A beginning defined by dizzying highs, followed by all sorts of course-corrections and left turns along the way. That is, essentially, how much of Weezer’s career has unfolded. It’s now pretty easy to rank it as one of the band’s worst albums.
The slick power-pop of “Green Album,” with all of Cuomo’s personal songwriting sucked out? That’s not what Weezer fans wanted, either. There wouldn’t be any new Weezer music until 2001, when they released their second self-titled album, the “Green Album,” with artwork echoing their lauded debut because the whole endeavor was an explicit move towards, in Cuomo’s mind, erasing Pinkerton and getting the band back on the track promised by the “Blue Album.” The phrase “in Cuomo’s mind” is important here, because the man has always zigged and zagged in reaction to his fans, or in reaction to his reaction to his fans. Weezer’s insular frontman Rivers Cuomo, who got extremely personal in Pinkerton’s songs, was distancing himself from the album within months thanks to the backlash. The damage it did to Weezer was permanent. The turnaround in perception of Pinkerton didn’t really matter, though, aside from the album claiming its rightful place in its decade’s hierarchy. Pinkerton is one of those infamous examples from rock history, an album that was disliked and derided upon its release, only to find a cultish following in subsequent years, only to eventually be (usually) considered Weezer’s finest work and one of the greatest albums of the ’90s. Following up an acclaimed debut with some already decade-defining songs to their name, Weezer were approaching their sophomore album as so many big-name bands have in the past.
It was, in many ways, the turning point in Weezer’s story. In September 1996, Weezer released their sophomore album, Pinkerton.
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