Customer Reviews

Hurley (Deluxe Version)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I was pleasantly surprised with this album from Weezer. The last album that i owned from Weezer was the Red Album which nothing really made me want to continue listening to that cd. Then came Ratitude which i didn't buy because of a couple listens and didn't find anything worth the money. Once they stepped away from the big record label they stepped back into the days of Pinkerton, The Blue Album, and The Green Album. This just sounds like a natural progression from their first three records.

If you liked the Weezer that released Beverly Hills, Pork and Beans, or Troublemaker then this will be a dissapointment to you as a new Weezer fan. If you appreciate their old albums then this is a nice pickup because it is a glimpse into the past. Hopefully they keep it up.

The album is fairly average and similar to past albums it's short.

Track number 12 is a "bonus track" cover of Viva La Vida, which sounds just like Coldplay, except it's Weezer playing it. I feel bad for these guys, covering tracks of songs that just recently came out to fill out a full length album...

I guess it is getting too easy to be Weezer these days. Come up with an infectious guitar riff, write some seriously oddball lyrics, and let Rivers sing in his geeky lost-boy voice. While he's still one of the best at this game, he is also beginning to sound seriously old-hat about it. A song as lame as "Memories" also contains a killer hook and a great line about "when Audioslave was still Rage," all while going for the nostalgia quotient for the fans who were on-board back when the first album shocked everyone.

"Hurley" is a 50/50 Weezer album, about the same as "Maladroit" or "Make Believe" in my Weezer rankings. In fact, two of the best songs are the bonus tracks, the soccer team anthem "Represent," and (of all things) the kids' show "All My Best Friends Are Insects." Frankly, given Rivers' childlike view of the world at times, writing a song for "Yo Gabba Gabba" about bugs with a serious buzzing guitar seems like a natural. As opposed to "Smart Girls," which just sounds forced. (As a point of reference, I thought "Where's My Sex" to be amusing, too.)

At least they're still trying to reinvent their wheel. "Unspoken" sounds like they're going for maturity without the cheese, and "Time Flies" could be this year's "Good Riddance/Time of Your Life." Good for them.

PS - "Hurley" succumbs, badly, to the loudness wars. The darn thing is compressed to within an inch of its life.

Weezer have passed their commercial peak, given the relatively tepid sales of albums 2008`s exceptional Weezer (Red Album) and 2009's Raditude. Despite this, the creativity of the band - well namely its ageless frontman Rivers Cuomo continues on without a hitch. While Hurley, a ludicrously titled follow-up to 'Raditude' is enjoyable for the most part, the quality takes a slight nosedive in my opinion. Maybe it's the switch from a major label to an indie label, but something just feels different. There are genuine hits, but nothing strikes home like say "Pork and Beans" from 'Weezer (Red Album)' or "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To" from 'Raditude'. Like 2005's Make Believe (Jewl), this album doesn't truly standout among Weezer's discography. The biggest draw aside from a few truly sound cuts is the cover art - which has nothing to do with the material. Whatever, I suppose.

"Memories" is a bit clunky from a first listen, but it does differentiate itself from other recent openers by Weezer ("Beverly Hills," "Troublemaker," etc.). The production work is interesting, particularly the strings at the onset of the track. At times, it grows too boisterous, covering up Cuomo's earnest vocal performance. Rivers Cuomo's pitch also fluctuates here, with one assuming the singer is aiming for a more punk-driven, raw performance. It's enjoyable and a fine choice for a single, but it doesn't hit home as much as previous Weezer gems. "Ruling Me" is equally solid, if not more so with a grand refrain (if too anthemic for Cuomo's own vocal good), where Cuomo sings: "in the rain, in the sun, everybody needs someone they can dream of all night long... it's no mystery, why you're ruling me."

"Trainwrecks" and "Unspoken" further the sentiment that Hurley is just an average Weezer album. Both tracks are solid, but don't have the same `excellence' and `polish' of class Weezer. The best part of "Trainwrecks" may be the constant iteration of "...but we're still kicking a--, we are trainwrecks" while "Unspoken" benefits from nice production tweaks and one fine anthemic close. "Where's My Sex" is the last noteworthy standout in my mind, even if it is utterly corny. Despite its corniness, there is a better sense of Weezer pushing the envelope here than on the rest of the album cuts. It's undeniably catchy, even if it only hopes to rival the commercial appeal of say, "Beverly Hills."

"Run Away" starts out interestingly with subdued vocals by Cuomo initially, though it never garners enough momentum to feel momentous. "Hang On," carries the sentiment of the album that there is nothing incredibly new or earth-shattering from the aging hipsters. "Smart Girls" is the next hint of truly great Weezer with playful lyrics and a nice groove. It doesn't live up to Weezer's best, but it is one of the better cuts of 'Hurley.' "Brave New World" features another well-written refrain ("This is the dawning of our brave new world...") while bringing nothing new and closing cut "Time Flies" ends the album on a thumping beat and odd production work.

With 'Hurley,' Weezer isn't likely to grab a new audience or convert doubters and critics. It is an ok album, but not a great one. Sometimes flaws are appreciated by music fans as they make the consummate artist appear more human. 3 stars.

I read a lot of negative reviews for this album and they were more or less what I expected to hear. I don't listen to the radio very much these days, but what little I have heard from Weezer has been akin to Beverly Hills which is appallingly bad. However, I decided to read a couple of the 5 star reviews just to give the album a fair chance (hey not everyone has the same taste). One reviewer mentioned that Weezer has always been a fun band to listen to and don't take themselves too seriously and therefore critiquing them so harshly doesn't make sense. I had to agree.

I haven't picked up anything by Weezer in a long time, but Amazon recommended their CD to me, so I figured I would take a look. To give a frame of reference to 'a long time,' I own The Blue Album, Pinkerton and The Green Album.

The album is not a steaming heap of poo as some of the reviews would have you believe. That said for the most part it is simply ok. Some of the bonus tracks, specifically Viva la Vida, are straight up terrible. Honestly if the album were produced by some unknown artist I might have given it a 3, however, Weezer really ought to hold themselves to higher standards than this. Other artists emulate them, and this does not deserve mimicry. Rivers Cuomo's voice seems different to me? And not just a little different, jarringly different. I transition from listening to In the Garage to Memories and he sounds like a completely different vocalist, and definitely not in a good way.

Long story short, the bad reviews are pretty harsh, but they are right in one regard: this isn't worth your time or money.

After this third dud in a row it may be time to move on from this band. What a shame.

Hurley is a very well done and complete Weezer album. Anyone who has followed the group for some time will hear sounds of great albums past (think Blue, Pinkerton, Green), which can only be a good thing. The album flows very well and offers a variety of sounds and lyrics. I was not crazy about the overly poppy single "Memories," but it has started to grow on me after a few listen-throughs. The rest of the album is great and is definitely a throwback, whether deliberate or not. Enjoy it for what it is: creative (both lyrically and melodically), cohesive, and a heck of a lot of fun.

That's it. I'm done automatically buying every new Weezer CD. The problems started with "Make Believe", and have simply gotten worse with every CD. "Hurley" DOES NOT ROCK. Weezer used to be an amazing mix of rock/pop/and interesting lyrics. Now the lyrics have gotten rediculous, there is ONE guitar solo on the entire CD, and the music sounds like something from Taylor Swift. Where's the ROCK? What happened? This is a sad day for this Weezer fan.

This just isn't a good album. It pains me to say so, because I love a lot of Weezer's other stuff, but there are few noteworthy songs on here and even those are mediocre at best.

I consider myself a pretty big Weezer fan, I have all the albums and will pretty much pick up all the new stuff they put out. I kind of dug what they were doing on Raditude and was kind of looking forward to seeing where else they were going to go after that album. Unfortunately, I don't think that they went anywhere new with this album, and I didn't really find anything too appealing with any of the tracks. They've rocked harder on other albums and tracks, and there aren't really any great slower songs either. After a few listens I kind of got into a few of the tracks, but I can't really see any of them sticking out after I stop concentrating on listening to just this album.

Overall, a good but not great effort from Weezer. Long-time fans have probably picked this up already, but if you're on the fence I'd skip it unless you can get it for real cheap.