Pinkerton
| Weezer
Pinkerton
Pinkerton is the second studio album by American rock band Weezer, released on September 24, 1996 by DGC Records. After abandoning plans for a rock opera entitled Songs from the Black Hole, Weezer recorded the album between songwriter Rivers Cuomo's terms at Harvard University, where he wrote most of the songs. - Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Rolling Stone
Pinkerton has become the gold standard for Weezer records.
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Pitchfork
Weezer's overlooked second album eventually became a cult favorite and now it's received a deluxe 2xCD reissue; there's also this other new record.
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NME
Weezer's 'Pinkerton' is not a masterpiece, it's creepy.
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Immortal Reviews
Pinkerton is a classic not because of its music, per se, but because of its message.
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The Guardian
The LP laid the blueprint for emo and became a curse for a band whose fans never really forgave them for not following up their confessional masterpiece
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Punk News
Pinkerton lived so others could find it, relate, then start bands of their own, repeating the same cycle of alienation, identification, and creation. And on pop music goes.
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50THIRDand3rd
It’s a personal, abrasive album that’s painful and sometimes strange, but after a few listens in 1996, it found it’s way on my personal list of favorite albums of all time.
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The Emory Wheel
There’s no doubt that Pinkerton remains a hit-or-miss type of album for many, but that only makes it more of an essential listen, because if it grabs you, it won’t let go.
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All Music
It's the better album, full of crunching power pop with a surprisingly strong emotional undercurrent that becomes all the more resonant with each play.
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Drowned in Sound
The five albums subsequent to Pinkerton could be described as passable if you’re feeling generous; a bit shit, if you’re unkind. It is heartening and not a little bittersweet to be reminded how Weezer once made sad, twisted, broken-sounding songs like these, and they made them work, and they made our CD player work, and they weren’t a bit shit, and we loved them.
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BBC
Brilliant pop, effervescent and evergreen, but seriously bruised.
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Cosmo Music
‘Pinkerton’ is a brave, emotional, powerful, timeless album, and even if it doesn’t have as much of an impact on you as it has had on me, I truly hope you will give it a listen, you won’t regret it.
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Tiny Mix Tapes
Each song on Pinkerton has its own emphasis on an overall concept, adding up to a great, consistent album that never loses its edge.
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American Songwriter
It’s this narrative that makes Pinkerton the ultimate coming-of-age album, but it’s the band’s warts-and-all presentation that make it rock.
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The Hard Times
At the time, these minimalist novellas of a sort hit too close to home for most readers. But by today’s standards, which started about a month ago, this seems normal.
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Skiptrack Music
Nonetheless, what makes this album so important are the lyrical barriers it broke and that it gives us an unbelievably detailed look into the mind of a man on the brink of collapse and does it with catchy melodies and solid riffs. Maybe it deserves that 100 after all.
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Happy Katana
Personally, this is my favorite album of all time.
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The Student Playlist
Many focus on the lyrical concerns, but the music they are set to is just as striking throughout Pinkerton.
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Under the Deer
Pinkerton was kinda emo before emo was really defined and I’ll say well played, as I look sullenly out at you from behind the protective barrier of my Manic Panic Infra Red bangs.
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Modern Vinyl
A near perfect version of a perfect record. The number of times I see myself spinning "Pinkerton" will likely surpass the plays on its digital predecessor.
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Mofi
For all the malaise, Pinkerton also contains beloved wit and humor.
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AV Club
Over the years, Pinkerton has become a touchstone—spoken of in hushed tones and with the kind of reverence that almost inevitably leads to disappointment. But I decided to finally strap myself in and give it a whirl. Guess what? It’s pretty good.
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Bored and Dangerous
I’d never give their best album anything higher than an 8/10, and their worst is probably a 6/10. Pinkerton’s right in that range too. Slightly better than some Weezer albums, slightly worse than others, but no clear distinction either way.
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The Vision
Even with some awkward parts in the music, the album for the most part holds up pretty well.
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What IS This Shit??
Pinkerton is one of the best tragic love albums I’ve heard.l
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Jakobs Album Reviews
This album is actually one of the best albums of the 90s.
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The Rock Father
A great album, PINKERTON is still not my favorite WEEZER record, nor do I view it as their best - but an equal to some of their other fine moments.
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Prefix Magazine
It’s a good thing that Pinkerton has only gotten more popular as the years have gone on, because these are the sorts of songs that sound infinitely better when sung along to in a room full of people who know every word.
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No Ripcord
It’s Weezer’s raw, emotive bastard child; and a great, brilliant, titanic blot on an often pristinely laundered back catalogue. For that reason in particular this is a thing to be cherished.
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Snack a Track
It’s uncomfortable and after a while you just want him to stop. Is it “fucking creepy”, “cringeworthy” and “pathetic”? Yeah. But somehow you can’t look away.
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The Lariat
At its core, Pinkerton is an emotional evolution, characterized by the visceral adolescence that defined Rivers Cuomo’s Harvard years, taking Weezer to a dark place where they thrive wonderfully and leaving the band with expectations they would forever strive to meet once more.
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hairy music reviews
Pinkerton is an album which helped me grow as a person, but the complexity of determining whether it has been a net positive for the world throws into light questions about how we relate art to artists, producers and consumers.
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QRO Magazine
After all of the hipster-hate that’s been thrown at Weezer over the years, the original Pinkerton still stands up.
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