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Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo

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Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo

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  • Artist: Rivers Cuomo
  • Rating: StarStarStarStar
  • Release Date: December 18, 2007
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Two periods of phenomenal success have obscured Rivers Cuomo's true status as a pop eccentric, a singer/songwriter whose ear for oddity is as sharp as his ear for melody. Success has the tendency to make the unusual seem common, but that wasn't quite the case with Cuomo, as Weezer's hits rarely showcased his wayward traits: they were so hooky, so anthemic, they roped in millions of listeners who never might have dug deeper into the albums, discovering his heartbroken ballads and skewed humor. The latter was certainly evident on the band's big 1994 breakthrough, "Buddy Holly," which helped kick off Weezer's first period of great success, but the cuteness of the chorus led some detractors to peg the group as a novelty, thereby ignoring the great songwriting that fueled "Buddy Holly" and the rest of the debut album. That novelty reputation dogged Weezer throughout their extended late-'90s hiatus, but when they returned in 2001 with another eponymous album, they kicked off a second great period of popularity, one where they banished the novelty tag, but once the band became a working concern again, releasing albums regularly, many fans carped that they -- meaning Rivers -- had become too predictable, favoring big rock hooks to the idiosyncratic pop of Pinkerton, the 1996 sophomore album that bombed commercially yet remains most beloved of all by hardcore Weezer fans, as it retained much of the quirkiness of the debut yet punctuated it with Cuomo's most emotionally naked songwriting.

Neither camp -- either the detractors or the too-fanatical fans -- spent much time considering how the writer behind Pinkerton was also the one behind the glossy, pumped-up Make Believe, how each was completely Cuomo at its core. Pinkerton is the romantic version of Rivers, the geek pouring his heart out on page, while Make Believe is the determined, professional songwriter, the one who carries around a notebook with dissections of popular songs, figuring out what works and what doesn't. Both are equally true and both are on display on the quite terrific Alone: The Home Recordings, a 2007 collection of 18 demos recorded between 1992 and 2007. Although this is heavily concentrated on '90s recordings -- including a big chunk of songs from the scrapped sequel to The Blue Album, Songs from the Black Hole -- that professional songwriter creeps out, as it's possible to hear Rivers working out the mechanics of what makes a song work by covering three writers most musicians wouldn't connect: Gregg Alexander before he was a New Radical ("The World We Love So Much"), Ice Cube ("The Bomb"), and Dion ("Little Diane"). There isn't irony here, not even on the clattering noise of "The Bomb"; there's excitement in the sound and curiosity about how it's constructed, and as the collection starts to reach the present toward its end, it's possible to hear Cuomo trying to write songs that fit within these classicist forms, especially on the open-hearted power ballad "I Was Made for You" and "This Is the Way," whose icy drum machine beats give it a vague adult-pop feel.

These latter-day trends are what rankle some Weezer true believers, but they're not only sturdy songs; they make sense when presented as part of Cuomo's progress in Alone, and they also fit nicely amid the ragged unreleased cuts from the '90s. These tunes are clearly demos -- the audio quality fades in and out, sometimes things sound stripped down, and perhaps the arrangements are not fleshed out, but these songs are fully formed and, if they had been given full Weezer treatment, they would have fit on either The Blue Album or Pinkerton. But it's better to hear them in these rough incarnations as Cuomo's gifts shine through brighter this way: his humor flows naturally, his heartbreak is sweetly melancholy, and his melodies hook into the subconscious. It's not just that the songs are all strong, but these rough arrangements are emotionally resonant and sonically varied. The latter is especially welcome, as Weezer's new-millennium comeback, for all of its highlights -- and there are many, even on the maligned Rick Rubin-produced Make Believe -- has been monochromatically rock, where Alone is filled with shade and texture. Perhaps Weezer will have a touch of this color on their next studio album, but if they don't, that's fine: Cuomo's increasing songcraft will pull him through, and Alone will stand as an idiosyncratic gem in his catalog, showcasing him at his eccentric best. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

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Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo

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Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo
Compilation album by Rivers Cuomo
Released 18 December 2007
Recorded 1984, 1992–2007
Genre Alternative rock
Length 45:49
Label Geffen
Rivers Cuomo chronology
Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo
(2007)		 Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo
(2008)
Singles from Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo
  1. "Blast Off!"
    Released: 2008
  2. "Lover in the Snow"
    Released: 2008

Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo is a compilation album by Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo, released on December 18, 2007.[1] It is available as a digital release, CD release and 12" vinyl (released on January 8, 2008). The album features home demos that Cuomo has recorded from 1992-2007.[2]

"The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo" leaked online on December 12, 2007.[3] When released, it opened with sales of 14,000, and debuted at #163 on the Billboard Top 200.[4] The album also topped the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart.[5] The album has sold 43,000 copies as of December 2008.[6] A sequel - Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo - was released on November 25, 2008.

Contents

Background

Rivers Cuomo has long been known by fans to have recorded a great deal of unreleased material, nearly 800 songs in his lifetime.[7] This material was recorded with Weezer, earlier bands, and self-recorded demos.[8] Despite the large amount of unreleased material that has been made available by Cuomo on the internet, large chunks of his work remain unheard by fans. These include certain demos for The Blue Album,[9][10][11] various songs from the scrapped Songs from the Black Hole project,[12] over a hundred songs he composed and demoed throughout 1999[13][14][15] (songs which he has described as ranging from "drone-y Romantic," "abrasive dissonance" and "riffy pop-rock"[16]) and well over a hundred songs that didn't make the cut for Make Believe.[17][18]

Cuomo brought up the idea for the compilation album to his record company in 1998. However, they discouraged him from the idea because they didn't want to "dilute the Weezer name" by putting out less polished material.[19] It wasn't until 10 years later that Cuomo pushed harder for the collection and it gained enough support for a release.[20]

There were some legal issues between Cuomo and Geffen about releasing the album:

[Legal issues] [were] a big part of it because the record company owns all of my demos under Weezer's contract, and my argument was that they aren't Weezer recordings; they're not part of the Weezer record deal, this is my own stuff, I should own this. So we had to negotiate for a long time to reach an agreement as to the legal ownership of the records but we agreed enough that we were able to move forward and put it out.[20]

Song selection

When deciding on the track listing, Cuomo listened to a great deal of his past recordings. He described choosing the songs to be very difficult. However, he knew very early in the process to include "Blast Off!" and other tracks from the aborted Songs from the Black Hole because of the well-known high demand from fans for these songs.[19][21] "I knew 'Blast Off' and some of these other Songs from The Black Hole had to be on there, because for years Weezer fans have been wanting to hear these songs, and I knew if I put out the album without these songs on there, they would hunt me down and kill me."[20] Cuomo also considered releasing the entire Songs from the Black Hole album, but felt it wasn't right considering most of the songs have been released anyway, either as songs on Pinkerton or otherwise:

I thought about it for a long time. I thought maybe I should release it as The Black Hole and put the demos in the right order, but like I said, it was never finished, so it wouldn't really stand up, like it wouldn't be a very good listen... It was a very tough decision, but in the end I concluded that this is the best possible CD I could put out, given all the material I have. This is the best listen and this is what I want to give to the world.[20]

Artwork and liner notes

The album's cover photo was taken by Weezer's webmaster, friend, and historian Karl Koch. It was taken in 1993 in a rehearsal studio during The Blue Album era.[22] The original photograph featured Weezer guitarist Brian Bell, but he was cropped out for the album cover.[23] Other photos were taken by Robert Fisher, Julie Kramer, Beverly Shoenberger, and by Cuomo himself.[24] The pictures were taken during various periods of Cuomo's life.[24]

While reviewing the album, Pitchfork Media's Jason Crock described the inside cover:

The inside cover shows off a crammed collection of cassette tapes, their spines promising untold treasures-- Songs From the Black Hole is there, as well as previously unheard of titles and bandnames-waiting-to-happen like Psoriasis Babies and Angst Muffins.[25]

The album's liner notes featured detailed descriptions and offered much insight into where Cuomo draws inspiration to write and arrange his music, specifically stating the time and dates where songs were written.[26][27] Pete Townshend of The Who is specifically thanked in the liner notes "for paving the way with his Scoop series."[24]

Music videos

On January 6, 2008, Cuomo announced on his MySpace blog that he would be making a video for the song "Blast Off!"[28] The video, which also features Alone track "Ooh," premiered on January 11, 2008 on Yahoo![29]

On March 19, 2008, a music video for "Lover in the Snow" was released via Rivers' MySpace page.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4.5/5 stars[30]
Billboard favorable[31]
IGN (7.8/10)[32]
musicOMH.com 4/5 stars[33]
Newsday B[34]
No Ripcord 7/10 stars[35]
Pitchfork Media (7.2/10)[36]
Popmatters 7/10 stars[37]
Rolling Stone 2.5/5 stars[38]
Spin 3/5 stars[39]

Alone was positively received by critics.[40] Highly praising the album, Allmusic gave the album a near-perfect four and a half stars out of five, stating, "...Alone will stand as an idiosyncratic gem in his catalog, showcasing him at his eccentric best."[41] Even Pitchfork Media, which has expressed disappointment in Weezer's past three albums, gave Alone a positive review, stating, "[The Album] remind[s] us why we fell for dorks with horn-rimmed glasses and flying-V guitars in the first place,' and that, 'If nothing else, Alone reminds us that a lot of those over-ambitious, silly-on-paper ideas often blossomed in Cuomo's hands, and [that] there was more to Weezer in their early days than just crisp power-pop and cute videos.'"[25] Popmatters claimed that the album featured "...some of the strongest material that Cuomo has ever recorded."[27]

Additional archival recordings

On December 27, 2007, Cuomo stated "I would love to put out at least one more, I'm talking with the record company (now) to figure out what's the best way for me to get more of this stuff out, and if they're gonna be involved or not. But it's certainly my hope to put out as much of this stuff as I can."[42]

Book plans

Originally, the album was to be released along with a book Cuomo is writing. However, he later decided it would be best to release the album and book separately.[43] According to Cuomo, "the book is now going to come out at a much later date - a year? Two years? Three years? I don't know. It's going to be very cool, though."[44] The multimedia project will be an extremely detailed account of Cuomo's entire life, not just his time with Weezer; including photos, journal entries and poems.[19][45] In a news article from Gigwise, it was revealed that the multimedia project will take the format of a massive multi-volume tome, currently Cuomo has eight volumes sketched out.[45] As of October 2007, the book was already more than 400 pages in length.[19]

Track listing

All songs written by Rivers Cuomo, except where noted.[46]

  1. "Ooh" – 0:47
  2. "The World We Love So Much" (Gregg Alexander cover) – 3:40
  3. "Lemonade" (co-written with Patrick Wilson) – 2:31
  4. "The Bomb" (Ice Cube cover) – 1:18
  5. "Buddy Holly" – 3:01
  6. "Chess" – 2:26
  7. "Longtime Sunshine" – 3:15
  8. "Blast Off!" – 1:57
  9. "Who You Callin' Bitch?" – 0:46
  10. "Wanda (You’re My Only Love)" – 3:38
  11. "Dude, We're Finally Landing" – 0:56
  12. "Superfriend" – 3:30
  13. "Lover in the Snow" – 3:16
  14. "Crazy One" – 3:14
  15. "This is the Way" – 4:17
  16. "Little Diane" (Dion cover) – 2:41
  17. "I Wish You Had An Axe Guitar" – 0:36
  18. "I Was Made for You" – 4:02

Track origins

All information is taken from the liner notes.[24]

  • Tracks 1-6 were recorded before the release of the band's debut album, Weezer (The Blue Album).
  • Tracks 7-9, 11-12 were demos for Songs from the Black Hole, recorded in 1994 and 1995.
  • Track 10 was recorded in 1995, originally intended for the movie Angus. The song was rejected by the film's producers. Weezer's "You Gave Your Love to Me Softly" was chosen instead.
  • Tracks 13-14 were recorded in 1997 ("Lover in the Snow") and 1998 ("Crazy One") during Weezer's hiatus between Pinkerton and Weezer (The Green Album).
  • Track 15 was considered for Weezer (The Red Album), but was ultimately omitted from the album.
  • Track 16 was recorded in 2003 with members of Sloan.
  • Track 17 is a recording of Rivers Cuomo and his friends talking about his favorite band Kiss in Summer 1984.
  • Track 18 was written for Make Believe.

Changes from earlier versions

  • "Lover in the Snow" was edited down from a previous version that leaked to the internet several years ago. Its total running time is 3:16, while the older version clocked in at 4:23. Only a few repeated sections of the song are edited.
  • "Blast Off!" originally had the first part of the song "Who You Callin' Bitch?" but was edited to make the songs separate. There are also noticeable edits within the song, namely being the omission of the word "fine" in the second verse.

Personnel

All information is taken from the liner notes.[24]

  • Rivers Cuomo – vocals, guitar, percussion, bass, piano, clarinet, photography
  • Patrick Wilson – drums on "Lemonade".
  • Sloan (Chris Murphy, Patrick Pentland, Jay Ferguson, Andrew Scott) - guitar, bass, drums on "Little Diane."
  • Karl Koch - photography
  • Todd Sullivan - A&R
  • Stephen Marcussen - mastering
  • Stewart Whitmore - digital editing
  • Rich Mouser - digital editing
  • Robert Fisher - photography
  • Julie Kramer - photography
  • Beverly Shoenberger - photography

Alone II

During promotional interviews for Alone, Cuomo mentioned the possibility of releasing more demo albums through Geffen records. Of the reported 15 hours of demos Cuomo has made, he believes that one or two more solid albums on the level of Alone can be created. In late July 2008, Cuomo posted a spreadsheet on riverscuomo.com containing a list of songs by year and whether or not they had been released. Of particular interest was that many songs are slated for Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo.

References

  1. ^ Kharas, Kev. "Weezer's Rivers Cuomo to release solo album". Drowned in Sound. http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/2494715. Retrieved 2007-10-16. 
  2. ^ Zeiss, John. "Rivers Cuomo to release demo collection". Prefix Magazine. http://www.prefixmag.com/blog/rivers-cuomo-alone-demos/7539. Retrieved 2007-10-16. 
  3. ^ Hurme, Hanna. "Whether You Like It Or Not, Rivers Cuomo Won't Leave You Alone". Cinema Blend. http://www.cinemablend.com/music/Whether-You-Like-It-Or-Not-Rivers-Cuomo-Won-t-Leave-You-Alone-7763.html. Retrieved 2007-12-16. 
  4. ^ Jenison, David. "Groban's Gain, Blige's Pain on Charts". Yahoo! News. http://news.yahoo.com/s/eonline/20071227/en_industry_eo/be3ca8c46197_479b_b50e_3ae90bac7ebc. Retrieved 2008-01-04. [dead link]
  5. ^ "Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo: Charts & Awards". Billboard. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1266691. Retrieved 2007-04-07. 
  6. ^ [1][dead link]
  7. ^ "The RCDotCom Archive". weezed.com. Archived from the original on 2007-12-12. http://web.archive.org/web/20071212110934/http://www.weezed.com/rc/old/indexx.html. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
  8. ^ Koch, Karl. "The Weezer Recording History: Page 1". Weezer.com. http://makebelieve.weezer.com/info/recording/WeezRecHist1.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
  9. ^ Koch, Karl. "The Weezer Recording History: Page 3". Weezer.com. http://makebelieve.weezer.com/info/recording/WeezRecHist3.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
  10. ^ Koch, Karl. "The Weezer Recording History: Page 4". Weezer.com. http://makebelieve.weezer.com/info/recording/WeezRecHist4.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
  11. ^ Koch, Karl. "The Weezer Recording History: Page 5". Weezer.com. http://makebelieve.weezer.com/info/recording/WeezRecHist5.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
  12. ^ Koch, Karl. "The Weezer Recording History: Page 7". Weezer.com. http://makebelieve.weezer.com/info/recording/WeezRecHist7.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
  13. ^ Koch, Karl. "The Weezer Recording History: Page 10". Weezer.com. http://makebelieve.weezer.com/info/recording/WeezRecHist10.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
  14. ^ Koch, Karl. "The Weezer Recording History: Page 11". Weezer.com. http://makebelieve.weezer.com/info/recording/WeezRecHist11.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
  15. ^ Koch, Karl. "The Weezer Recording History: Page 12". Weezer.com. http://makebelieve.weezer.com/info/recording/WeezRecHist12.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
  16. ^ "Rivers Cuomo Fan Interview 2006". Weezer.com. http://www.makebelieve.weezer.com/discography/RCINT2006/2006RCFI.html. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
  17. ^ Koch, Karl. "The Weezer Recording History: Page 14". Weezer.com. http://makebelieve.weezer.com/info/recording/WeezRecHist14.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
  18. ^ Koch, Karl. "The Weezer Recording History: Page 15". Weezer.com. http://makebelieve.weezer.com/info/recording/WeezRecHist15.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
  19. ^ a b c d Heisel, Scott. "Web Exclusive: A conversation with Rivers Cuomo". Alternative Press. http://altpress.com/features/111.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-01. 
  20. ^ a b c d "Rivers Cuomo Interview with the Japanese Press". riverspodcast.com. http://www.riverspodcast.com/Podcast/B1AC2E3A-7A63-44B3-A150-8C3257D1CE57.html. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
  21. ^ Crock, Jason. "Pitchfork Feature: Interview: Rivers Cuomo". Pitchfork Media. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/48163-interview-rivers-cuomo. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
  22. ^ Koch, Karl. "11/13/07 Alone: The Home Recordings Of Rivers Cuomo". Weezer.com. http://makebelieve.weezer.com/community/news_comment.asp?ParentAssetID=1605277&ArtistID=479&Start=&FullStory=Y&type=. Retrieved 2008-03-12. 
  23. ^ "Rivers’ Alone Leaks, Pitchfork Doesn’t Hate It". Twelve Major Chords. http://www.twelvemajorchords.com/?p=789. Retrieved 2007-03-17. 
  24. ^ a b c d e Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo booklet and liner notes
  25. ^ a b Crock, Jason. "Rivers Cuomo: Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo: Pitchfork Record Review". Pitchfork Media. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/47569-alone-the-home-recordings-of-rivers-cuomo. Retrieved 2007-12-20. 
  26. ^ "Weezer's Rivers Cuomo to Release Record of Demo Tracks". Geffen. http://www.geffen.com/artist/news/default.aspx/nid/12141/aid/372. Retrieved 2007-10-30. 
  27. ^ a b Sawdey, Evan. "Rivers Cuomo: Alone - Popmatters Music Review". Popmatters. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/52243/rivers-cuomo-alone/. Retrieved 2007-12-20. 
  28. ^ Kimmich, Peter. "Rivers Cuomo Releases Video, Is Still Cool". Cinema Blend. http://www.cinemablend.com/music/Rivers-Cuomo-Releases-Video-Is-Still-Cool-8254.html. Retrieved 2008-01-14. 
  29. ^ Koch, Karl. "01/09/08 Blast Off! up to Yahoo!". Weezer.com. http://www.makebelieve.weezer.com/community/news_comment.asp?Type=News&AssetID=1609373. Retrieved 2008-01-14. 
  30. ^ Allmusic review
  31. ^ Billboard review
  32. ^ IGN review
  33. ^ musicOMH.com review
  34. ^ Newsday review
  35. ^ No Ripcord review
  36. ^ Pitchfork Media review
  37. ^ Popmatters review
  38. ^ Rolling Stone review
  39. ^ Spin review
  40. ^ "Rivers Cuomo: Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo (2007): Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/cuomorivers/alone. Retrieved 2007-12-20. 
  41. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo > Overview". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1266691. Retrieved 2007-12-20. 
  42. ^ Graff, Gary. "Cuomo Keen On Archival Releases, New Weezer CD". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003688792. Retrieved 2008-01-04. 
  43. ^ Solarski, Matthew. "Weezer's Cuomo Compiles Demos for Release". Pitchfork Media. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/46397-weezers-cuomo-compiles-demos-for-release. Retrieved 2007-10-16. 
  44. ^ "Weezer frontman to bring out solo album". NME. http://www.nme.com/news/weezer/31828. Retrieved 2007-10-16. 
  45. ^ a b Melia, Daniel. "Exclusive: Rivers Cuomo's Memoirs To Span Eight Volumes". Gigwise. http://www.gigwise.com/news.asp?contentid=40251. Retrieved 2008-03-17. 
  46. ^ "Rivers Cuomo Unveils 'Alone' Tracklisting". SPIN. http://www.spin.com/features/news/2007/11/071121_mountaingoats/. Retrieved 2007-11-24. 

External links

Rivers Cuomo
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  • "Blast Off!"
  • "Lover in the Snow"
  • "My Brain Is Working Overtime"
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Weezer
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