say it ain't so

Weezer should go down as one of the most underachieving bands of the past twenty years--maybe of all time. I can think of few other bands off the top of my head right now that showed so much promise with their first couple albums, only to ruin it with a slew of mediocre releases. The band's self-titled debut album (often known as The Blue Album) was a masterpiece, and their sophomore follow-up Pinkterton came close to replicating that success. But when Pinkerton failed to receive a warm reception from most fans, frontman Rivers Cuomo put the band on the shelf for a few years.

Weezer attempted to channel the success of their debut album when they finally returned, making it their second eponymous album and even using a similar album cover. What has come to be known as The Green Album is a good pop album, but it failed to reach the same level of excellence as the band's first two efforts.

Things got worse with the band's next two albums, Maladroit and Make Believe. Maladroit featured a more "metal" sound which resulted in a lot of dull tracks, although the album is not without its highlights ("Burndt Jam" and "Keep Fishin'" to name a couple). Make Believe was even more disappointing considering the album was made with Rick Rubin, one of the best producers in music. While "This Is Such a Pity" ranks up there as one of Weezer's best songs, the album also features "Beverly Hills," which might be the worst piece of garbage Cuomo has ever recorded. Aside from a couple decent tracks, the album was the band's weakest yet.

With their latest release, Weezer once again tried to mimic the success of their first album by self-titling their new record and using a similar cover, Weezer (The Red Album) is way off the mark from the band's early releases. It shows a slight improvement over Make Believe, but that may have more to do with the fact that the record doesn't have any songs as bad as "Beverly Hills" and "We Are All On Drugs" than that it features better songs. Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of stinkers here like the emo-sounding garbage like "Heart Songs" and the irritating "Everybody Get Dangerous," but they aren't the worst we've heard from Weezer. Cuomo can't be blamed for all the bad songs, as the tracks written by the other members of Weezer ("Thought I Knew," "Cold Dark World," and "Automatic") are equally awful. The album has a couple hits like the catchy singles "Pork and Beans" and "Troublemaker," but most of the other tracks are completely forgettable. The Red Album is ultimately another disappointing release from a band that we know can do--and has done--much, much better.

• 1994: Weezer (Blue Album) - 5 out of 5 Davies
• 1996: Pinkerton - 4 Davies
• 2001: Weezer (Green Album) - 3 1/2 Davies
• 2002: Maladroit - 2 1/2 Davies
• 2005: Make Believe - 2 Davies
• 2008: Weezer (Red Album) - 2 Davies