Pinkerton [Deluxe Edition] [Original recording remastered]

Weezer | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 2, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Geffen Records
• ASIN: B002VACLDG
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (543 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,089 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Tired Of Sex

2. Getchoo

3. No Other One

4. Why Bother?

5. Across The Sea

6. The Good Life

7. El Scorcho

8. Pink Triangle

9. Falling For You

10. ButterflyB-Sides and More:

See all 19 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. You Won't Get With Me Tonight*

2. The Good Life (Live at Y100 Sonic Session)*

3. El Scorcho (Live at Y100 Sonic Session)*

4. Pink Triangle (Live at Y100 Sonic Session)*

5. Why Bother? (Live at Reading Festival 1996)*

6. El Scorcho (Live at Reading Festival 1996)*

7. Pink Triangle (Live at Reading Festival 1996)*

8. The Good Life (Live at X96)

9. El Scorcho (Live and Acoustic)*

10. Across The Sea Piano Noodles*

See all 16 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Digitally remastered and expanded two CD edition of this 1996 album including 25 bonus tracks. Apart from the original album, this set includes every official b-side and 16 previously unreleased recordings. Among the latter are the newly-discovered gem "Tragic Girl," unreleased B-side "I Swear It's True" and numerous live performances, particularly noteworthy given that the band rarely played Pinkerton songs after the album tour. The 1996-1997 concert tracks were taken from the massive Reading Festival in the U.K., radio station sessions in Philadelphia and Salt Lake City, and a lunchtime performance won in a contest by Shorecrest High School near Seattle. Accompanying the package is a booklet with numerous photos and an essay by band compatriot Karl Koch, who reveals how the glorious "Tragic Girl" was recorded at the last minute but left undocumented, causing many to forget its existence.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

140 of 147 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars so this is it.. May 21, 2001

By "el_scorcho"

Format:Audio CD

here it is - this is the album that drove Rivers into seclusion for several years, writing songs for himself in his room and throwing them away.

this is the album where he felt liberated, where he would be creating this new sound for everyone. the emotional nakedness he hinted at in Weezer (funky blue cover) became fully realized here. not only his voice showed his emotions, you can hear it in every note of his fractured guitar - the soaring, pins and needles feeling it elects out of you with every solo, every vibrato. the music drove you because he sang about a pain not only secular to him, it's an album he made for YOU just as much as him. you almost wanted to grab cuomo and tell him everything will be alright by the end of Butterfly, crying and muttering to yourself how your girlfriend/boyfriend is an idiot.

a funny thing happened. about the time this album came out, power-pop/punk was going on it's way out. this cd was left on the side, pushed away in favor of nameless bands long forgotten. only making gold (as opposed to the 4 million weezer sold), cuomo freaked and closed the door on his musical career for awhile to sort through it all.

earlier this year, cuomo and company came out just enough to hammer enough songs to make a new album, one just released earlier this month. Weezer (funky green cover) seems to be poised as a new beginning for this band. the switch from blue to green, the retro-funky clothes - you can tell from the beginning that this is the same weezer you loved...but...somethings...just...different. something doesn't add up, that's only confirmed when you come back and listen to Pinkerton right after dispensing Weezer (green) out of your cd player.

Pinkerton's emotional beauty, the harsh nakedness and razorblade rhythm cuts deep. every song makes you want to sing, not only because of the melody (which is outstanding), but because you FEEL his pain. Tired of Sex, Across the Sea, Good Life - these are the songs i yell while i'm driving to work, cd-player blasted up, anger and energy thrown on top of it. critics blasted this at first because they expected meandering pop w/o substance. they bought into spike jonzes' videos about weezer - the geeky sensibility, the happy-go-lucky charm. it took critics years before they realized how amazing this album truly is - after rivers locked himself into his room, after everyone forgot who weezer even were.

the green album that was released but only a few days ago. where pinkerton soars and climaxes, green takes a calculated approach and just bops. cuomo hasn't the power anymore to show us what he feels in his music. for better or for worse, pinkerton scared him off that path. from now on, it seems as if cuomo will become another faceless/nameless songwriter who hides behinds his lyrics (albeit still VERY good songs).

so here is pinkerton - on one hand one of the best albums released in the 90s, yet simultaneously something which drove its creator to the brink of depression. the weezer you see now is 1/2 of their former self. here they are at their height.

118 of 125 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Whoa, Rivers, that's pretty good... October 18, 2001

By Daniel L. Tao

Format:Audio CD

Pinkerton... where to begin? Most Weezer fans favor either this album or the Blue Album as Weezer's best (the Green Album is generally accepted as inferior to these two). The majority of them favor Pinkerton. But why? Pinkerton was a commercial failure, at least compared to the Blue Album. When it was first released, no one liked it. Not even me.

But time changes everything. When I first heard Pinkerton, I thought, "Whoa, Rivers, what do you think you're doing?" (Rivers Cuomo is the band's frontman.) On the surface, Pinkerton sounds like a desperate, overly emotional and possibly even annoying this-is-my-life-story kind of album. With time, it evolves into one of the most mind-blowingly awesome rock albums of the nineties.

To what do we owe this bizarre transition? All that I can figure is that people tend to hear without listening. When they first hear Pinkerton, they think, "Man, this doesn't sound cool." They don't really pay attention to what they're hearing.

After a while, they begin to pay attention to the words, the rhythms, the infectious melodies, and then they're hooked. To everyone's surprise, the music all of a sudden sounds really, really good. I'm talking good enough to bring about vicarious happiness, anger, longing and sadness - maybe even enlightenment. Trust me, it's happened with a lot of people.

Join the club. Buy this album.

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Honesty is Key February 9, 2000

By "blindlight"

Format:Audio CD

As a huge weezer fan perhaps I'm a little jaded. Some of the music can seem left of the mark the first time you hear it, but it doesn't take long for it to grow on you. Pinkerton is a beutiful album right down to the cover art. Weezer's first album had some great singles, but the album's continuity as a whole doesn't compare to Pinkerton. It paints a sacharine lamenting picture that pays off at the end. this isn't to say that it doesn't have any good singles, songs like "The Good Life", "El Scorcho" will leave you humming for days. The first track is one of my favorites. "Tired of Sex" is driving and begs to be played loud. Other hard tracks include: "Getchoo", and "Why Bother". What really makes this album shine, and weezer itself, so special, is lead, Rivers Cuomo's superior skill at writing beutifull melodies. His lyrics are honest, emotional, easy to relate to, and at times even funny. Pinkerton has no lack of melancholy love songs: "Across the Sea", "Pink Triangle"(one of my favorites), "No other One", and the acoustic "Butterfly". These songs are sweet, moody, and honest from their simple lyrics to Rivers' waivering voice. This album is a masterpiece, and Weezer's best to date.