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7 out of 10
Maybe it's because he's married now, or because he's finished at Harvard, or because he cleared the decks with last year's demo collection 'Alone', or because with 'Pork And Beans' he's released one of his best ever singles and best ever videos (Starring the YouTube freaky geeky all-stars). But whatever it is, Weezer's third self-titled LP doesn't sound like it was produced by the mythical, diva-genius Rivers Cuomo past records allegedly were. He sounds like he's mellowed, happier and not taking his great pop-rock too seriously. It's probably not coincidence that this is the most collaborative Weezer album since 'Weezer (The Blue Album)'. Brian Bell, Scott Shriner and Patrick Watson, who also sings 'Automatic', all wrote songs, and Rick Rubin and Jacknife Lee contributed to the production.
'The Red Album' is restless and 'Troublemaker' sets the tone for the bets part of the record, like 'Pork And Beans'. Cuomo plays with his voice and forces ludicrous rhymes, sings lines like "I'm going to be a rock star and you will go to bed with me", and goes "nernerener" along to a solo like he's playing 'Guitar Hero', yet it still works. They way 'Heart Songs' namedrops Springsteen, Lennon, 'Nevermind', 'Man In The Mirror' and Slayer somehow charms as well. Although, when Cuomo sings on 'The Greatest Man That Ever Lived' that, "baby, I've been told that I'm going crazy", you can see whoever said its point. In six minutes it manages to go through crunk, Southern Rock, '80s metal, grunge, Will Young, Salvation Army band and, eventually, classic Weezer.
Bell's sunny, soft rock 'Though I Knew'' and Wilson's lush 'Automatic' are also welcome additions to the Weezer cannon, even if the by-numbers 'Everybody Get Dangerous', 'Dreamin'' and the overly long 'The Angel And The One' are not. The covers of The Band and Talk Talk on the UK version aren't much more than collectors' trinkets either. Still, we get Weezer back and we get 'Pork And Beans', which is pretty neat all in all.
Listen: www.myspace.com/weezer
Tracklist:
1. Troublemaker
2. The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations On A Shaker Hymn)
3. Pork And Beans
4. Heart Songs
5. Everybody Get Dangerous
6. Dreamin'
7. Thought I Knew
8. Cold Dark World
9. Automatic
10. The Angel And The One
11. The Weight
12. Life Is What You Make It
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