Weezer - Pinkerton

Pinkerton is the most famous commercial failure in nineties alternative rock and the record most Weezer fans would save from a fire. Released in September 1996, it sold poorly, was savaged on release, and sent Rivers Cuomo into a retreat that lasted five years. Then people caught up with it.

The band produced it themselves, which is audible in the best way: guitars distort past the point of comfort, drums sound like they were recorded in a hallway, and Cuomo's vocals crack where a producer would have called for another take. "El Scorcho" and "The Good Life" are the singles. "Tired Of Sex" opens the album with a confession nobody asked for. "Across The Sea" is a five minute song about a fan letter from Japan that is either the most honest thing on the record or the most uncomfortable, depending on the day. "Butterfly" closes it alone on an acoustic guitar and an apology.

The songs are drawn loosely from Puccini's Madama Butterfly, the cover is a Hiroshige woodblock print, and the whole thing is now routinely named among the best albums of its decade. Vindication took about ten years.