=W= Weezer take a step in a new direction (Maladroit - Weezer)

Member Name: PeterBlair

Product:	Maladroit - Weezer
Date:	03/09/02 (40 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tremendous album , Grows on you with every listen

Disadvantages: A far cry from the Blue Album and Pinkerton

I must say this is an album I've been looking forward to for quite some time, and the real thing has fallen somewhat short of the lofty expectations I'd built up.

Compared to the Blue Album, Pinkerton and (to a lesser extent) the Green album; there isn't the same feeling of every track saying something fresh and really earning it's place on the album.

The first track really doesn't grab you in typical Weezer fashion, like "My Name is Jonas", "Tired of Sex" and "Don't let go" did on the three previous albums. It just falls a bit flat and to a certain extent this proves true for the album as a whole. "Dope Nose", "Slob", "Space Rock" and "Love Explosion" are the only standout tracks for me and even then they don't capture the usual vibrancy of Weezer - with all of them taking a minute or two to get into their stride. Whether the bands recent personal problems have anything to do with this I can't speculate, but I won't lose faith in Rivers Cuomo because one out of four albums fails to grab me. To me, the album is more in the style of the Green album, with dirtier guitar sounds and slightly more depressed singing from Rivers.

The Special UK Edition of the album comes with two "bonus" tracks, "Living Without You" and "Island in the Sun". "Living Without You" is an instant classic for me, and I can't fathom why Weezer felt it didn't deserve a place on the album in it's own right. It makes me wonder how many other gems were left out of the album, but at the same time shows me, along with the other four tracks mentioned earlier, that Rivers still has it and the next album could easily trounce this one with better track choices.

The album comes with 7-bonus video clips of some album tracks performed live. One thing I found disappointing is that they are just clips - not entire so
ngs performed live. While it's nice to see Pat Wilson skateboarding down the ramps at Cobo Hall and adds some levity to what I feel is quite a dark album, I'd far rather have had a video of an entire performance of "Dope Nose". The first clip is of Rivers by himself, playing piano and drumming, the atmosphere is pretty melancholy and you really get a sense of the loneliness and hardships that come along with being a rock star, albeit a geek rock star.

However, for me this album is worth owning for the songs I like alone and the others may well grow on me in time. The more I listen to it, the more I love the ones I already enjoy and the more I enjoy the ones I don't like as well.

While this album is not my personal favourite from Weezer, I'm sure it will appeal to their newer fans and there's no reason why the next album won't be a complete departure from this one - or anything Weezer have done before. If any group have shown they won't fall into the trap of re-releasing their last album with new song titles - it's Weezer.

Summary: