Weezer Album: “Pinkerton”

Pinkerton... where to begin? Most Weezer fans favor either this album or the Blue Album as Weezer's best (the Green Album is generally accepted as inferior to these two). The majority of them favor Pinkerton. But why? Pinkerton was a commercial failure, at least compared to the Blue Album. When it was first released, no one liked it. Not even me.

But time changes everything. When I first heard Pinkerton, I thought, "Whoa, Rivers, what do you think you're doing?" (Rivers Cuomo is the band's frontman.) On the surface, Pinkerton sounds like a desperate, overly emotional and possibly even annoying this-is-my-life-story kind of album. With time, it evolves into one of the most mind-blowingly awesome rock albums of the nineties.

To what do we owe this bizarre transition? All that I can figure is that people tend to hear without listening. When they first hear Pinkerton, they think, "Man, this doesn't sound cool." They don't really pay attention to what they're hearing.

After a while, they begin to pay attention to the words, the rhythms, the infectious melodies, and then they're hooked. To everyone's surprise, the music all of a sudden sounds really, really good. I'm talking good enough to bring about vicarious happiness, anger, longing and sadness - maybe even enlightenment. Trust me, it's happened with a lot of people.

Join the club. Buy this album.

Weezer released The Blue Album in 1994. It had three top 10 modern rock hits with Undone-The Sweater Song, Buddy Holly, and Say It Ain't So. Needless to say a lot was riding on them to release the same quirky pop album that got them where they were. 1996's Pinkerton was a commercial failure. An embarrassment to the man they call Cuomo. Although it failed miserably, I consider it to be one hell of a growth spurt for four geeky guys who started a band on Valentine's Day of 1992.

Pinkerton proved that two years can make a band more mature and be able to freelance a little bit. But the record pretty much fell on deaf ears. And that is a shame. Although it shares no resemblance to its predecessor, Pinkerton was the best post grunge-grunge record ever. It was angry and mean but it was also sincere. Yeah it may not have been poppy or what not, but as a musician you don't want to get stuck in a formula. That's why it's sort of a depressing thing that it didn't do as well. It's now found its way into the hands of geeky emo kids everywhere and has been pretty much the influence of emo rockers like The Get Up Kids and Saves The Day. Not bad for an album that went gold in the year 2000, four years after it was released.

I honestly will say that Pinkerton is the best weezer album ever and it's a damn shame that Mr. Cuomo refuses to play only one Pinkerton track on tour. So as a homage to my favorite band I must praise them for taking a ballsy approach on such a great record and I am glad to give it 5 out of 5 stars. I mean it deserves that much. I'm not the only music critic that would call this album a masterpiece. So the cheese doesn't stand alone. Rock on!

One thing about this CD that strikes me very odd is how much criticism Cuomo and Weezer received for this album. Opening with a ferocious track in "Tired of Sex," halfway through a monster love ballad in "Across the Sea," then ending the CD with a depressing, but very well written song in "Butterfly," overall I would absolutely make this your first Weezer CD, that is if you don't already some, but if you don't have this one. I would stake my life on it that you would like it.

1. Tired of Sex: 9/10

2. Getchoo: 8/10

3. No Other One: 8/10

4. Why Bother?: 9/10

6. The Good Life: 10/10

7. El Scorcho: 9/10

8. Pink Triangle: 10/10

9. Falling For You: 8.5/10

10. Butterfly: 10/10

Overall this is Weezer's best album, so what the "critics" didn't like it, it's all about you and me, and what we think. This album will be in my steady rotation for years to come. I suggest that you give this one a try I guarantee that you will not regret it.

Weezer's second major release, Pinkerton, is destined to be one of the greatest albums of all time. And it really IS an album, in the true sense of the word. The songs all flow smoothly from one to the next - emotionally and compositionally.

Rivers Cuomo, the brains in the Weezer outfit (songwriter, lead singer, etc.), is a true melodist, and the melodies found on the Pinkerton tracks are some of his finest. Pinkerton follows a deeper trajectory than Weezer's self-titled debut album.

Cuomo borrowed the name "Pinkerton" from John Luther Long's story, Madame Butterfly, in which Pinkerton was a US Naval officer who married a Japanese geisha and eventually deserted her, resulting in her suicide. Indeed, the whole album is loosely themed on Madame Butterfly (indeed, Rivers saw a little of Lieutenant Pinkerton in himself) - most notably the beautiful final track, "Butterfly", which is the only slow ballad (and only acoustic track) on the album.

Pinkerton has a much darker sound than any of Weezer's other albums. At times, the sound can be almost neurotic, but as the emotion is genuine, nothing strikes the listener as superficial.

Cuomo's lyrics discuss many topics - sex, the life of a rock musician, unrequited love, relationships, rejection, and (in the song "Pink Triangle") having a crush on a girl who you think is straight, but who ends up being a lesbian. (Doesn't that just happen to us ALL at some point in time?) ;-)

In short, this album, despite its initial unfavorable public reception, has won its way into the hearts of all who have given it a chance. Pinkerton remains Weezer's crowning achievement, and indeed the pinnacle of 90's rock.

It almost hurts me when I hear that Rivers Cuomo apologized for his masterpiece 'Pinkerton'. This album is rampant with deviously origianl songwriting and lyrics that are finally filled with emotion. It pains me to hear anyone rant and rave about 'The Green Album' and say nothing to the far superior 'Pinkerton'. Most of the so-called Weezer fans have not even picked up Weezer's fantastic sophomore record.

As for influence, the Pixies are lurking in the background in nearlt all of these tracks. In some songs, such as 'Tired of Sex', it seems like Frank Black stepped away from the Catholics and penned a song for four of his most apt students. My ears are exstatic. I haven't heard this quality music from a Pixies-influenced band since the days of Nirvana.

Shell out the twelve bucks, fifteen bucks, fifty bucks, whatever it may take to have this album in your CD player. You will be spending countless hours listening to these ten tracks. Next, you'll begin awaiting the day when Rivers Cuomo will realize what 'Pinkerton' really is, for on that day, Weezer will return.