Everything Will Be Alright in the End is the ninth studio album by Weezer, their only album on Republic Records, and the third and final Weezer album to be produced by Ric Ocasek. It was released in 2014.
Production of the album began in 2010 with Shawn Everett, who served as producer for the band's previous album Hurley. However, the band scrapped the album and wound up entering a third hiatus before production started back up in earnest in 2014, with all-new material and with Ocasek back in the producer's chair.
Musically, the album is a throwback to their earlier albums such as The Blue Album and Pinkerton. It combines the Power Pop sound of Blue with the personal and emotional lyrics of Pinkerton, as the themes explored on the album includes frontman Rivers Cuomo's relationship with his fanbase, his family, his father, his old record label, and the girls he's known in the past.
While the album failed to help the band recover their mainstream success, it's still regarded by fans as one of their best works. The band would pass up a recording contract with Republic to instead sign with Crush Records.
Ric Ocasek tragically passed away in 2019; this, along with being the final Weezer album he produced, was also one of the final albums he would produce altogether (he would only produce three more albums after this one). The band released an eulogy for him on their Instagram that same year, and their album, Van Weezer, was dedicated to both him and the then-recently deceased Eddie Van Halen.
Tracklist:
- "Ain't Got Nobody" (3:21)
- "Back to the Shack" (3:05)
- "Eulogy for a Rock Band" (3:25)
- "Lonely Girl" (2:49)
- "I've Had It Up to Here" (2:49)
- "The British Are Coming" (4:08)
- "Da Vinci" (4:05)
- "Go Away" (3:13)
- "Cleopatra" (3:11)
- "Foolish Father" (4:31)
- "The Futurescope Trilogy" (7:22)
- "The Waste Land" (1:56)
- "Anonymous" (3:19)
- "Return to Ithaka" (2:17)
Principal Members:
- Rivers Cuomo – lead vocals, guitars, keyboards, piano
- Brian Bell – guitars, backing vocals, keyboards
- Scott Shriner – bass, backing vocals
- Patrick Wilson – drums, percussion, additional backing vocals
Tropin' out like it's '94:
- Back to the Early Installment: "Back to the Shack" is about Rivers realizing that he needs to return the band to their 90s sound. Indeed, the album is arguably the closest Weezer has ever gotten to releasing a "Blue Album 2.0."
- Break Up Song: "Go Away" is of the "I Want You Back" varient. In it, the narrator (Rivers) tries to convince his ex-girlfriend (Bethany Cosentino) to forgive him for being a bad boyfriend and to come back to him, to which his ex-girlfriend gives him a "The Reason You Suck" Speech and refuses to give him any more chances.
- Call-Back: Rivers sings in "Back to the Shack" that he made up with his dad, who was previously referred to in "Say It Ain't So".
- Darker and Edgier: It was considered Rivers' most emotional album since Pinkerton.
- Epic Rocking: If taken as an entire song, the entire "Futurescope Trilogy" clocks in at 7:22.
- Grief Song: "Eulogy For a Rock Band" is Rivers grieving about the break-up of an unnamed rock band. It's debatable about what band they're talking about.
- I Am What I Am: "I've Had It Up To Here" is about Rivers rejecting the shallow stereotypes imposed upon him and how he refuses to commercialize his music for the mainstream anymore.
- Parents as People: "Foolish Father" is about Rivers recognizing and accepting the flaws his own father has and worries about how his own flaws will reflect upon his daughter.
- Self-Deprecation: Rivers acknowledges how terrible the Raditude era was, saying that "he thought he'd get a new audience but forgot that disco sucks" and that "maybe he should play the lead guitar and Pat should play the drums" (referencing how Rivers replaced himself on guitar with Pat, who in-turn was replaced on the drums with session/touring musicians, while Rivers exclusively sung lead).
- Silly Love Songs: "Da Vinci" is about Rivers' wife, or how he cannot put into words about how much he loves her.
