About the Album:
“Weezer was formed in 1993 in Los Angeles by guitarist-vocalist Rivers Cuomo, bassist Matt Sharp, and drummer Patrick Wilson, and within a year had earned a deal with Geffen. The group quickly started work on a debut album with producer Ric Ocasek, former frontman of the late-1970s new-wave group The Cars.” TB
“Brian Bell, who joined Weezer just three days before the recording sessions began, provides most of the angular lead-guitar parts reminiscent” TB of the Beach Boys. TB “He is also responsible, alongside Sharp, for the breezy Californian harmonies that neatly offset Cuomo’s melodies.” TB
“When grunge began to implode following the death of Kurt Cobain, Weezer was one of the first groups to fill the void.” TB On “their first, and still their finest,” BL Weezer “introduced a fresh blend of geeky angst and catchy, riff-driven power pop” OH that fell “between the warped pop of The Pixies and the straight-ahead thump of arena rock.” AM
This “classic from geek-rock innovators” BL “offers embarrassingly pleasurable pop thrills” AM with its “awkward, nerdy, hook-laden rock.” TB It lay “the foundation for their lasting influence on ‘90s alternative rock” OH such as “punk softies like Blink 182” BL and emo bands like Jimmy Eat World and the Get Up Kids. TB “This album is as influential as Nevermind and Dookie for a generation of people.” OH
“The songs were so catchy that some indie rockers wondered if they were put together by a record company, Monkees-style.” 500 Cuomo said, “People see us now as this credible band, and they assume we always were credible…But, man, we could not have been more hated on when we came out.” 500
His “songwriting was on a whole different level.” OH He “became a major influence on a whole generation of young sad-sack punkers.” 500 He “was among the first alt-rock craftsmen to combine no-nonsense hard rock with sublime melody and harmony, justifying the ‘Everly Brothers meet Nirvana’ critical tag his band garnered.” BL
“Songs like Buddy Holly, Undone – The Sweater Song, In the Garage, The World Has Turned and Left Me Here, and Surf Wax America are filled with strong, simple guitar hooks and relentlessly catchy melodies.” AM Their content was equally strong; “instead of singing about despair, they sing about love, which is kind of refreshing in the gloom-drenched world of ‘90s guitar-pop.” AM
It didn’t hurt that the group crafted one of the most innovative videos of all time for “Buddy Holly.” The video, directed by Spike Jonze, cleverly edited the group into footage from the hit TV show Happy Days.
Notes: In 2004, a Deluxe Edition of the album was released that added another 14 cuts, including non-album songs “Mykel and Carli,” “Susanne,” “My Evaline,” “Lullaby for Wayne,” and “I Swear It’s True.” There are also live versions of “My Name Is Jonas,” “Surf Wax America,” “No One Else,” and two live versions of the non-album cut “Jamie.” There are also demo versions of “Undone – The Sweater Song,” “Only in Dreams,” and non-album cut “Paperface.” Winding up the whole affair is the original album mix of “Say It Ain’t So.”
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