Why?: Much of the time I really like Weezer, and when I bought this I was on an up. They've since really annoyed me with their last few albums, but these recordings are spread throughout their career. I'm also generally a big fan the lost gems musicians decide not the release.
Tell me more!:
I need to be in the right mood to listen to a collection like this. Sometimes I'm very tolerant of recordings from sources so bad they've been forced to leave in the tape warping, sometimes I'm really not. The idea I suppose is that you're supposed to hear the quality of the song over the missing production.
Weezerpedia.com has some very interesting facts about all of these songs. I urge you if you're interested to have a look.
"Ooh" is a nice experiment in multitracked vocals, and that was indeed what it was, an experiment in writing more complex vocal tracks.
"The World We Love So Much" has some excellent Weezer screams over acoustic pop chords, but I read it is a cover, but like the best covers, I'm unfamiliar with the original so Rivers makes this his own. The tape warp in the middle of this song, and the barely audible drum machine keeping the time, are only mildly irritating. I read it was part of a project Rivers and Patrick Wilson (Weezer drummer) took on, an attempt to write 50 songs between them. Such an idea is dear to my heart as some of the best songs my band came up with were on deliberate epic song-writing projects where we attempted to write many songs. I'm not sure a cover counts though...
"Lemonade" is classic early Weezer. "The Bomb" is a slightly embarrassing rap, but I admire Rivers for releasing it. Any musician growing up in the 90s has surely played around with rap? I know we have...
The "Buddy Holly" demo is interesting, it's quite rough, with more emphasis on the keyboards, but the guitars don't have as much of the awesome crunch as the album.
"Chess" is stupid, but I suppose a demonstration of simplicity. The kind of song Rivers can spit 50 of out in a week.
I really enjoy "Longtime Sunshine", written around the time of "Pinkerton", an album I'm not a big fan of. It's a pity it wasn't included on that album. I read a different version is included on the deluxe Pinkerton, and now I might have to go get that...
Back in 1995 Rivers started recording what was to be a rock opera, "Songs From The Black Hole" - "Blast Off!" and "Who You Callin' Bitch" are the first two tracks from this opera, "Dude We're Finally Landing" and "Superfiend" appearing elsewhere. I haven't heard the opera but it sounds like it would be fun, although hardly mind blowing.
"Wanda (You're My Only Love)" is a nice little ballad, but too minimal for me. It's actually a little too Ben Folds...
"Lover In The Show" is another great little classic Weezer home demo with the usual slightly stalker lyrics. The recording quality is excellent, it's a pity there are no drums. "Crazy One" on the other hand is plodding and depressing, the band sound asleep.
All previous tracks are (I believe) from 1998 and earlier. "This Is The Way" is from 2007, from the demo sessions before "The Red Album". Rivers was attempting to write non-Weezer songs, and came up with a deliberately cliche R&B song. Again I love stuff like this, it's a trick we used to do in our band, and sometimes it comes up with gold, even if only comedy gold. This track could do with just a bit more cheese.
"Little Diane" is a Dion and the Belmonts cover. It's fun enough, having been "Weezered" but it's nothing to write home about.
"Wish You Had an Axe Guitar" is a conversation recorded by Rivers and some friends when they were kids. It's absolutely adorable. I wish I had similar tapes from when I was a kid...
"I Was Made For You" is a track that was later reworked as "Save Me" for the "Make Believe" album but was rejected. Again, classic Weezer.
I actually enjoyed listening to this again with the information in front of me. A lot of it is still pretty forgettable, but it's fun, and it's Weezer. For a collection of unreleased tracks it's pretty great. I'm off to find the original version of "The World We Love So Much". I guess I'll have to review "Alone II" soon...
6/10
