Pros: Passionate vocals, great guitar work, catchy tunes - another great release by Weezer.
Cons: Sometimes lyrics feel a bit uncreative
The Bottom Line: Make Believe is a solid album filled with catchy tracks and a sense of musicality. It's a great piece of work, and something we can all relate to.
There was just something that set Weezer apart from all other bands. Whether it was the band’s unabashed pride in their combined nerdiness; the boyish voice and appearance of frontman Rivers Cuomo; or their distinct, guitar-driver power-pop feel, it was hard not to love the band of four when they first made their way onto the music scene in 1994 with the release of their self-titled debut, more commonly known as the Blue Album. Emerging into fame just as grunge-rock band Nirvana had collapsed, the Blue Album was a stark and unquestionably appealing contrast with its uplifting, girl-themed lyrics and catchy vocals. Blue went on to sell over ten million copies; but the question was, would Weezer fade away into history as a one-hit wonder, or would the compelling magic of the Blue Album reappear with each subsequent album?
The answer is, yes and no.
Since the Blue Album, Weezer has released four albums. These albums, in chronological order, are Pinkerton (1996); the “Green Album” (2001); Maladroit (2002); and finally, Make Believe, released this year, on May 10th, 2005 (the eleventh anniversary of Blue’s debut). Each new Weezer album has sounded much different from the one preceding it- Pinkerton sounded raw and emotional, while the Green Album had an intense pop feel and was fast-paced. Holding true to the band’s history of creating diverse and different-sounding albums, Make Believe has its unique attributes, and in my personal opinion can’t really be accurately compared to any older Weezer albums. I am going to review Make Believe simply as music by itself, rather than contrast it with Weezer’s older material. With that, let’s open up the CD case and step into the world of Make Believe.
Initial Impressions
I must admit that I would not consider myself a hardcore Weezer fan. I don’t own all of their albums, and I’ve never been to one of their concerts. However, I already felt excited in the weeks leading up to its release. There was something about the black-and-white album design that told me that this CD might be something special.
I wasn’t disappointed at all. I listened through the whole CD without skipping any tracks or pressing pause, and I loved what my ears were hearing. The guitar playing blended perfectly with the vocals, and each song was catchy, with the ideal blend of slower pieces and fast-paced rock songs. When I got to the end of the disc, I couldn’t stop; my finger seemed to take on a life of its own, and went down onto the play button once more. During the second listen, I discovered that there was even more than I had picked up the first time around. We’ll start with Beverly Hills, the opening track and the first single.
Let’s Begin!
The first track on Make Believe is named Beverly Hills, an optimistic track in a twisted sort of way. Drummer Pat Wilson starts off the album with a drumroll, and within seconds, Rivers jumps into the lyics: “Where I come from isn’t all that great / My automobile is a piece of crap / My fashion sense is a little wack / And my friends are just as screwy as me”. Whether he’s singing or rapping is hard to tell, but it’s different in a good way. A little past halfway, we get a nice guitar solo, and the song wraps up decently with shouts of “Beverly Hills!”. It’s certainly a good idea to start the album on a high note, and the simple bassline in the background does wonders for keeping the song going.
Next, we have a great song. Perfect Situation opens with a pretty nice guitar introduction set to a steady bassline. The song then jumps right into some great vocals by Cuomo, even though at times the lyrics seem like they could have used a little more effort (“All I have to do is swing and I’m a hero / But I’m a zero”). Making up for the tepid rhyming though, is a soaring, harmonized chorus of oh-oh-oh’s. At the end, we hear a great guitar solo by guitarist Brian Bell, leading us into the next song. This Is Such a Pity starts out with some synth-style rock, and though the lyrics are filled with cliché’s, you can’t help but sing along to Rivers Cuomo as he cries out, “This is such a pity / We should give our love to each other / Not this hate that destroys us all”. Halfway through the song, we get another surprise with a decent guitar solo. So far, so good.
Downward Turn?
In my opinion, the album takes a small downward step at the fourth track, Hold Me. Just like the third track, Hold Me is filled with clichés, but this time the song moves rather slowly. Cuomo’s soft singing at the beginning of the song doesn’t sound as emotional as he probably wanted; instead, it sounds a little like a filler track compared to Perfect Situation and This Is Such A Pity. It’s an okay song, but you’ll find it getting old, fast. Following Hold Me, we have the fifth track, Peace. Compared to the first four songs, Rivers’ vocals sound almost improvisatory at first, with its repeated melodies and whoa-oh-whoa-oh’s. Definitely not a standout in my opinion. Would the next track pick the pace back up?
Well, it doesn’t make up for the previous two tracks, but track six is a rather controversial song. Just one glimpse at the title, “We Are All On Drugs”, and you know it’s going to be something out of the ordinary. The song opens with guitar playing that sounds almost an opening theme for an action movie. What comes next is a string of anti-drug lyrics, most of which are rather corny (“And you wish you could quit / ‘Cause you’re really sick of it / When you’re on drugs” as well as ”And you show up late to school / ‘Cause you think you’re really cool / When you’re on drugs”). The melody never really gets interesting, and while the chorus is mildly catchy, this song will most likely fade away as Rivers Cuomo’s failed attempt at a political song.
Emotions, Mediocrity, and Sunlight The Damage In Your Heart is probably my personal favorite track on this album. Cuomo’s vocals sound passionate as ever on this song, and there’s a certain emotional edge to the singing that almost sends chills up your spine. The song starts with lyrics that feel fairly depressing, “One more time / I have crossed the line / Now you won’t be mine anymore”, but scales into a chorus which is actually uplifting. Refreshingly hopeful compared to the material we from all of the ‘pity-me bands’ we hear these days, this song feels good and sounds good, too.
Following The Damage In Your Heart is Pardon Me. If I had to pick one song on the album to be classified as a filler track, this would be it. The lyrics are cheesy (even for a Weezer song). “So I apologize to you / And to anyone else that I hurt too / I may not be a perfect soul / But I can learn self-control / So pardon me” The musical work is decent, but the lyrics make me sigh, shake my head, and wonder how much time Rivers Cuomo spent on thinking up this unoriginal tune. Thankfully, the next song, My Best Friend, is a little less cheesy, lyrically speaking, and is a good deal more upbeat. From the moment that the song begins playing, it’s obvious by the frenetic guitar playing that this is going to be a fast paced, joyful song. And you know what? I love it. It takes the heavy-hearted feel of the album up to this point and turns it around completely. Utter joy, happiness, and excitement are three themes that prevail in this song, and it works.
After this romp through feel-good land comes an honest piece by Rivers called The Other Way. Drummer Pat Wilson’s beat carries the song along extremely nicely, as well as bassist Scott Shriner’s line. Best of all, Cuomo’s vocals seem to float over the harmony of the instruments, bringing back memories of the Blue Album as he sings out, ”I will turn and look the other waaaaaay”. The song details the story of a guy who wants to help his friend in need, but unfortunately is too shy or stupid to know what to do. It’s got some of the same innocent flavor that made the Blue Album so attractive, and it’s a great song.
Final Stretch
The second-to-last track is always something unique, where the band gets to experiment and come up with something that is fun and different. Weezer gives us a really interesting song, Freak Me Out. The intro sounds like a horror movie theme being played on a xylophone or something. We even get a harmonica solo midway through. The vocals sound almost whispered, and the chorus of ”Man, you really freak me out / I’m so afraid of you” gets repeated over and over again, for a really interesting effect. It’s weird, yet typical Weezer.
I guess the universal saying of ‘save the best for last’ holds true in this album, because the final track, Haunt You Every Day, is a true gem. The piano opening is an excellent way to open the song, and Rivers’ vocalizations resonate as truly heartfelt and unrestrained. Brian Bell’s guitar work throughout the piece is fantastic, especially in his solo near the end. The words feel completely honest, and the band comes together to produce this beautiful finale to the album. I often feel the urge to sing along to every song I listen to, but something keeps me silent out of respect as Cuomo launches into the powerful chorus- “Oh, so alone in love / So alone in love / I’m going to haunt you every day / Haunt you every day”. As the final chord fades away, I can’t stop myself from thinking how Haunt You provides such a satisfying way for Make Believe to come to a close.
Thoughts
As a rock album by itself, Make Believe is solid and musical, with considerable emotion and flavor. Given what we’ve come to expect from Rivers Cuomo and Weezer though, some can’t help but feel that it could have been something ‘greater’. I’m not going to think that way. The Blue Album had its own greatness, as did Pinkerton, Green, and Maladroit. Make Believe is its own fantastic album filled with catchy songs, great musicality and passionate vocals. While it falls a little short in the lyrics department, the whole collection of songs still moves and balances itself out with its share of mellow as well as uplifting moments. Overall, I consider this a solid effort from Rivers and crew; and while it won’t go down in history as the defining album of a decade or genre, I appreciate it for what it is and should be: plain good music.
Track Listing:
1. Beverly Hills
2. Perfect Situation
3. This Is Such A Pity
4. Hold Me
5. Peace
6. We Are All On Drugs
7. The Damage In Your Heart
8. Pardon Me
9. My Best Friend
10. The Other Way
11. Freak Me Out
12. Haunt You Every Day
Weezer:
Rivers Cuomo – Vocals, Guitar
Brian Bell – Guitar, Vocals
Scott Shriner – Bass Guitar
Pat Wilson – Drums
Released: May 10 2005, Geffen Records
This review was written by audio_freak for Epinions.
Thanks for reading my review.
Comments are definitely appreciated!
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.