Contributed By: McKay
Created On: Wednesday, 04 June 2008
Hits: 60
 Weezer (Red Album) Weezer started in the competitive Los Angeles club scene, eventually landing a deal with DGC during the post-Nirvana alternative signing boom. Three days before the band began recording their debut with producer Ric Ocasek, they added guitarist Brian Bell. Upon completing the record, Weezer went on hiatus temporarily -- Cuomo was studying at Harvard when their eponymous debut record came out. With the support of DGC and a striking video directed by Spike Jonze, "Undone (The Sweater Song)" became a modern rock hit in the fall of 1994, but what made Weezer a crossover hit was "Buddy Holly." The bands second album Pinkerton was released in 1996, but not long after the band finished the tour in support of the album, they took time off to regroup and plan their next move.
But a funny thing happened during Weezer's self-imposed exile...while their copycat offspring were falling by the wayside, a whole new generation of emocore enthusiasts discovered Weezer's diamond-in-the-rough efforts for the first time, and their audience grew despite not having a new album in the stores. Before they could enter the recording studio to record their third release, Weezer tested the waters by landing a spot on the 2000 edition of the Warped Tour, where they were consistently the day's highlight. Hooking up again with the producer of their 1994 debut, Ric Ocasek, Weezer recorded what would be known as "the Green Album" (a title given by fans since it was their second to be self-titled). Issued in May of 2001, the album was an immediate hit, debuting at number four on Billboard and settling comfortably in the upper reaches of the charts for much of the spring/summer. The songs& videos for "Hash Pipe" and "Island in the Sun" became radio and MTV staples, reestablishing Weezer as one of alt-rock's top dogs. The follow up, "Maladroit" was released a year later.
Weezer's last album, "Make Believe," spurred the band's highest charting Top 40 single (#2) in "Beverly Hills," and had two #1 Modern Rock hits with "Beverly Hills" and "Perfect Situation. That album sold platinum in U.S. This June, for the third time in its six-album history, Weezer will release a self-titled album through DGC/Interscope Records on June 3rd. To distinguish it from the other eponymous albums, it's being referred by people as "The Red Album." There are now no more primary colors to describe Weezer albums having exhausted blue and green previously. Comprised of sessions produced by Rick Rubin, Jacknife Lee and the band itself, the album is adventurous and undeniable Weezer pop-rock. The first single, the quirky and catchy "Pork and Beans," was recorded under the watch of the Irishman Lee and will soon be a Weezer classic.
Great albums are culminations of the past with an eye to the future, and the Red Album has parts "Blue Album," "Pinkerton," and forges new territory with all four members taking turns singing lead. The Red Album is the rarest of modern music combinations: being both immediate and having the quality of growing better upon each subsequent listen.
 
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