I am a sucker for anything from 1994-2000-period Weezer. Their first two records, along with the 2000 Summer Tour were huge in my musical development. Without Weezer, i may have never heard the Pixies, or paid as much attention to mid-60s Beach Boys, or found Petra Haden, or missed out on various other musical connections without the songs of Rivers Cuomo.
I also think that Pinkerton, their second record, is one of the finest records of the 1990s. I still listen to that album quite a bit, and its sensibilities are easy to identify with - loud, messy, intricately written, analog-y, and super personal.
To my ears, Pinkerton is an example of what is great about musicians playing in a room with minimal interference - which, essentially, is what a demo is - a 'demonstration' of what the song could be if embellished further. So even though i haven't been totally sold on a Weezer record since the Clinton administration, i was very excited about this release.
There are a few questionable covers in this melange - "The World We Love So Much" by Gregg Alexander and "The Bomb" by Ice Cube. The Alexander cover is of little interest to anyone outside of the truly fanatical Cuomo or Alexander circles, and the Cube cover is more of a laugh than anything else (for me at least). They fit in this collection, in my eyes, as a reminder that these are "home" recordings, and that sometimes at home, when not on the clock, it seems like a good idea to cover a hip-hop track.
And for old-school Weezer fans, the first 2/3rds of the tracklist are a dream come true - one of songs ("Lemonade") from the "50 Song" project between Cuomo and (Weezer drummer) Pat Wilson that pre-date Weezer, 4 tracks from the aborted Songs From the Black Hole (which eventually became Pinkerton), a "Buddy Holly" demo, and the long-available online gems "Chess" and "Longtime Sunshine" in cleaned-up, higher-fidelity versions.
And that is where the bulk of the highlights come from. I have long sought after more of the Songs From the Black Hole songs and they are fascinating - i can't really say i wish that Cuomo finished it because i think ultimately Pinkerton is a far better record than a rock opera about a mission to space featuring young co-eds from a space academy, but "Blast Off" is a fine rocker that might be a little clunky lyrically, but is catchy as hell and even features a nice Vocoder part. "Superfriend" is a fun song too - and makes up for the two other Black Hole songs, "Who You Calling Bitch?" and "Dude, We're Finally Landing!," whose titles sound like "Weird" Al songs but sound like awkward attempts at a musical based around a space mission featuring young co-eds from a space academy (which is precisely what they are, see above). The three-part harmony on "Landing" is actually pretty cool but is just so goofy it can't be taken seriously. From the same era is "Wanda," a terribly laughable lyric written for the film Angus, which i adore in a geeky middle school way. The melody is pretty enough, but those lyrics Cuomo, come on.
However, once we move past the Pinkerton-era, the quality takes a sharp turn for the mediocre. We start off promisingly, with "Lover in the Snow," a great Nick Lowe-esque power-pop tune and then segue into the borderline boring, "Green Album"-ish "Crazy One." When listening to this tune in the context of the record it is pleasant enough, but put up against the earlier songs, it just appears dull. We then move to the almost R. Kelly-ish "This is the Way," an almost laughable attempt at smooth-R&B. Right behind it is "Little Diane," the Dion classic, with a rare warbly vocal performance and by-the-numbers backing by the usually wonderful pop band Sloan.
The record closes with "I Was Made For You," which i keep wanting to call "I Was Made For Loving You," the terrible Kiss attempt at disco, which again sounds like a late-period Weezer outtake (which is ostensibly what it is), but isn't really anything special.
But again - these are demos - they weren't created for the ears of you or i - they were meant to capture ideas and then cultivate them elsewhere. Cuomo wanted to share these with his fans, and that is fair enough, but by releasing a record of demos, he is subjecting his tossed off demos to be critically evaluated like a proper record, with its $200 an hour studio price-tag and professional engineers. And when looked at as a record, Alone is pretty uneven and, sadly, shows a late-career lilt that many, including myself, hoped this record would explain or justify by showing that Cuomo's bandmates, label or producers shelved the really good stuff leaving it to be released on this odds and ends compilation.
However, this record is as frustrating as the "official" Weezer canon - a fantastic one-two start, and then three subsequent records with flashes of brilliance muddled underneath too-conventional structures and no guitar solos (Weezer, aka the Green Album), a shred-heavy, almost metallic guitar sound (Maldroit) or bland production and radio-aim (Make Believe). I don't think i'm alone in the bank of Weezer fans who, like fans of a beloved sports team, hope that each next try can recapture that old magic. But Alone, unfortunately, shows us that we may have some more waiting to do.
Rating: .71 out of 1.21 jigowatts.
No comments:
Post a Comment