WEEZER 2-cd set
UNIVERSAL
LINKS:
weezer.com
What is there really to say about the first disc? It’s basically the same as the original. The songs are just as great as they were in 1995. My personal favorites are “Say it Ain’t So,” “Holliday,” and “Only in Dreams.” Weezer’s first self-titled CD, along with “Pinkerton,” had a certain quality to it that their last two albums are slightly missing. I think the missing quality left with bass player, Matt Sharp. He brought a carefree attitude to the band that boss-man Rivers Cuomo usually just doesn’t seem to get. Lighten up, Poindexter!
The first song, “My Name is Jonas,” sets up the feel of the album perfectly with a slow, acoustic guitar tune, and moving on to steady, but lightning fast beat, that inspires crowd surfers and faux-moshers everywhere.
The album keeps a pretty nice, fast upbeat sound throughout, slowing down the most for “The World has Turned and Left Me Here,” a song that Cuomo admits is his least favorite song on the album.
But anyone who likes Weezer pretty much already knows everything there is to know about this album. Chances are, anyone who likes Weezer already has this album. So why dish out $20 to $30 to buy it? Well, I guess the bonus disc is the reason, but I don’t know if it’s really worth it.
The bonus disc, called Dusty Gems and Nuggets, contains some pretty sweet B-Sides, live performances and rare demos. The first of the B-Sides is “Mykel and Carli,” a song dedicated to the bands friends, who later died in a car accident. The song sounds right at home with the regular album and I’m surprised it wasn’t on it. The song often has a catchy sound that would easily make Ringo Starr shake his mop-top side to side with delight. The lyrics talk about the two girls caring for his health by feeding him ice cream cones and always keeping him company. The creepy thing is that I think he wrote the song before their tragic accident, but the lyrics almost indicate otherwise.
“Back in Wilson High/ I said I had these two best friends/ Until the school bus came and took my friends away/ Now I’m left alone at home to sit and think all day/ Hear you me, Mykel/ Hear you me, Carli.”
Creepy, huh?
The bonus disc also contains the popular love songs, “Suzanne,” which appeared on the end credits on the cult-classic, Mallrats, and “Jamie,” a song that appears to be Rivers crooning lawyer. Of the two, I prefer “Suzanne” because of the superior vocals and harmony, and sweet-as-spit guitar solo. It just seems so much more polished.
A rare B-Side on the bonus disc is a cover of the classic song, “My Evaline,” which contains only an acoustic guitar and the best harmony I’ve ever heard from Weezer. Again, the loss of Matt Sharp has hurt the band in that respect as well.
The album also contains some live songs that sound just like the ones on the album, except you can hear crowd noise. I guess that’s a good thing. One of my favorite live performances on the disc is a surprisingly good acoustic version of “No One Else,” displaying Rivers’ softer vocals at their absolute best.
Another feature on the bonus disc are the rare “Kitchen Tape” recordings, which included original guitarist, Jason Cropper (I don’t know why he had to be replaced, but I heard he was a royal asshole). These include early, alternate versions of Weezer songs and a few that have never been released. The best of these is the refreshingly fast, “Paperface,” which contains a lot of uncharacteristic screaming. The guitars and drumming keep up with the feel by kicking it into overdrive. The song does manage to slow down for a few seconds, but slowly starts to pick up speed until reverting back to the harsh screams.
The last song on the disc is the original version of “Say it Ain’t So,” which is much different from the current version because – uh, well actually it sounds identical to the current version. I don’t know what the point was of including this. Oh, well, it’s my favorite song on the album, so I guess I shouldn’t complain too much.
The bonus disc is the real prize of the special edition, but I don’t know if it’s worth the hefty price. Before the feds started jacking off to the thought of prosecuting teenagers for downloading music, I had already obtained most of the songs on the bonus disc. But if you really want the album, whether it be from a collector’s standpoint or if you just really need those extra songs, I would try and find it used at an independent record store before signing over your first born to someplace like Virgin or Tower.
----Codell Rodriguez