“I Wanna Go Back...”

There has always been one paradoxical quote about Weezer that amused me. I’m paraphrasing, but it goes along the lines that “Weezer are the worst rock band in America to release two of the greatest albums of the last 20 years”.

Whilst I disagree, it’s easy to understand why they might be labeled as such. After the initial disappointment of their comeback Green Album in 2001, and the series of pitfalls along the way (Parts of Red and Hurley, all of Make Believe and Raditude) you’d probably be thinking it’s a miracle if Weezer had any followers left. Yet you’d be surprised to find a community of dedicated, and often frustrated, people who truly love this band.

It comes down to one album: Pinkerton. Coming from a troubled past, it has become the albatross that hangs around the bands’ collective neck. A blessing in that it is quite simply a work of genius, and a curse in that they have never been able to follow it up.

Originally spawned as a space rock opera named Songs from the Black Hole, it morphed into a quasi-concept album based around Madame Butterfly and was a swift departure from their eponymous debut’s geek power pop. Vocal harmonies were swapped with screams, acoustic guitar with walls of feedback, the only remaining feature being their signature quirky, pop culture referencing lyrics. But even these were distorted and made darker, becoming obsessed with sex, heartbreak, and what Japanese school girls get up to in their spare time (if you catch my drift).

Largely ignored by the press when it was first released, it was both a commercial and critical flop, and placed #1 on Rolling Stones’ worst album of 1996 list. The band retreated into hiatus for the next five years, and nothing more was heard of the Weez. But by some miracle, over those five years the album began gathering steam by itself, slowly gaining recognition with both fans and critics, and went on to become one of the biggest sleeper hits ever conceived.

Now, a full 14 years later the album is being reissued and re-mastered as a 2 CD, 36 track album of odds and ends. The B-Sides and unreleased tracks from this era remain of a ludicrously high quality: “Devotion” feels heavy and sluggish to the verge of breaking point, but somehow works. New track “Getting Up and Leaving”, only heard before from the Not Alone concert where frontman Rivers Cuomo performed it acapella is a lost Weezer classic. And that’s not forgetting the Coda version of “Longtime Sunshine”, or the end cap of the album “Tragic Girl”.

However, what’s most striking upon listening again is that it hasn’t aged. Opener “Tired Of Sex” is still as debauched; the chorus of “El Scorcho” still has the same fist in the air, feel good factor; the bass of “Getchoo” full on rawk; the closing chords of “Butterfly” a sting of regret. It’s abrasive, blistering, and at times uncomfortable, but beneath these layers lies an incredibly personal, humourous and emotive album that is utterly relatable. So if you’re a Weezer veteran, recovering addict, or only know “Beverly Hills” (Shudder... (Editor’s note: Shame on you!)) then this is an essential purchase for the coming wintery months.