and help write and sing, he's losing their confidence like Brian did with the BB's in 67... only in Brian's case, it was unmerited.  Basically hasn't Weezer been doing whatever the hell Rivers said for 15 years now???

[Ptolemaios]

Is it possible that Rivers got so offended by how people rejected Pinkerton when it came out that he's been bitter ever since, and that's the reason why the albums have not been that good? It seems like he doesn't even wanna try and just puts out albums for the money or just to be 'out there' in the business or something. I mean, the guy knows how to write great songs and has done so over the years even after Pinkerton but the albums are pretty much sterile and boring, mainstream sounding in a bad way and... phony. Atleast to my ears.

Maybe it's because he must have lost his artistic ambition after Pinkerton and just agrees to do the albums the way the other band members and the record company wants them. The band obviously needs to tour to get money since they propably don't get much royalties for the songs they didn't write. Rivers just plays along and doesn't give a sh*t. Or maybe they really believe that they are doing something great and confident. I just don't see it.

Oh well,  I guess this band is pretty much over now. What a shame.

[Jonas]

Here we go, final review simple as a review can be:

hits
Troublemaker
Greatest Man
Dreamin'
The Angel and the One <-- Wow!

growers
Pork & Beans
Heart Songs (yeah the lyrics are cheesy, w/e you'll get over it)
Everybody Gets Dangerous
Automatic

tracks I skip over/ shouldve been replaced with Miss Sweeney and I Can Love
Thought I Knew
Cold Dark World

I dont think Weezer is done, I mean they will be if everyone is gonna constantly slag them...I think with the right support they can get something going again. I bet with the best songs off this album, and blue and pinkerton songs, their shows are gonna be wicked!

Seriously the best effort since Pinkerton...

[Ptolemaios]

Ok,

I've been listening to this new album a lot and I must say it is not as bad as I first kept thinking. It's still a mediocre album and I hate Rick Rubin + the songs and vocals by other members of the band are pointless and fillers BUT this albums is listenable.

I also gave Make Believe a listen after not listening to it in a long time. I think the song material on Make Believe is the best on a Weezer album since Pinkerton; lots of melodic and skilled compositions but the producing side is so typically supercommercial sterile mainstream america that it makes the music suck and the absolutely HORRIBLE mastering makes the album really hard to listen to. It actually makes my ears hurt a bit. Why on earth did Weezer have to get involved in the "loudness war"?! Why, WHY oh god WHYY?!?! Or maybe that was purely Rick "guaranteed to make your music suck" Rubin's decision.  Anyway, Weezer deserves the blame beacuse they have sold out.

For years Weezer has been for me the last active band I really pay attention to and I... feel... empty now that there is nothing left in the mainstream music scene for me to listen to... except Muse. Reminds me how the other day I was listening to this radio channel and they played a "hot new song" by a "hot new band"; it was 'Cute is what we aim for' with 'practise makes perfect'... it was horrible untalented and typically sterile american mainstream merda.

It is pretty hard to imagine that there is anything left. Nirvana was the last great revolution if you wanna put it that way but it was basically repeating the same old popmusic with Cobain's awesome vocals and instead of being a true revolution it was just a commercial trend for couple of years until the multiculturalist propaganda channel MTV decided to change the gear. I guess this might be the end for pop music.

Anybody seen the movie 'Idiocracy'? That's where we are going and I guess the horrible state of commercial culture is just a symptom of all the corruption and apathy among people... and I'm getting pretty damn frustrated.


 

[Alex]

I think Weezer should just put out all of SFBTH already.

[Jonas]

Theres a fan mix of it and honestly im not all that impressed.

Then again, if they were to do a studio version it would be neat...but what about the songs that were already put out? replace them? or redo them?

[Ptolemaios]

Weezer should stop working with Rick Rubin. Seriously. That would be a good start to save their career. But I guess Rivers doesn't really care anymore. Well, I can't say I blame him.

I read rumours somewhere about a possible new album already next year. I can't remember where. Is that just a rumour or does anyone of you know any better?