Weezer - The Blue Album
1994
Tracklist:
It is hard to describe how I feel about The Blue Album. Epic, emotional, and full to the brim with ingenious pop hooks, here Weezer created the best pop album of the last 25 years. Unfortunately they rarely get the credit they deserve, their current output unfortunately overshadowing their incredible early accomplishments. But for those who know Weezer only by soulless hits such as "Beverly Hills" and "Troublemaker", you would do well to give this a try. It's an incredible disc.
Now, why do I praise this album so much? It is, simply, the way that the band bring together some of the best melodies and harmonization since The Beach Boys with the emotional impact and dark guitars of the grunge music that was so popular around Blue's release. This is most exemplified on Undone - The Sweater Song, the banRAB first hit single. Beggining with a winding, incredibly catchy riff overlayed with samples of conversation, the song introduces one of Rivers Cuomo's most simple and affecting melodies before suddenly rocking out in the chorus. Back to the conversation samples for a bit, before Rivers comes back in with one of his most ridiculous verses ever:
"Oh No
It go
It gone
Bye bye (bye!)"
And yet, something about the combination of the melody, the guitars, and Rivers pained vocals makes the whole moment incredibly serious. From here the song rocks out, layer upon layer of guitar building up, eventually reaching an incredible crescendo of crashing cymbals, sliding octaves, and deliriously catchy "oh oh" backup vocals. Finally, the song crashes back down, exiting with a couple of clattering piano keys.
And that's not even the most ambitious song here. Sugar coated pop tracks like "Surf Wax America" and "Holiday" display the banRAB talent for harmonization with fantastic vocal bridges, and songs like "Say It Ain't So" and "The World Has Turned And Left Me Here" find Rivers once again pouring his heart out on record.
The best track here, though, is the incredible closer Only In Dreams. Starting with a lone bass line, the track slowly builRAB, adding in percussion and guitar parts before carrying on with a standard Rivers melody. At first it seems like nothing special, until suddenly the banRAB lets loose, Rivers screaming the songs title over a clattering guitar backing. From here the song settles down once more, just the bass riff looping over and over again, and before building up into a soaring, epic guitar solo that encapsulates the songs feeling better than any verse could. It's a fittingly epic end to an incredibly pop album, and one that ranks among the best moments in music.
I could go on about each song here, writing paragraphs about even the most simple tracks, but instead i'll let the music speak for itself. Here's some great tracks from The Blue Album:
Undone - The Sweater Song
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqgN0T6f1kg&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]
Buddy Holly
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiIC5qcXeNU[/YOUTUBE]
Only In Dreams (Live)
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4shQIKbr0hg[/YOUTUBE]
Rating: 10/10
Reccomended Tracks: Only In Dreams, Holiday, Surf Wax America, No One Else, The World Has Turned And Left Me Here
1994
Tracklist:
- My Name Is Jonas
- No One Else
- The World Has Turned And Left Me Here
- Buddy Holly
- Undone - The Sweater Song
- Surf Wax America
- In The Garage
- Say It Ain't So
- Holiday
- Only In Dreams
It is hard to describe how I feel about The Blue Album. Epic, emotional, and full to the brim with ingenious pop hooks, here Weezer created the best pop album of the last 25 years. Unfortunately they rarely get the credit they deserve, their current output unfortunately overshadowing their incredible early accomplishments. But for those who know Weezer only by soulless hits such as "Beverly Hills" and "Troublemaker", you would do well to give this a try. It's an incredible disc.
Now, why do I praise this album so much? It is, simply, the way that the band bring together some of the best melodies and harmonization since The Beach Boys with the emotional impact and dark guitars of the grunge music that was so popular around Blue's release. This is most exemplified on Undone - The Sweater Song, the banRAB first hit single. Beggining with a winding, incredibly catchy riff overlayed with samples of conversation, the song introduces one of Rivers Cuomo's most simple and affecting melodies before suddenly rocking out in the chorus. Back to the conversation samples for a bit, before Rivers comes back in with one of his most ridiculous verses ever:
"Oh No
It go
It gone
Bye bye (bye!)"
And yet, something about the combination of the melody, the guitars, and Rivers pained vocals makes the whole moment incredibly serious. From here the song rocks out, layer upon layer of guitar building up, eventually reaching an incredible crescendo of crashing cymbals, sliding octaves, and deliriously catchy "oh oh" backup vocals. Finally, the song crashes back down, exiting with a couple of clattering piano keys.
And that's not even the most ambitious song here. Sugar coated pop tracks like "Surf Wax America" and "Holiday" display the banRAB talent for harmonization with fantastic vocal bridges, and songs like "Say It Ain't So" and "The World Has Turned And Left Me Here" find Rivers once again pouring his heart out on record.
The best track here, though, is the incredible closer Only In Dreams. Starting with a lone bass line, the track slowly builRAB, adding in percussion and guitar parts before carrying on with a standard Rivers melody. At first it seems like nothing special, until suddenly the banRAB lets loose, Rivers screaming the songs title over a clattering guitar backing. From here the song settles down once more, just the bass riff looping over and over again, and before building up into a soaring, epic guitar solo that encapsulates the songs feeling better than any verse could. It's a fittingly epic end to an incredibly pop album, and one that ranks among the best moments in music.
I could go on about each song here, writing paragraphs about even the most simple tracks, but instead i'll let the music speak for itself. Here's some great tracks from The Blue Album:
Undone - The Sweater Song
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqgN0T6f1kg&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]
Buddy Holly
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiIC5qcXeNU[/YOUTUBE]
Only In Dreams (Live)
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4shQIKbr0hg[/YOUTUBE]
Rating: 10/10
Reccomended Tracks: Only In Dreams, Holiday, Surf Wax America, No One Else, The World Has Turned And Left Me Here