Weezer’s second full length album, Pinkerton (iTunes), was a departure from their original guitar driven surfer/loner/nerd anthem style of rock. As such, when it was first released in 1996, it was panned by critics and many fans alike who were eagerly anticipating a second edition of The Blue Album. To be frank here folks it seems like bands cannot seem to please anyone with a sophomore effort. In the case of Weezer they went in a new direction for their second album and fans and critics hated it. But look at The Strokes, who essentially released a second album, which could have been called This Is It to answer their first albums title Is This It?, that was so similar in sound and style to their first disc that audiences, critics, and even fans blasted the band for not changing.
Pinkerton, fortunately, has stood the test of time and now can be heard in a much more favorable setting. Attempting to give fans more of a slice of what their live shows were like Weezer dropped their producer, played the songs together in studios, and layed down the three separate vocal tracks at the same time. If their first album dealt with the peccadilloes of life in a broad sense then Pinkerton focused more on the minutiae of angst and longing. One could credit or lambaste Rivers Cuomo for this style of writing as it gave rise to latter day followers, Dashboard Confessional, who have successfully aped this type of story telling so well they have made it their own.
Here below are three powerful tracks from Pinkerton. The first two are of the standard Weezer variety of guitar driven power pop while the third track, the album closing Butterfly, is a slow motion acoustic song detailing the end of a relationship. Pay attention to the lyrics of Butterfly where Cuomo sings lines like “if I’m a dog then you’re a bitch” or “every time I pin down what I think I want it slips away.” If ever there was a critic who claimed Weezer was too one dimensional Pinkerton stands in bold defiance of such a claim.
mp3 : Weezer - Pink Triangle
mp3 : Weezer - The Good Life
mp3 : Weezer - Butterfly
I think “panned by critics” is overstating it. Sure, many hated it, especially those who normally reviewed more mainstream efforts, but many critics who held no illusion of speaking to the world’s 16 year olds tended to like it.
“Mixed reception from critics” is probably the best way to put it. As a former retail lackey, I can attest how hard it was to sell at the time.
yeah, it was and honestly still is a hard sell. it contains all the stereotypical weezer elements [which i love] but there’s something about this album that sets it apart from the more traditional weezer cannon. in fact this entire album/story was so personal to rivers that he refused to play most/all of the pinkerton songs in concert until well after the album had dropped.
and i’m sticking with “panned by critics” although pitchfork and NME gave it generally favorable reviews. the rest of the music nation, including cuomo, seems to have hated it.
Phenomenal blog post pertaining to Weezer! Thanks.