CD Review: Weezer “The Teal Album”

“The Teal Album”
Weezer
Crush Music/ Atlantic Records
Tracks: 10

Our Score: 3 out of 5 stars

Throughout a sold out amphitheater tour in summer 2018, Weezer began working covers into their set, ranging from “Take On Me” by a-ha to “Happy Together” by The Turtles, in addition to their massive cover of “Africa” by Toto, which became a viral and radio sensation upon its release earlier that year. Given the tremendous response to these songs at the shows, the band was inspired to put together a covers album — and thus WEEZER (THE TEAL ALBUM) WAS BORN!

Surely a high light for anyone who attended Weezer’s summer tour which featured the band intermingling their own list of hit songs with classic rock staples such as Black Sabbath “Paranoid” and the new wave esque “Take On Me” all set against a bombastic stage show complete with fire, lights and a boat…Yes a boat! Well for fans that really enjoyed the live experience of those songs they now have the chance to own what is being dubbed “The Teal Album”. The album features all the covers heard on this summer’s tour in studio form along with a handful of other songs that will take listeners back to their younger years. From The Eurythmics hit “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) and Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” to TLC’s “No Scrubs” the ten song collection covers a number of musical era’s and genres. Though I would have liked the band to put a little bit more of their own spin on the tracks instead of sticking to the songs original sound they album was still an enjoyable listen.

If you were the guy or girl who couldn’t go with your friends to see Weezer when they were in town who in turn got stuck listening to all the stories about what you missed, you can now get somewhat caught up and at least hear the music. Weezer’s “The Teal Album” is a solid listen and the perfect album to tide you over until the March release of the bands new studio album (queue the Spinal Tap jokes) “The Black Album” which we be released March 1st followed by a Co-headlining tour with The Pixies starting March 8th in Louisville, KY.

Track Listing:
1.) Africa
2.) Everybody Wants to Rule the World
3.) Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
4.) Take On Me
5.) Happy Together
6.) Paranoid
7.) Mr. Blue Sky
8.) No Scrubs
9.) Billie Jean
10.) Stand By Me

Weezer Releases “The Teal Album”, Co-Headlining Tour w/ The Pixies Kicks Off In March.

SURPRISE!
WEEZER (THE TEAL ALBUM) IS HERE!
THE COVERS ALBUM OUT NOW
CO-HEADLINE TOUR WITH PIXIES KICKS OFF ON MAR 8 WITH SUPPORT FROM BASEMENT
SPECIAL APPEARANCE BY TV ON THE RADIO AT MSG

Throughout a sold out amphitheater tour in summer 2018, Weezer began working covers into their set, ranging from “Take On Me” by a-ha to “Happy Together” by The Turtles, in addition to their massive cover of “Africa” by Toto, which became a viral and radio sensation upon its release earlier that year.  Given the tremendous response to these songs at the shows, the band was inspired to put together a covers album — and thus WEEZER (THE TEAL ALBUM) WAS BORN!  


It’s also out today via Crush Music/Atlantic Records.  Click HERE to listen to it.  A track listing for the album is below as well.  

Weezer (The Teal Album) precedes the band’s forthcoming new album of original Weezer songs, Weezer (The Black Album), which will be released on March 1, 2019.  Weezer (The Black Album) was produced by TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek, with whom the band worked for the first time.  The album’s songs were entirely written on piano by frontman Rivers Cuomo for the first time in Weezer history, creating some of the most satisfyingly awesome songs in the entire hits-filled Weezer catalogue.  With band members switching up instruments in the studio, and choruses filtered through Sitek’s own encyclopedic musical references of everything from Gorillaz to Can to Pink Floyd, Weezer (The Black Album) is the bold next step in the winning streak of acclaimed albums they’ve released since 2014.  The album’s current song, “Can’t Knock The Hustle,” recently became the band’s sixteenth Top Ten single at Alternative Radio.   

As previously announced, Weezer will be returning to the road with Pixies this spring for a run of highly anticipated North American arena dates, including a recently announced headlining stop at New York City’s prestigious Madison Square Garden with special guests TV On The Radio. They will then hit Coachella’s Main Stage before heading to Europe for a number of dates and festivals. Tour dates are below.

Weezer (The Teal Album) track listing:

  1. Africa (Toto)
  2. Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Tears for Fears)
  3. Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) (The Eurythmics)
  4. Take On Me (a-ha)
  5. Happy Together (The Turtles)
  6. Paranoid (Black Sabbath)
  7. Mr. Blue Sky (Electric Light Orchestra)
  8. No Scrubs (TLC)
  9. Billie Jean (Michael Jackson)
  10. Stand By Me (Ben E. King)

2019 U.S. TOUR DATES:

3/8/19 Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center
3/10/19 Columbia, SC @ Colonial Life Arena
3/12/19 New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
3/13/19 Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
3/14/19 Albany, NY @ Times Union Center
3/16/19 Mashantucket, CT @ Foxwoods Resort Casino
3/17/19 Baltimore, MD @ Royal Farms Arena
3/19/19 Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
3/20/19 Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena
3/22/19 Memphis, TN @ FedEx Forum
3/24/19 St. Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center
3/26/19 Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
3/27/19 Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center
3/28/19 Des Moines, IA @ Wells Fargo Arena
3/30/19 St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
3/31/19 Madison, WI @ Alliant Energy Center
4/5/19 Nampa, ID @ Ford Idaho Center Arena
4/6/19 Portland, OR @ Moda Center
4/7/19 Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
4/9/19 Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center
4/10/19 Oakland, CA @ Oracle Arena
4/12/19 Las Vegas, NV @ Mandalay Bay Event Center
4/13/19 Indio, CA @ Coachella
4/20/19 Indio, CA @ Coachella

INTERNATIONAL TOUR DATES (SUPPORT TBD):

29 June London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton
2 July Hamburg, DE @ Stadtpark
4 July Utrecht, HL @ Tivoli Vredenburg
7 July Bologna, Italy @ Sonic Park
8 July Zurich, CH @ Xtra