Download MP3 & Movie: Weezer (Red Album Deluxe)

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Published on: 2008-06-03
Released on: 2008-06-03
Running time: 0 seconds

Customer Reviews

Almost a return to form
At first, I really only like 3 songs (Troublemaker, Pork And Beans, and Automatic). After listening to this album mulitple times, I find that I like 90 percent of this album. Pork And Beans is the best track, but The Greatest Man That Ever Lived is a close second.

IMO this album is much better than Make Believe, but is still does not take the band back to the Blue Album/Pinkterton sound (although a couple of tracks bring it very close). My favorite tracks are:

Troublemaker
The Greatest Man That Ever Lived
Pork And Beans
Everybody Get Dangerous
Dreamin'
Automatic (Written and Sung by Pat Wilson)
Miss Sweeney
Pig
King

Confused by the extreme reactions to this album.
Is this Weezer's best album? No. It is their worst? No. Is it their strangest? Definitely. It would seem to me, though, that people are either so enamored with the band or so enamored with the past they've lost a critical ear. But let's take it song by song:

1. Troublemaker -- Fairly standard Weezer fare, really, although a bit more pop than perhaps their earlier stuff. Enjoyable, but not really memorable.

2. The Greatest Man That Ever Lived -- Yes, it's strange and rarely repeats -- save for the main chorus -- but each section is pretty catchy on it's own. They lyrics are pretty hilarious.

3. Pork and Beans -- Again, fairly standard Weezer fare, backed by a great video. It's pretty catchy, but not really that interesting.

4. Heart Songs -- Yes, it sounds a bit cheesy when it starts, but it's a great song, backed by an experience we all share: those songs that never leave you, that will always be important no matter how much time passes. It builds really nicely, too.

5. Everybody Get Dangerous -- For what it's worth, I liked "We Are All On Drugs," which probably informs my opinion of this song. I enjoy the heck out of it. The chord changes are great and the lyrics are hilarious -- a great job of taking me back to my youth and a legitimate question: what do we do when our kids act like we did?

6. Dreamin' -- An obvious single, made less obvious by the outro, which is really cool. A good song and classic Weezer.

7. Thought I Knew -- Yes, Brian sings lead on this. And, yes, it doesn't sound like a Weezer song at all, even on a album that's redefining what a "Weezer" song is. On it's own merits, this might be a great song, but it's simply too jarring to hear on the album.

8. Cold Dark World -- Scott sings lead on this one and it's much less jarring to me. I actually like this song. It's fairly driving and Scott delivers his vocals a lot like Rivers (who sings on the choruses).

9. Automatic -- I think this might be Pat on vocals here. Again, a twist from Weezer, but not completely different. It's an okay song. I think a big problem people might have with this album is the fact that these three songs come in a row.

10. The Angel and The One -- This is a great song. This is classic, heartfelt Weezer. I read a review where someone said this album didn't have the emotional appeal that previous Weezer albums have had, and while that might be true on a whole, this song (and Heart Songs) just really hit home.

BONUS TRACKS

11. Miss Sweeney -- I agree with a previous reviewer -- this song makes the bonus album a required purchase. It's just a great song and Rivers' vocal delivery is just so great. It's songs like this that make you realize just how creative Weezer can be.

12. Pig -- Another good one, kind of folksy, kind of earthy, but still quirky in that Weezer way.

13. The Spider -- Yeah, it's a little bizarre and kind of sounds like one of Rivers' home recordings. It might grow on me in time, but now it's just kind of there.

14. King -- Man, I don't know if Scott writes the vocal lines and lyrics or if Rivers handles that and just has Scott sing it, but I have to say that he's pretty freaking great. This is probably better than "Cold Dark World."

Overall, I think it's a good album. I'd have given it 3 and a half stars initially, but I'm sure it will earn the extra half a star going forward.

Weird Weezer
This album is by far Weezer's strangest album to date. On the first listen through the album I was disappointed. Some of the songs are so strange that I just didn't get them the first time through. After repeated listening, most of the songs have grown on me, and I really enjoy them. Let's get into it:

The Greatest Man That Ever Lived: This song has ADD and changes style every 8 bars. The song starts with a rap style, which I don't really enjoy in and of itself, but when tied to the rest of the song it works out nicely. The best moment of the song for me is when Rivers shifts to singing in the style of Queen. Weezer gets a good groove going, but then the song is disrupted by a monologue from Rivers. This part is distracting and throws it off the emotion it was building up to that point. Some people may like this, but I find it irritating. After the monologue, the song continues switching through another few styles, and finishes up with some solid Weezer style rock. Overall, one of the most enjoyable songs on the album. Very fresh.

Pork and Beans: This song feels like it was made for the radio, but it is solid rock, really catchy, and feels like Weezer. Also one of the best songs on the album. It's really a fun one to listen to repeatedly.

Miss Sweeney: This song is only included in the deluxe version, and is worth the extra money all by itself. It is a humorous piece and has a playful Pinkerton feel to it. Much to my surprise, it is my favorite track on the album.

Everybody Get Dangerous: This song was surprising. The first time I listened to it I really disliked it. To me it seemed like Weezer was trying to be hardcore and failing miserably. It wasn't until the third listen through that I finally realized this song is supposed to be absurd. This song is about teenage pranks, and Weezer seems to be making fun of the idea that they thought they were so bad at the time. That's my take on it anyway. From that perspective, this song is really pretty awesome.

Automatic: Another surprise, this song sounds very little like Weezer. It is sung by Pat Wilson (I believe), and the style is altogether different. In this case different is good. The song is slightly repetitive towards the end, but the guitar is pretty slick, so I really enjoyed it.

Pig: Another song that is only included in the deluxe version, this song is about the life of a pig. It's another good humorous piece, and I enjoyed it highly.

Heart Songs: This song is cheesy, but in the end it turns out pretty nice. Rivers reminisces on all his favorite bands. The climax of the song is when he talks about Nirvana as the influence that kicked off Weezer. Most people who were into rock music at the time remember what Nirvana meant for the rock world, so this song speaks loudly. I really like this song.

Dreamin: Good solid Weezer. More in the old style of Weezer than any other song on the album. It's not the best on the album, but it's a good song.

Troublemaker: This is another song that feels like it was made for the radio. It's sort of in the "Beverly Hills" style, but I actually like it better than that.

Now for the low points in the album.

Thought I Knew: This song is the antithesis of Weezer. Brian Bell is on vocals, and if you're expecting a Weezer song, look elsewhere. Some people may enjoy this one, but it sounds more like the kind of rock that Weezer replaced in the early 90's. I am not a fan.

Cold Dark World: This song has Scott Shriner on the vocals, backed up by Rivers. As far as I can tell the song is about a stalker. Again it does not feel like Weezer. I may be able to come around to this one because it's not all bad, but so far I am not a fan.

King: Again, this one is sung by Scott Shriner, and is only on the deluxe edition. I found this song to be somewhat irritating, and I doubt I'll warm up to it. This does not sound like Weezer. It's not that a song has to be sung by Rivers to sound like Weezer (although that certainly helps), but the guitars don't sound like Weezer either. The whole song is written in a different style, and there is nothing that I found clever about it like I usually do with Weezer songs.

It's also worth noting that Weezer is pretty fired up about critics and being told to write more radio friendly music, and state it pretty bluntly in several of the songs. That is one of the main themes in this album. In addition, they are all in their late 30's and starting to feel it, so this album is both a reflection on the past and a discussion about aging. Overall I found it to be highly enjoyable, better than most of their recent work, and certainly worth the purchase. I also recommend buying the deluxe edition because "Miss Sweeney" and "Pig" make it worth the extra money. This album has and will receive a lot of negative reviews because it is such an oddball and will most certainly be misunderstood (I doubt that I understand it entirely just yet). You may wish to listen to some of the songs before purchasing just so you know what you're buying.