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At face value and for those who only remember ‘Buddy Holly’, Weezer have probably always been underestimated in their intelligence but have managed to carefully conceal it behind a power chord faux geek façade and a set of horn rimmed glasses. Either way, ‘Weezer (The Red Album)’ is further proof if more were needed that the Grammy nominated LA 4-piece are on top of their game and for all the right reasons. It’s also the first Weezer album that splits song-writing duties between the entire band.
As you’d hope, the bespectacled garage rock remains and reassuringly opens the album with the playful shenanigans of ‘Troublemaker’ alongside the matured tongue in cheek confidence of ‘Pork And Beans’ and ‘Everybody Get Dangerous’ in which Weezer claim not to “Give a hoot about what you think”. And nor should they, as the tempo manipulating brilliance of ‘Dreamin’ revisits the groups self-styled past and rubs shoulders with the uncomplicated pop brilliance of ‘Automatic’ (written and sung by drummer Pat Wilson).
Weezers playful approach permeates a large part of the album, but it also contains its fair share of heartfelt moments. The apologetic sincerity of ‘Thought I Knew’ (delivered by guitarist Brian Bell) and ‘Cold Dark World’ (co-written by bassist Scott Shriner) deal with destiny, love and loss on a very personal level as does the haunting undertones of ‘The Angel And The One’, which are enhanced all the more by the emotion ridden vocal of Rivers Cuomo.
The band also sincerely pay their respects to shared musical influences that have helped form their own distinct sound. ‘Heart Songs’ by its title and soft structured style is misleading but only to an extent and name checks a plethora of musicians such as Joan Baez, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, Slayer, Judas Priest, Debbie Gibson, The Fresh Prince and a subtle yet direct reference to Nirvana’s Nevermind. Their display of admiration is taken one step further by reverently dispatching, with justice, a cover of ‘The Weight’ originally by The Band. The mini rock opera ‘The Greatest Man That Ever Lived’ goes a long way in proving that Weezer can effectively turn their hand to anything they desire, smoothly chopping and changing style, genre and tempo with apparent ease in the process illustrating that they could in fact be the greatest band that ever lived, tongue in part still firmly in cheek, and why not.
Concluding their sixth studio album and perhaps summing up the collective spirit of the band is the apt ‘Life Is What You Make It’ complete with the repeated song title lyrics, a sentiment that Weezer have embraced throughout their sixteen year history. Ambitious, masterful, intelligent and expertly crafted, ‘The Red Album’ is everything you want and a whole lot more from a band that many hold close to their hearts and does much more than simply complete Weezers primary colour chart.
