Weezer’s debut album Weezer (more commonly known as the Blue Album) took nerd rock into the mainstream and kicked off what has since been a massively successful career. The album was produced by the great Ric Ocasek of The Cars fame, and his power pop influence can be heard extensively throughout the record in all of its little subtleties– the downstroked guitars (there isn’t a single upstroke on this album believe it or not), the fat arena rock sound of the guitars, and the bubblegum pop vocal melodies that permeate throughout each of the 10 tracks. The band actually practiced barbershop quartet style songs throughout in the build up and recording of the album to help sharpen their multi-layered vocal approaches, and that influence can be distinctly heard on the album which gives it sort of a retro feel. This helped bassist Matt Sharp develop his brittle falsetto which can be heard prominently in the pre-chorus to “Buddy Holly”, which has absolutely become an integral part of the dynamics of that song.
But perhaps my favorite part of the story surrounding the Blue Album is how lead singer Rivers Cuomo handled his newfound fame. After the album was released and blew up the band went on a grueling year-long tour supporting the record, and Cuomo felt completely burnt out singing the same songs every night (calling it “mind numbing”). During that tour they stopped in Boston, and before a show went to the admissions office at Harvard University and filled out an application. Harvard accepted him a few months later and the following Fall he attended classes for an entire year, completely unbeknownst to any of his classmates until the final day of classes when he revealed he was the frontman for the commercially successful band. I love that story and Cuomo’s retelling of it (you can watch his interview with Conan O’Brien here) and is one of those things that could only happen in the 90’s.
The Blue Album is a love letter to arena rock, classic metal and power pop made by guitar nerds who had a love for garage rock in their bones.
Standout Songs: “Buddy Holly”, “Undone – The Sweater Song”, “Say It Ain’t So”
