 Weezer *Cue sound effect of whistling bomb-dropping noise followed by loud explosion* And so it went for Weezer's second album. Released in 1996 with little fanfare, this entirely not-bad album went virtually unnoticed by the same listening public that had greedily gobbled up its predecessor. Part of the problem was the initial refusal by the band (or more specifically Rivers Cuomo) to film any videos for the initial singles. This was complicated by the fact that the first single, "El Scorcho," while catchy, is lyrically a bit geeky even for Weezer. The next single was "Pink Triangle," a humorous and not-quite-as-catchy song, with the subject being that Rivers has a crush on a lesbian. Again, subject matter a bit too much for a lot of listeners. Finally, as I understand, a video was made for "The Good Life," but by this time, it was just too little too late. It was all over for Weezer. For now. Pinkerton's commercial failure might also be attributed to the band's decision to self-produce it. They didn't do a bad job, by any means; in fact they did rather well. But right from the opening track, "Tired Of Sex," the sound is much more rough and harsh (and as such, actual effort is required to really listen) than the super-polished debut done by Ric Ocasek. "Getchoo" is similarly rough, with jangling, tinny guitars, and some screaming vocals, but is still a good album track. "No Other One" lightens the mood from the two rockers that precede it, and turns out something a bit more like the preceding album. "Why Bother?" is a pretty good song, with more of the hooks and sing-alongable (?) choruses that people were probably expecting from the album. "Across The Sea" is a ballad sung to a Japanese fan who has written Rivers a love letter. Pretty, but dull, and it's sequenced awkwardly, in the midst of the best songs the disc has to offer. "The Good Life" follows, written (I think) from the point of wiew of an elderly man lamenting his age, and longing for his younger days. The song is replete with hooks, and has a damn catchy chorus that stays with you. "El Scorcho" is next, and "Pink Triangle" follows it, rounding out a trifecta of good stuff that would have been five in a row if not for "Across The Sea." The disc wraps up with "Falling For You" which is OK, and "Butterfly," an acoustic number, which is also OK, but not likely to be listened to often at the very end of the album. It's obvious that the goal of Pinkerton was artistic expression rather than commercial success. If Rivers Cuomo had waited a couple more albums to do it, it might have been a commercial success in spite of itself. As a second album, though, it was very nearly a career-ender, and maybe that was his intent all along. It's still a surprisingly good album, one I might well come to enjoy as much than the debut. Especially given the out-of-nowhere resurrection of Weezer in the 2000s, Pinkerton will probably get its due in time.
Review by Mario Speedwagon |