Weezer (Blue Album)

Performer: Weezer
Engineer: Chris Shaw; Christopher Shaw
Producer: Ric Ocasek
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Weezer: Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar); Brian Bell (guitar, vocals); Matt Sharp (bass, vocals); Patrick Wilson (drums). Recorded at Electric Lady Studios, New York, New York in August and September 1993. All songs written or co-written by members of Weezer. Weezer: Rivers Cuomo, Brian Bell (vocals, guitar); Matt Sharp (vocals, bass); Patrick Wilson (drums). Recorded at Electric Lady Studios, New York, New York in August and September 1993. Includes liner notes by Todd Sullivan. Personnel: Rivers Cuomo, Brian Bell (vocals, guitar); Matt Sharp (vocals); Patrick Wilson (drums). Recording information: Electric Lady Studios, New York, NY. There's a demented pop fanaticism to Weezer you gotta love. Weezer's debut, produced by former Cars frontman Ric Ocasek, combines Pixies roller-coaster guitar rides with a helping of Beatle-esque moptop harmonies. Ocasek's production and Weezer's strong material will bring a glimmer of recognition to the eyes of anyone who remembers the Cars' melodic pop hooks. Weezer's songs are groovy garage sales you wish happened every weekend. Songs like "The World Turned And Left Me Here" and "Surf Wax America" betray the heart of a kid who would rather skateboard to work every day than face up to the responsibility of buying a car. Rivers Cuomo's wit and songwriting chops are evident in "In The Garage," where he sums up his generation's fascination with kitsch pop culture. Cuomo readily makes fun of Kiss posters and his own "stupid words" and "stupid songs," but later, in "Say It Ain't So," his self-mocking seems more like self-protection. After a decade of divorced parents, Cuomo comes to terms with a childhood he didn't want to give up. "Dear Daddy I write you in spite of years of silence," he admits, begging him to "Say It Ain't So." WEEZER breathes life into the bloated corpse of guitar rock. If they'd only stay little till their pop records wore out, maybe more bands would be as enjoyable as Weezer. There's a demented pop fanaticism to Weezer you gotta love. Weezer's debut, produced by former Cars frontman Ric Ocasek, combines Pixies roller coaster guitar rides with a helping of Beatle-esque moptop harmonies. Ocasek's production and Weezer's strong material will bring a glimmer of recognition to the eyes of anyone who remembers the Cars' melodic pop hooks. Weezer's songs are groovy garage sales you wish happened every weekend. Songs like "The World Turned And Left Me Here" and "Surf Wax America" betray the heart of a kid who would rather skateboard to work every day than face up to the responsibility of buying a car. Rivers Cuomo's wit and songwriting chops are evident in "In The Garage," where he sums up his generation's fascination with kitsch pop culture. Cuomo readily makes fun of Kiss posters and his own "stupid words" and "stupid songs," but later, in "Say It Ain't So," his self-mocking seems more like self-protection. After a decade of divorced parents, Cuomo comes to terms with a childhood he didn't want to give up. "Dear Daddy I write you in spite of years of silence," he admits, begging him to "Say It Ain't So." WEEZER breathes life into the bloated corpse of guitar rock. If they'd only stay little till their pop records wore out, maybe more bands would be as enjoyable as Weezer.

Rolling Stone (12/29/94-1/12/95, p.190) - "...Weezer's Rivers Cuomo is great at sketching vignettes...and with sweet inspiration...his songs easily ingratiate." Rolling Stone (12/29/94-1/12/95, p.190) - "...Weezer's Rivers Cuomo is great at sketching vignettes...and with sweet inspiration...his songs easily ingratiate." Spin (4/04, pp.87-8) - "Feedback duels with adroit finger-picking; galloping punk pastiches break for bridges that genuflect in the church of Brian Wilson." - Grade: A Entertainment Weekly (10/14/94, p.60) - "...college-radio-friendly... anti-cool quartet strums solid pop melodies with singsongy, anthem-like choruses, peppered with grunge fuzz that at first seems strangely at odds with its self-deprecating lyrics..." - Rating: B Entertainment Weekly (4/2/04, p.66) - "[This deluxe edition] is often more sonically varied than the original." - Rating: B Entertainment Weekly (10/14/94, p.60) - "...college-radio-friendly... anti-cool quartet strums solid pop melodies with singsongy, anthem-like choruses, peppered with grunge fuzz that at first seems strangely at odds with its self-deprecating lyrics..." - Rating: B Q (3/95, p.106) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...this is a loud, well-crafted, AOR-friendly, classic pop-rock given a left-of-centre twist by [Rivers] Cuomo's mildy eccentric world view..." Q (3/95, p.106) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...this is a loud, well-crafted, AOR-friendly, classic pop-rock given a left-of-centre twist by [Rivers] Cuomo's mildy eccentric world view..." Alternative Press (3/02, p.96) - Included in AP's "Essential Punk Influences '02 Style" - "...Their debut's power pop is brainy yet deceptively simple, a sort of AOR rallying cry made by geeks for geeks." Alternative Press (3/02, p.96) - Included in AP's "Essential Punk Influences '02 Style" - "...Their debut's power pop is brainy yet deceptively simple, a sort of AOR rallying cry made by geeks for geeks." NME (Magazine) (2/25/95, p.39) - 7 (out of 10) - "...four nerds from upstate Connecticut who can make a brilliantly genial, melodic noise, riddled with jokey allusions to the staple parts of the American musical myth..." NME (Magazine) (2/25/95, p.39) - 7 (out of 10) - "...four nerds from upstate Connecticut who can make a brilliantly genial, melodic noise, riddled with jokey allusions to the staple parts of the American musical myth..."

Weezer's 1994 debut yielded the band two big hit singles in "Buddy Holly" and "Undone - The Sweater Song," whose quirky appeal gave the initial impression that the group was some kind of novelty act. Despite the wiseacre veneer though, Weezer went on to successfully combine bracing, punk-poppy alternative rock with a deep sense of irony that often made it impossible to tell whether the band was rocking out or "rocking out." This conceptual tension endeared Weezer to indie aesthetes, while the band's charging riffs and pummeling rhythms endeared them to a larger audience.

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