Rivers Cuomo Says Weezer Were a Bit ‘Uncomfortable’ With Sound of ‘Blue Album’
Weezer’s changeover from poppy alternative darlings on 1994’s Blue Album to rough-hewn rockers on its follow-up, 1996’s Pinkerton, is still being discussed around 25 years later.
In a recent interview, the band’s singer-songwriter and co-founder, Rivers Cuomo, explained the then-unexpected switch by revealing that Weezer were slightly “uncomfortable” with the sound of the self-titled debut that’s come to be identified by the hue that suffuses its artwork.
Speaking with Guitar World in a conversation that emerged on Tuesday (June 29), the Weezer frontman made the case in wide-ranging chat that largely focused on the act’s prolific output in recent years. But when asked about the aesthetic shift between their first and second albums, Cuomo looked backed on Pinkerton‘s initial commercial failure when compared to the sales of the Blue Album.
“I don’t think we intended [for Pinkerton] to be unsuccessful,” the rocker responded with a laugh. “I think we all thought it was going to be a huge record, honestly. But like a lot of the other bands around that time, we were a little uncomfortable with the sound of our first record.”
Cuomo continued of the Ric Ocasek-produced Blue, “That’s not exactly who we were when we were playing in the clubs. We were much rougher and more aggressive — we weren’t meant to be this polished, major label alt-rock band. So we kind of swung back the other way and produced the next record ourselves, and that was a lot more true to what we thought Weezer was supposed to be.”
These days, Weezer are releasing more material than ever. 2021 already saw them issue two albums — the orchestral-based OK Human and the hard rock-focused Van Weezer. The near future will find the band going even harder — a multi-part album project known as Seasons will elicit four new Weezer albums (Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter) starting in 2022.
“I actually just finished doing some stuff for the Fall album,” Cuomo shared. “Each record has a predominant emotion that I have in mind as I’m writing. Spring is on the happy, chill side, and Summer is indignant, youthful rebellion. Fall would be anxiety, and then Winter is sadness and loss.”
He added, “In terms of the sound, Spring is kind of like ‘Island In The Sun,’ and Summer is kind of like a crunchy Beach Boys — I guess a bit like the Blue Album. Fall is the [riskiest] direction of all, that’s going to be dance-rock, like Franz Ferdinand. And then Winter is all ’90s singer-songwriter, a bit like Elliott Smith.”
That certainly gives Weezer fans something to be excited about for next year. It’s just too bad we’ll never hear the Ozzy Osbourne version of “Hash Pipe,” a single from Weezer’s 2001 Green Album.
Weezer head out on the United States leg of the Hella Mega Tour this summer alongside Green Day and Fall Out Boy. European dates will follow. Get tickets and more information at hellamegatour.com.