Weezer
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
Once Weezers members wrapped up work on side projects (Bell: Space Twins, Wilson: the Special Goodness), the band recruited former Juliana Hatfield bassist Mikey Welsh to take the place of Sharp and began working on new material. Before they could enter the recording studio to record their third release, Weezer tested the waters by landing a spot on the 2000 edition of ~the Warped Tour, where they were consistently the days highlight. Hooking up again with the producer of their 1994 debut, Ric Ocasek, Weezer recorded what would be known as the Green Album (a title given by fans since it was their second to be self-titled). Issued in May of 2001, the album was an immediate hit, debuting at number four on ~Billboard and camping out in the upper reaches of the charts for much of the spring/summer, during which such songs/videos as Hash Pipe and Island in the Sun became radio and MTV staples, reestablishing Weezer as one of alt-rocks top dogs. During their tour that summer, Welsh fell ill and was replaced by Scott Shriner, also of the band Broken. That fall and winter the group busied themselves with touring with bands like Tenacious D and recording their next album Maladroit, which arrived a year after the Green Album. Just before Maladroits release, former bassist Matt Sharp sued Weezer, seeking compensation and songwriting credit for songs such as Undone (The Sweater Song), El Scorcho and The Good Life. The band eventually reconciled with Sharp, though he didnt rejoin, and Weezer continued on with the lineup of Cuomo, Bell, Wilson, and Shriner. The limited edition live EP Lion and the Witch appeared in May 2002, and Maladroits Keep Fishin was released as a single. Most of 2003 was spent on side projects. Cuomo did some hired-gun songwriting, Bells band the Space Twins put out End of Imagining, and Wilsons Special Goodness project issued Land, Air, Sea. In 2004 Weezer returned to the studio, working with Rick Rubin on their fifth full-length album. Make Believe appeared in May 2005, prepped by the single Beverly Hills. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato,
