Weezer - Pinkteron Deluxe Edition
Weezer's second album 'Pinkerton' was originally met with far less favourable reviews than the debut 'Blue' album. But in this day and age it's cool to like things that no one else does and all of a sudden the album has been included in Universal Music's deluxe edition series; quite a turnaround. The now apparent cult classic has been remastered, which doesn't particularly add anything to the sound, but that's a good thing. Who wants the edge of a grungey sound snatched away from them by making classic albums sound like an autotuned chart disaster? It's an HD, 3D and remastered world we're living in, with remakes of Star Wars assaulting your eyeballs and football matches so highly defined that you can now read the player's thought, smell their breath and even whip them with a virtual towel in the changing rooms when you press the red button.
So what does this remastered album have to offer? Alongside the original album tracks, the deluxe edition features 25 bonus tracks including B-Sides, acoustic versions, live songs and previously unreleased tracks. I get the impression looking at the track listing that like an essay with a word limit to meet the band were squeezing in as much of the same as possible hoping no one would notice. Unfortunately, it's hard to miss 5 different versions of The Good Life and Pink Triangle which is not really necessary in my view.
What the fans will be most eager to hear are the unreleased tracks, of which there are six. With some people agreeing that Weezer's new material isn't as strong as their old tracks, this unreleased catalogue can be seen as hidden classics. Tragic Girl in particular belongs in the Weezer hall of fame and we can thank the heavens it wasn't gathering dust on the shelf for any longer and has finally made its way into our ear-holes.
I always saw Pinkerton as Weezer's more serious and grungey appraoch to music, something they have not since revisited. The deluxe edition reminds us of the great musicianship of Weezer and that there's more to the band than 'Beverly Hills' and 'Pork & Beans'.