Weezer "Weezer" 2008 other wise known as "The Red Album" (Spark one up and smoke, choke, and wheez to some damn good rock)

Weezer… How do I come at this band in a review? I will say this that their newest album which is their sixth and third self titled album known as “The Red Album” unofficially is one of their best. Personally I have only one album by Weezer in my collection and that’s “The Blue Album” which happens to be their first album. Sure I loved Pinkerton their second offering but never bought it and I’m not entirely sure why other than 1996 and 1997 were a couple of years I don’t remember all that well.
Evidently they were some years that affected Rivers Cuomo in a different kind of way as well. He and the rest of the band called it quits for a couple of years and Cuomo himself went into a self-admitted depression. The band never officially broke-up but went on “hiatus” and weren’t to be seen again as the original line-up ever again with Matt Sharp (bass & backing vocals) being the first to not rejoin the band when thoughts of getting back together started being worked on in 1998. Eventually all concerned worked on their own personal shit along with being creative assholes who decided to finally get over themselves.
What we got was the third Weezer album which was self titled and known as “The Green Album”, and while it was ok it wasn’t a quality release. You could hear they had rust on their song writing and music that had to be sanded off. I mean honestly a song like “Hash Pipe” should be a song sung by kids in high school or fresh out. I can understand that this album while a big seller was rusty and not so great being it was the first after a self imposed 3 year break.
Their third album Maladroit was a harder edged album and one I kind of like better than “The Green Album”, but just happened to be their lowest selling album to date. I love “Death and Destruction”, “Dope Nose”, and “Take Control” from the Maladroit album. This album went into their next studio album offering called “Make Believe”, and I almost hate this album for the one single “Beverly Hills” because it got killed on the radio and MTV. The sad thing is that with the MP3 generation that just buy singles and not albums they miss songs that are deeper cuts like “The Damage in Your Heart”, and “This Is Such a Pity” that could be off any album by The Killers. The album “Make Believe” had Weezer back at their A-game status with a collection of great songs even if “Beverly Hills” did get killed on the radio for me.
This brings us to Weezer’s newest album and their third one which is self titled known as “The Red Album”, and let me just say this album is great. Seriously people, after two listens I found myself trying to sing to a couple of the songs and that is huge. The first song on the album called “Troublemaker” is great and when he sings “how’s this for arts and crafts” and goes into a riff then shouting with the band “That’s Right!” is kind of like saying in your face. “The Greatest Man That Ever Lived”, is the second song and is great how it seems to be a commentary on ego and how some buy into it fully and how others just lampoon it with lyrics “try to play it cool like you just don’t care but soon I’ll be playing in your underwear… I’m like the mage with the magic spell” which cast one on you that makes you laugh. Yes, I said “lampoon”. The forth song on the album called “Heart Songs” is a song that just speaks to you, because we all have a soundtrack in our mind for events past and present. This soundtrack is one we are not ashamed to sing along with once we hear a song from those times we remember with fondness or with a wince. The fifth song on the album “Everybody Get Dangerous” is a song for guys who were bored and put their energies in outlets that could have led to things no so great. The rest of the songs on the album are just as good as the first five on the album and I just enjoy listening to this album over and over. I think if you ever liked a Weezer song you should check out this album and if this is a sign of the future for Weezer then I hope they go beyond the primary colors and give us more music like this. So, spark up your hash pipe and smoke, choke, and wheez along with Weezer’s new self titled album “The Red Album”, and maybe one of them might be one of your “heart songs that never feel wrong”.

Preview Weezer's music at these two places online.
Weezer's Official Website
Listen to Weezer on their Myspace page