Not really a Rivers Cuomo solo album as such “Alone – The Home Recordings Of Rivers Cuomo” pretty much does what it says on the tin. Instead of a fully realised collection of solo material the erstwhile Weezer frontman has provided us a variety of home demos that in turn highlight the evolutionary creative process of songs that were used by the band, ideas that are too leftfield or ambitious to find an alternative outlet coupled with the odd cover thrown in for good measure.

What really helps to provide further insight into Coumo's creative process are the liner notes, where he outlines the various inspirations and desired outcomes for the pieces of work that were completed throughout his career so far and therefore are subject to a very disparate set of influences. Coumo's musings on his craft are extremely enlightening, providing the reader/listener with a fresh perspective on such familiar favourites such as “Buddy Holly” for example.

Musically there's an awful lot of ground covered here, from the choral opener “Ooh” through the slowed down, stripped down “Buddy Holly”, with a leftfield turn at the Ice Cube cover “The Bomb”. There are surprises at almost every turn. Cuomo is never anything less than engaging across these 18 tracks and even displays a sense of humour at times! Check out the outro to “Blast Off” for example (which is also based on a riff that later surfaced on “Beverly Hills”).

Bearing in mind this album is primarily acoustic led and includes such diversions as the almost barbershop “Dude We're Finally Landing” (one of a couple of tracks included here that were intended for a space rock musical intended to be called “Songs From The Black Hole”) it doesn't really rock all that hard, but, that said, its pretty much an indispensable purchase for fans of Mr. Cuomo's day job. Really.

Let us know your views on Alone

Track Listing

Ooh
World We Love So Much
Lemonade
Bomb
Buddy Holly
Chess
Longtime Sunshine
Blast Off
Who You Callin' Bitch
Wanda (You're My Only Love)
Dude We're Finally Landing
Superfriend
Lover In The Snow
Crazy One
This Is The Way
Little Diane
I Wish You Had An Axe Guitar
I Was Made For You