Customer Reviews

Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo

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4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There have always been a lot of rumors regarding Rivers' secret stash of unreleased demos. Most of them, we were told, have never been heard by any but the closest friends of the band. However, Weezer has always been kind enough to "leak" the best of them over the years, especially when official studio releases were scarce. As such, a majority of the best songs on here have already been released in fairly good to excellent quality mp3s. In that regard there will be few surprises for the hard core Weezer fan.

However, you can't judge a project on such terms. Even though only 6 of the total track list (of full length songs) are totally new (or 7 if we allow Buddy Holly demo), the songs here are absolutely fantastic. Blast Off, for instance, has long been Weezer's most famous Song From The Black Hole. Now fans can hear it in its entirety, without that annoying abrupt ending. Long Time Sunshine and Lover In The Snow also make an appearance and have been some of my favorite Cuomo demos for years! Songs like Chess make it obvious that the sound was tweaked for maximum quality. Obviously there's only so far you can take a tape deck home recording, though, so expect a rough sound throughout!

For any long time Weezer fan I think this will be a very satisfying collection. I've always had a hard time placing these demos in some sort of order when making mix tapes or mp3 play lists. Now, with Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo, the decision has been made for me. Hopefully future projects of this sort will come along. I wouldn't mind better quality demos of the Summer Song 2000 set or maybe a release of the Homie side-project. In any case, I think Rivers deserves a lot of praise for making these available!

Update 3-2008: I'm sure this has probably been said before, but Blast Off is a different edit than the mp3 version Weezer released previously. Don't erase your mp3 version just yet! The CD version is missing "fine" at the 43 second mark!

This is a very interesting collection of demos from the vault of Rivers Cuomo's home recordings. This is a must for any die hard Weezer fan (which is really who the album was made for.) If you are just a casual fan you probably won't really care about this album, because it is what it is...just a bunch of songs in their rawest form. Remember this is not Weezer. It's really cool to finally hear these long awaited songs finally on CD!! Definite highlights of this album are Superfriend(probably the best song on here,) Lemonade, Blastoff, Crazy One, Buddy Holly (demo) and I was made for you. Superfriend, Blastoff, and Lemonade have that "old school" Weezer vibe that we all miss so much!. You gotta love old school Synth!! Hopefully if this album is successful we will get a round two of good ole Rivers home recordings!

This was a nice surprise when I found it. There was talk that Weezer would never make another album. But then Rivers releases this nice collection of demos(many sound very polished) and there is a promise of a new Weezer album in April. I had not heard a lot of these demos, so most are a first listen for me. I liked Superfriend a lot. That one could have been on the Green album. Chess and Blast Off really rock. Little Diane could have been released in the late 50's/early 60's with its vibe. Some of the songs are out there and may take a few listens to really appreciate. I have heard some reviews compare it to Pinkerton, but it is really a nice cross section of Weezer sounds. Any fan of the band should pick this up.

This is a great little collection of some heard and previously unheard demos from the Weez frontman. Only those diehard Weezer nerds have already heard songs like "Longtime Sunshine" but now with this commercial release the rest of the world has the chance to hear some of the creativity and odd quirks of Rivers Cuomo. Some of these songs are very personal to Rivers, and the included liner notes give a great framing for the context of their creation. Being that most of these demos are from tape, you can expect less than stellar quality. However, songs like "Superfriend" would sound great coming through a mono radio from the 1940's... this really is a must purchase for any diehard Weezer fan. If you are expecting the super-polished formulaic pop of the Green Album or Make Believe, there will only be a couple tracks here to satisfy you. But if you are looking for an even greater sampling of Rivers' greatness beyond just his work in Weezer then pick this up immediately!

I have been waiting for years to hear "Superfriend" and it was worth it. This is closest any Weezer fan will get to "Songs from the Black Hole" (unreleased 2nd Weezer album), as 4 of the tracks on this album are from that project.

This is a must have for anyone that is a Weezer fan, and well worth the money.

So, a lot of this material was already released, but still if you are a fan of Weezer, this is a definite must-own.

These demos are really great and fun to listen to, plus if you are able to get the cd booklet, it really contains a lot of fun and interesting information of songwriting and Rivers' own thoughts on the tunes.

I really enjoy listening to to quite often, but I am a huge Weezer fan. If you are not a huge Weezer fan, then you can pass on this disc.

The song "Chess" is flippin' amazing.

The ebb-and-flow of Rivers Cuomo's creative streak over the years has been interesting to follow, for as much as we the public at large can follow is (mostly by seeing how good or not so good a Weezer album is, and how long it takes for a new Weezer album to materialize). But Rivers has taken this to an entirely new level by digging into his musical treasure chest and sharing a bunch of demos, of old and previously unheard songs alike.

"Alone: The Home Recording of Rivers Cuomo" (18 tracks; 47 min.) is not only a fascinating look into the writing process of Rivers, but on top of that brings some pretty good music too. Most interesting are the demos of songs intended for the eventually shelved second album "Songs from the Black Hole" (instead "Pinkerton" was released), which as they are heard here almost play like a musical ("Blast Off", "Dude, We're Finally Landing", "Superfriend" and "Lover in the Snow"). In spirit they certainly are closer to Pinkerton than the Blue Album. Other interesting items: the 1995 track "Wanda (You're My Only Love)", a rejected song for the "Angus" movie soundtrack (instead "You Gave Your Love" made it on the soundtrack); "This Is the Way", cut from the "Make Believe" album; the cover "Little Diane" (recorded in 2003); and the closing track "I Was Made for You" (from 2004").

In all, this album plays surprisingly well, even if obviously the recording quality is not optimal. But a contributing factor to making this album so enjoyable are the lines notes from Rivers. And no, they are not just a line or two pre song, they fill pages and pages as Rivers explains in detail the background of each song (and the lyrics are also printed). In all, while of course this does not break any new musical ground as such, this set is essential for any serious Weezer fan.

I had heard the buzz but was still somewhat dubious about Cuomo's new album. I was the lover scorned; having enjoyed Pinkerton and the Blue Album immensely, I've since been very disappointed in everything Weezer.

However, my fears were groundless as this is Rivers in his (I believe) truest form. This album showcases him when he wasn't afraid to take some chances with his music by making it nerdy or over-the-top or slightly experimental. For me, these moments are what truly define this album, and it serves as a refreshing reminder of his fantastic musical aptitude. Not all songs in here are polished, nor are all of them stellar compositions, but there are several standout tracks that tie the album together in a very compelling package.

I heartily endorse this album and hope that you give it a chance. Less production is more in this case, and with that sheen removed, you find that the music still shines through.

I just picked up this album today and listened to it two times through, and I have to say, I'm completely amazed. I've always known Rivers was a very talented songwriter and artist, but this album put him at a whole new level. I've been a Weezer fan since 1994 and I always rush to get each new album they put out and it was no different with this one. I was so excited when I heard this album was being released and it was even more enjoyable to listen to than I could have ever imagined.

The album, and the booklet, takes you on a journey song by song from the beginning to the present. You get insight on why the song was written, what it means to Rivers, where he was at as an artist at the time, and what inspired him to compose the songs. As I read the booklet while listening to the recordings, I felt as if I was having a sit down with Mr. Cuomo and that I was learning something about him that no one else would know. If your a true Weezer fan you will know exactly what I mean when you listen to this album.

This album is not supposed to be "polished". Just as he stated in the booklet, he let things slide in these recordings that he normally wouldn't let slide on a Weezer album. Things like botched lyrics, out of tune vocals and instruments. The whole purpose and intimacy of this album would have been lost if he would have re-recorded these in a studio. The emotion, rawness and personalization of each and every song hits you like a never ending roll of waves one after another, and that whole aspect would have been lost if this would have been a studio album. Here you get the originals, the way it's meant to be.

All in all this album is a must have for any true Weezer fan. All of the songs are absolutely wonderful, but some of my favorites are Lemonade, Longtime Sunshine, Blast off, Superfriend, Lover in the Snow and Chess.

Pick this up if you are a Weezer fan. Don't write silly reviews about how the album didn't sound good and needed to be re-recorded to be polished up. It's not supposed to be that way, this is the whole point! With that said, just sit back and enjoy.

Although my fascination with Weezer has gone down in recent years due to the change of their music style, Rivers Cuomo will always have a sweet spot in my heart. The fact that he writes, and makes every part of the songs on this album is awesome. I recommend it.