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But time changes everything. When I first heard Pinkerton, I thought, "Whoa, Rivers, what do you think you're doing?" (Rivers Cuomo is the band's frontman.) On the surface, Pinkerton sounds like a desperate, overly emotional and possibly even annoying this-is-my-life-story kind of album. With time, it evolves into one of the most mind-blowingly awesome rock albums of the nineties.

To what do we owe this bizarre transition? All that I can figure is that people tend to hear without listening. When they first hear Pinkerton, they think, "Man, this doesn't sound cool." They don't really pay attention to what they're hearing.

After a while, they begin to pay attention to the words, the rhythms, the infectious melodies, and then they're hooked. To everyone's surprise, the music all of a sudden sounds really, really good. I'm talking good enough to bring about vicarious happiness, anger, longing and sadness - maybe even enlightenment. Trust me, it's happened with a lot of people.

Join the club. Buy this album.


so this is it..   May 21, 2001
 84 out of 87 found this review helpful

here it is - this is the album that drove Rivers into seclusion for several years, writing songs for himself in his room and throwing them away.

this is the album where he felt liberated, where he would be creating this new sound for everyone. the emotional nakedness he hinted at in Weezer (funky blue cover) became fully realized here. not only his voice showed his emotions, you can hear it in every note of his fractured guitar - the soaring, pins and needles feeling it elects out of you with every solo, every vibrato. the music drove you because he sang about a pain not only secular to him, it's an album he made for YOU just as much as him. you almost wanted to grab cuomo and tell him everything will be alright by the end of Butterfly, crying and muttering to yourself how your girlfriend/boyfriend is an idiot.

a funny thing happened. about the time this album came out, power-pop/punk was going on it's way out. this cd was left on the side, pushed away in favor of nameless bands long forgotten. only making gold (as opposed to the 4 million weezer sold), cuomo freaked and closed the door on his musical career for awhile to sort through it all.

earlier this year, cuomo and company came out just enough to hammer enough songs to make a new album, one just released earlier this month. Weezer (funky green cover) seems to be poised as a new beginning for this band. the switch from blue to green, the retro-funky clothes - you can tell from the beginning that this is the same weezer you loved...but...somethings...just...different. something doesn't add up, that's only confirmed when you come back and listen to Pinkerton right after dispensing Weezer (green) out of your cd player.

Pinkerton's emotional beauty, the harsh nakedness and razorblade rhythm cuts deep. every song makes you want to sing, not only because of the melody (which is outstanding), but because you FEEL his pain. Tired of Sex, Across the Sea, Good Life - these are the songs i yell while i'm driving to work, cd-player blasted up, anger and energy thrown on top of it. critics blasted this at first because they expected meandering pop w/o substance. they bought into spike jonzes' videos about weezer - the geeky sensibility, the happy-go-lucky charm. it took critics years before they realized how amazing this album truly is - after rivers locked himself into his room, after everyone forgot who weezer even were.

the green album that was released but only a few days ago. where pinkerton soars and climaxes, green takes a calculated approach and just bops. cuomo hasn't the power anymore to show us what he feels in his music. for better or for worse, pinkerton scared him off that path. from now on, it seems as if cuomo will become another faceless/nameless songwriter who hides behinds his lyrics (albeit still VERY good songs).

so here is pinkerton - on one hand one of the best albums released in the 90s, yet simultaneously something which drove its creator to the brink of depression. the weezer you see now is 1/2 of their former self. here they are at their height.


coolness!   August 9, 2000
 28 out of 47 found this review helpful

i love this cd! my only complaint is there is only 10 songs, but the quality makes up for quantity! an awesome cd, here's a rundown of the songs:

1. Tired of Sex- This song is more darker sounding than anything on the blue album, but it's good, real good. There's an awesome solo in it.

2. Getchoo- What do you get when you combine country and Weezer style? "Getchoo"! This song takes a few listens to get used to, but its cool!

3. No Other One- This song is what you play for your girlfriend. Its Rivers talking about how much he likes his girl really.

4. Why Bother- A 2 minute song, but it's cool. Classic Weezer style. Its Rivers talking about him not wanting to get a girl because he's afraid she'll dump him.

5. Across the Sea- Opens with soft piano notes, gets more uptempo through the song.

6. The Good Life- My personal favorite, Rivers wrote this when he was living a hermit's life..."i wanna get back to the good life"

7. El Scorcho- Cool repeating guitar riff throughout the song. Rivers talking about wanting a girl to give him a sign that she likes him.

8. Pink Triangle- About a lesbian. Pretty funny.

9. Falling For You- Rivers talking about a girl that he's falling for, preferably an Asian for him most likely. 10. Butterfly- Acoustic song. Nice way to finish up the album.


Honesty is Key   February 10, 2000
 20 out of 22 found this review helpful

As a huge weezer fan perhaps I'm a little jaded. Some of the music can seem left of the mark the first time you hear it, but it doesn't take long for it to grow on you. Pinkerton is a beutiful album right down to the cover art. Weezer's first album had some great singles, but the album's continuity as a whole doesn't compare to Pinkerton. It paints a sacharine lamenting picture that pays off at the end. this isn't to say that it doesn't have any good singles, songs like "The Good Life", "El Scorcho" will leave you humming for days. The first track is one of my favorites. "Tired of Sex" is driving and begs to be played loud. Other hard tracks include: "Getchoo", and "Why Bother". What really makes this album shine, and weezer itself, so special, is lead, Rivers Cuomo's superior skill at writing beutifull melodies. His lyrics are honest, emotional, easy to relate to, and at times even funny. Pinkerton has no lack of melancholy love songs: "Across the Sea", "Pink Triangle"(one of my favorites), "No other One", and the acoustic "Butterfly". These songs are sweet, moody, and honest from their simple lyrics to Rivers' waivering voice. This album is a masterpiece, and Weezer's best to date.


A Masterpiece in Musical Storytelling   December 4, 2000
 13 out of 14 found this review helpful

The ten songs on this CD can stand alone and be enjoyed on their own merit. For a long time, that's how I had listened to it, one song at a time, each isolated from the rest of the album. Then, letting the CD play all the way through on my CD player, I realized that Pinkerton shouldn't be listened to this way. Each song, from Tired of Sex to Butterfly, is a chapter in the story of a man who's done the bachelor thing, is tired of it, and looking for a more worthwhile and special relationship. A summerical breakdown would go like this:
1.Tired of Sex: The man (Rivers?) can get a different girl every night if he wants. He, in fact, does, but he's getting sick of it, like the title says.
2.Getchoo: He's trying to squeeze his way into a relationship, but the girl he's trying to get with isn't committed.
3.No Other One: This one's about the girl who isn't right for him, but he doesn't want to be alone, so he stays with her.
4.Why Bother?: Here you have Girl: Beautiful, and Man: Inadequate. He wants her, but figures that if a relationship is achieved, she'll only hurt him in the end.
5.Across the Sea: While waiting for the perfect girlfriend, our unlikely rock star hero gets a fan-letter from a girl in Japan. He, being obviously attracted to Asian women, makes up a fantasy about what she might be like, imagining her to be exactly what he needs.
6.The Good Life: Seems our hero is getting a bit sick of the constant search for the right woman. He wants to go back to the way he was, out with girls like before he started his doomed journey.
7.El Scorcho: He's got his eye on a half-Japanese girl who plays the Cello. He wants desperately for her to notice him and like him as much as he likes her. This girl comes up again in "Falling for You."
8.Pink Triangle: Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love with girl. Girl is a lesbian. Boy is heartbroken. Enough said.
9.Falling for you: The girl sung about in El Scorcho is his main focus in this song. She falls for him, he's in love with her. He plays her cello, and wonders why she likes "little old 3-chord" him. It would seem that all has ended happily until...
10.Butterfly: Probably the saddest song I've ever heard. The perfect girl is "dying" under the strains of their relationship, and though he loves her, he lets her go, leaving the listener with tears in her eyes. Or, at least this listener.

This is just one girl's opinion. The music is fantastic, with Weezer's signature geeky and lovable lyrics. For any music lover, this is an excellent addition to your collection.