Weezer is a band many of us have come to know and love. Unlike many bands, their biggest album was their very first self -titled we all refer to as the "Blue album". This album was a smash hit all over and has been given many honors such as being placed in Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Albums ever book. This album could be considered great for many reasons; among them, its cheery disposition & its catchy songs. But this album is so much more than fun songs and I am here to tell you exactly why it is so great.
Weezers self -titled album hooks you from the beginning with
My name is Jonas a great tune with a fantastic acoustic guitar intro that blends well with the riff with the electric guitar. One thing you notice with this album after listening to it is that all of the songs are unique. Very few songs on this album can be mistaken from each other. A good example of this is comparing
Undone (the Sweater Song) with
Only in Dreams.
Undone has a very recognizable beat with unforgettable lyrics and also ends much differently with strange piano sounds; while
Only in Dreams opens with a bass intro and like the song suggests has a very dreamy feeling to it.
The Singles on this album include
Undone and the ever famous
Buddy Holly. This is most certainly one of the greatest Weezer songs ever with a great video. The song is simple, it is just about a boy and a girl with some fun and happy lyrics. No Weezer fan can deny this song it is just so cheerful and catchy.
Say it ain't So was this albums final single and a well chosen one at that. The song starts off slower with some nice guitar and pleasant lyrics. The chorus to this song almost doesn't seem to match up with the song. The song gets harder as it goes then slows down for the very end.
Some of the more forgotten songs on this album such as /b]No one else[/b] may be forgotten because they just cannot compare to some of the other amazing songs on this album. It is not that it is a bad song but it just cannot compare to songs like
Only in Dreams. Another not so famous song
In the Garage is a song about a young man whose heaven is his garage where he can play his "stupid" music and play Dungeons and Dragons without anyone caring about his ways. It is a catchy song and one of my personal favorites.
The guitar work throughout most of this album is pretty good. Some of the choruses have very basic chords but many songs have slightly complicated intros such as
My name is Jonas or the very appropriate opening for
Surf Wax America. Another song with a great opening is
Holiday possible being the song with the most changes throughout. The song starts in typical Weezer fashion. It then slows down for a bit and goes back to the original beat with a final change at the end. It is without a doubt though a great song that should not be overlooked.
Soloing on this album for the most part is ok. Brian throughout most of the album has solos that are higher ,faster versions of the chorus not including a couple songs. Overall the guitar is good but the strength instrumentally lies in the bass. Like most Weezer fans I have always been a larger fan of the 90's Weezer as opposed to 21st century Weezer. In my opinion, the music got worse after Bassist Matt Sharp left the band. Was Matts leaving related to the music getting "less sharp” or not? I personally believe the bass work was much better when Matt was in the band.
Tracks on this Album that have less appeal to me include
The world has turned and left me here and
No one Else. Like I said earlier neither of these songs are bad by any means, they just do not compete with the rest of the album. I do not skip these songs, they are just the two that mean less to me.
After all of the greatness, my favorite track on this album is most likely
Buddy Holly just because it brings back memories of a great song and video. My other three favorite songs followed by this one are
Undone (the Sweater Song) and
Only In Dreams.
All together this is without a doubt my favorite Weezer album, quite possibly my favorite Alternative album. I just love the cheery lyrics, the sheer uniqueness of each track, the catchy beats to all the songs, the bass work and just the whole entire feel of the album. I would recommend this to anyone who is a Weezer fan and does not own it or just likes good music.
I give this album 4.5 out of 5
Pros.
Great lyrics
Catchy songs
Good bass work
Each track is Special
Worth listening to each track
Cons.
Solos are too simple
Recommended Tracks
Buddy Holly
Undone (the Sweater Song)
Only In Dreams
My name is Jonas
Holiday
Say it Ain't So
In The Garage
