Make Believe (3.5 stars)
Weezer
Weezer fans are a passionate bunch, and ever since the band's 1996 genre-defining emo album, Pinkerton, they have been waiting for frontman and songwriter Rivers Cuomo to re-create the angst-ridden, soul-baring album they loved. Those fans aren't likely to be satisfied with Make Believe, Weezer's fifth album, but it comes much closer to the spirit of Pinkerton than Weezer's last two albums. On their self-titled 2001 album and 2002's Maladroit, Weezer wrote lighter-than-air songs with great hooks but no resonance. On Make Believe, Cuomo bares his soul while retaining the slick production and accessibility of the band's previous post-Pinkerton work. Make Believe is Weezer's most musically diverse album in years, with songs drenched in new-wave keyboards ("My Best Friend," "This is Such a Pity") and augmented with saxophones, harmonicas and some excellent '70s-style talk-box guitar work.
Cuomo is also more open, but he's less whiny than on Pinkerton. "I am terrified of all things," he sings on "Hold Me," but he's more interested in finding a solution than in wallowing in self pity. On "Pardon Me" he apologizes to those he's hurt, and on "Peace" he expresses his desire for, well, peace. Cuomo's clearly grown up; it remains to be seen if his fans have, as well.
Motown Remixed (3 stars)
Various Artists
For decades, Motown's legacy was driven by stars like Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson. Recently, though, the attention has been paid to the musical tracks themselves and the house bands that created them. Motown Remixed celebrates Motor City musicianship by giving 15 producers/remixers access to the vaults and a chance to put their own spin on the classics.
It's a daunting task—DJ Smash says of Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours": "I believe there is no way on Earth you can make this song 'better'." True, but his take is one of the stronger cuts. Also solid is Z-Trip's revision of the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back," dismantling and reconstructing the song beat by bass line by bubbling guitar riff.
Though Motown is renowned for danceable music, some here go in a chilled-out direction. Paul Simpson and Miles Dalton mellow Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" into smooth-jazz oblivion; even more iced over is Tranzition's revision of the Supremes' "My World Is Empty Without You," which drains the emotion from the original, undercutting Diana Ross' bubblegum Medea. Still, most of the retakes keep the feel of the originals, if not the beat.