Weezer tries to pull a Beyoncé with ‘Teal Album’... and delivers Shalissa

I don’t think I’ve ever been so sad and uncomfortable listening to an album before...

Weezer dropped their surprise Teal Album Thursday morning: a collection of covers for some of the biggest songs in recent history. I expected to hear creative and fun takes on a few of my favorites. What I got was a weird mix of Punk Goes Pop and Glee (but, like, the later seasons that no one really watched).

I knew this album was going to be rough from their cover of “Africa”. To be honest, no band will ever be able to do Toto complete justice. Rivers Cuomo’s soft vocals are fine for the verses but lacks the power and command for the chorus. His voice gets drowned out by music, washed away with the rains down in Africa.

This seems to be a running theme for most of the songs on the Teal Album. I know, I know: you shouldn’t compare everything to the original. But when you do very little to put your own spin on the songs, and then give measly vocals on top of that - you’re just regurgitating on hit records.

I hit play on ”Billie Jean” and could hear Michael Jackson turning over in his grave. The cover lacks all funk, mystery, and fun from the original. ”Sweet Dreams“ and “Take On Me” were pretty much the same. And this tweet says everything that needs to be said about “No Scrubs”:

The ONLY song worth listening to is their rendition of “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”. You can the band actually likes the song and had fun recording. It delivers on the nostalgia with enough nuance to make it their own.

IN THE END:

Weezer delivered one solid cover out of an album of 10. Cuomo just does not have the vocal flexibility to cover songs like “Billie Jean” or “Take On Me”. The Teal Album is like going to a restaurant and being served cold macaroni and dry turkey.

3.7 karoake bar covers out of 10.

But what did you think? Did the Teal Album leave you feeling like an "Island in the Sun" or do you think Weezer should stick to the rivers and lakes that they're use to?