Make Believe [Enhanced]

For a bit of a background about the meaning of this album:

I first met weezer sometime after pinkerton came out, during a time when weezer was thought to be no more. Their first two albums quickly became my favorite (and still are). To clarify, i am a pinkerton-weezer fan.

so, naturally, i was overjoyed when i heard weezer had suddenly come back to give us the green album. I bought it and was disappointed in less than 30 minutes. (that's it? were's the rest?). yeah, there were a few catchy tunes, but it wasn't the weezer we all knew and loved. Then maladroit came out, and i thought, finally! we'll get the real weezer back! but sadly no, it wasn't.

For those who are not aware, the green album brought about a segregation between weezer fans. Some fans (the "green" fans) love the pop-tunes of the green album, maybe they liked a few songs from the blue album once they found them later, but they all agreed that pinkerton somehow sucked. Then there was the "blue" fans who loved the old weezer and thought pinkerton was the greatest album ever. Even though most were happy that weezer was back, they were disappointed that weezer wan't weezer and had become nothing more than shallow pop music.

As for album #5, i think this album has the power to unite the fans so that we can all listen to a single weezer CD together. it's all 4 CDs roled into one. Actually, I think this album is a bit of an apology to pinkerton fans, who he knows were disappointed with the last two albums (or maybe i'm just happy thinking that it is). Tracks like "Pardon Me" and "The Other Way" are what give me that feeling.

This is the weezer hopefully everyone can be content with. Don't buy it and expect pinkerton. it isn't pinkerton, that was the past, it seems Cuomo somehow got hurt from it and we'll probably never get that side of him again. However this is not the lazy, shallow crap of the last two albums either. Weezer is moving forward, it's changing, and it's changing for the better.

For an actual review of the CD (for the CD in itself):

The musical quality varys from simple 3-chord songs to sweet guitar rifs. The song's lyrics alternate from fun, finger-snapping, meaningless crap, to the nice depressing emo-ish sap we all crave. From happy moods to depressing tunes, private songs to party-worthy tracks, overall, it leaves you satisfied. Not completely happy and not worthy of 5 stars, but it's good enough to listen to and give you a good feeling.

Some of the songs -notably "Beverly Hills" and "This is such a pity" -are simple catchy songs which will most likely get some air-time. The lyrics are a bit cleche and nothing that we haven't heard before, but they're tollerable and good to listen to while driving with your friends. However, some of the songs -such as "Freak Me Out", "Hold Me", and "Peace" -are the kind that become your own. You keep them to yourself, listening to them alone with your bedroom door locked. But to prevent the album from feeling melancholy, the two types of songs alternate nearly every track.

Overall, perhaps it could have been better (simply by deleting a few of the stupid ones), but it's pretty darn good as it is. Buy it if you're a long time fan, buy it if this is the first cd you've ever heard of weezer. You're bound to like the majority of it. As a fun bonus, the CD booklet (yes, we actually get one this time!) has some nice artwork, i think it's very fitting.

I've been a big Weezer fan since the beginning, and looking back upon the Green Album and Maladroit now, I have to admit they were disappointing, when you know the musical depth these guys are capable of.

And therefore their fifth album, Make Believe, was much anticipated, both with a good measure of dread and a little chink of hope...

I'm just back from the shop, listening to it for the second time, and if you could see my face right now, you could tell whether the album is good or not... but well, you can't so I'm going to tell you: I'm beaming!

I'm so glad, even relieved, that the guys are back on track. Rivers's voice (you know, this voice that can make you cry) is back, and although the melodies are great, maybe they don't compare to the Blue Album and Pinkerton in terms of genius, but the songs do have what I was so craving for: emotion, power, and layers (very important, that). You can listen to a song ten times and still discover another a hidden riff at the eleventh.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to drown into the music and enjoy...

Here's the thing. When a band has been around the block as long as The Weez, its die-hard fan base inevitably hails all its accomplishments -- even if it means gushing about an album that is so sub-par, so god-awful, it makes you question whether the band was ever good in the first place. Weezer fans can't hear straight. They love Rivers too much. They love flashing the big ol' W with their fingers while singing at top volume during live shows. He could burp the alphabet on a new single with the Backstreet Boys and they'd hail it as musical genius. These are not the reviews you should be reading -- and sadly, there are many here, which is why I felt compelled to write. "Make Believe" is a shameful release. The lyrics were apparently cribbed from Joel and Benji Madden's Escalade, although the drippy sentimentality behind "Pardon Me" could easily have emanated from the fifth-grade notebook diary of a Simple Plan fan. Where's the irony, Rivers? "Pinkerton" scarred his creative genius to the point where he only seems comfortable with predictable "whoa-oh-oh" choruses and lyrics like, "When you're out with your friends in your new Mercedez Benz. And you're on drugs." Hmmm ... sounds like someone's been watching "Less Than Zero" a bit too much. If it was meant to be a funny jab at rich kid chic, the joke ended up on the cutting room floor. "You're my best friend and I love you." Yeesh. Somewhere there's a Hallmark card writer waiting for a royalty check. This album couldn't have been more disappointing, a group of songs I didn't even think Rivers was capable of writing on his worst day. All good things come to an end, and sadly, Weezer's run appears over ... at least until Mr. Cuomo decides he wants to put that Harvard education to use in his songwriting. So don't listen to the Weezer fans who slapped a five star rating on this album before they even ripped off the cellophane. I'm a Weezer fan with the best of them, and trust me, I'll still listen to the first four. But the truth hurts ... though maybe if I try hard enough, I can "Make Believe" I didn't have to confront a time when Weezer was at its worst. Nope. I can still hear the words to "We Are All On Drugs" in my head.