Without fail, everytime I go to write a review about this disc, I head into the just in section and sure enough, one of my esteemed colleagues has beaten me to the punch by a few minutes or a couple of hours or whatever. And with my luck, I'm sure that once I hit publish, yet another writer I respect will have already published theirs and it will appear right below mine, but at this point, I don't care.

Weezer hit it big in 1994/1995 with their first self titled album (commonly referred to as "The Blue Album," just as their 2001 "comeback" self titled disc is referred to as "The Green Album"), thanks not only to three absolutely huge hit singles, but also one of the most innovative and fun videos of the last 15 years in the Happy Days themed Buddy Holly.

If there was one thing that truly stood out about Blue, it was that the melodies were irresistibly catchy and the songs had great hooks. While only three songs were released as singles (Undone, Holly, and Say It Ain't So), the album was a rare case of a disc containing eight or nine singles; the only thing that probably wouldn't have caught on was the over-indulgent Only in Dreams.

Needless to say, the multi-platinum success of Blue put a lot of pressure on Weezer to follow it up with another huge hit. People wanted some more sunny songs with not so sunny lyrics, and they wanted another video that was as creative as the Happy Days joint (they'd have to wait until 2002's Keep Fishin with the Muppets for anything close to as fun visually). They got neither.

The band went on hiatus for a while, Cuomo went back to school at Harvard, and by the time the band recorded and released Pinkerton, they were less media and MTV friendly than Pearl Jam, and well, that's saying something. With the lack of a video, and waning support from radio, it appeared that Weezer had become the "one album wonder" so many critics had claimed they would be. Hardcore fans saw the album for what it was though: a brilliant, creative masterpiece that cemented Weezer's place as one of the best rock bands the 1990s produced.

While not as peppy as it's predecessor, Pinkerton does have its moments of anthemia (is that even a word?). Instead, the dark tone of the music matches the dark and dank artwork that makes up the CD cover. Hell, the first couple of songs sound more Sonic Youth influenced than the Cheap Trick sound from the first record. From the heavy bassline and fuzzy guitars that permeates the opening Tired of Sex, to the swirling guitars that open Getchoo, it's obvious this is a band that has undergone a major creative change. It's also obvious that Rivers Cuomo is opening every tiny part of himself up to the world in his songwriting; the general public's apathy to this record would lead him to close himself back up on following releases.

The band's one play at a radio hit, The Good Life, is probably the most immediately catchy song, although even that has a small interlude into a bit of spacy instrumentation. Why Bother also has a bit of the Blue Album's Surf Wax America in it, although I don't know if it ever could have become a radio hit, thanks yet again to the fuzzy sounding production.

The two songs that get the most attention on the record are the broken heart anthems el Scorcho and Pink Triangle. Scorcho has one of the most quoted lines in all of Weezer's repetoire ("goddamn you half Japanese girls"), although it also reveals some of Cuomo's sensibility as a songwriter. Pink Triangle wasn't the first song about lesbians to become a fan favorite (Reel Big Fish hit the jackpot with She Has a Girlfriend Now), although Triangle is certainly different from that song, and I like the way it is structured much better. I also find Cuomo's plea of "everyone's a little queer, why can't she be a little straight?" to be one of the better unrequited love lines ever written.

The album ends in stark contrast to the way it begins: Butterfly is a gorgeous acoustic track that to this day remains one of the songs many hardcore Weezer fans dream about hearing live.

Pinkerton is definitely not as immediately enjoyable as the Blue Album. The production is certainly rougher on the edges, and the music is much more abrasive. That being said, with repeated listens, Pinkerton grows on you, and after 10-12 spins, it becomes obvious this disc is just barely superior to the band's debut disc. Then again, I go back and forth on which one I like more.

Either way, if you're a Weezer fan, it is impossible to garner a true appreciation for the band's talents (not to mention Cuomo's talent as a songwriter) without this album in your collection.

5 stars.

More on Weezer:
Weezer (Blue)
Weezer (Green)
Maladroit
Keep Fishin #1 Import Single
Live in Mansfield MA 7/21/02


Recommended: Yes