Weezer - The Red Album: Album Review
Weezer, Weezer (The Red Album) (Geffen, 2008)
If you're an older brother such as myself, Weezer hardly need any introduction. The Blue Album is arguably top 10 all time, regardless of genre. Hardly anything else they've done can even be categorized as "good," but damn it if I'm not still holding out hope.
TROUBLEMAKER
A stream of consciousness rant about how Rivers Cuomo is just not like other people. There's an interesting breakdown where he talks about people studying his life to see whether or not he's having sex,
THE GREATEST MAN THAT EVER LIVED (VARIATIONS ON A SHAKER HYMN)
It's got umpteen parts, as if it was "Bohemian Rhapsody" or some shit, but they're all kinda retarded. It sounds like they several different half-assed Weezer songs, fused them together, and added a shiteload of tongue in cheek humor. The deadpan spoken interlude is especially amusing.
PORK AND BEANS
This album's "Beverly Hills," though I notice you can pick out elements of "Beverly Hills" in the first few tracks on this album so far. This one's got that same us against them rhetoric. The guitar rave up during the chorus sounds as much like the Blue Album as anything they've done in ages.
HEART SONGS
A sensitive R&B-esque ballad about songs Rivers Cuomo used to listen to as a kid. It's like the white man's version of "Night Shift" by the Commodores.
EVERYBODY GET DANGEROUS
Chili Peppers-esque rap metal. Sample lyrics: "When I was young, I used to tip over cows for fun. Actually, I didn't, because I didn't want the cows to feel sad." About as retarded as it sounds.
DREAMIN'
The Blue Album-esque guitars are back, but the lyrics are so retarded. If they were aiming for so bad it's actually good, they fell a bit short. I did find the line about how he's gotta be a big boy and pick up his toys a bit chuckle-worthy.
THOUGHT I KNEW
Some other guy's singing. What the fuck? Imagine if I'd actually paid for this.
COLD DARK WORLD
Rivers' verses sound quite a bit like Eminem. I wonder if that was on purpose, or if that's just how it came out. The rest of this isn't very good at all.
AUTOMATIC
Another one of these ones you wouldn't even know was a Weezer song if you just heard it.
THE ANGEL AND THE ONE
The requisite heartfelt ballad album closer. As a song, there isn't a whole lot going on here, but there's some fucking epic singing. Rivers really put some stank on it.
THE WEIGHT (BONUS TRACK)
Holy shit, this really is a cover of the classic song by the Band. It's even a fairly straightforward remake. Um, I don't get it.
COMMENTS: I'd say this is about par for the course as far as late-period Weezer is concerned. It might actually have worse music than Make Believe (it's hard to say, having only heard that album once or twice a few years ago), but I'd say this is more of a gas to listen to, just because they've ratcheted up the humor to such a degree. If the songwriting didn't get really, really, piss poor about halfway through, and if it wasn't for those two tracks where some other guy sings, this might even qualify as a brilliant work of Wesley Willis-style outsider art.
BEST TRACKS: "Troublemaker" "Pork and Beans" "Heart Songs"
BONUS VIDEO: "Pork and Beans"
