Maladroit is the fourth studio album by the rock band Weezer, released on May 14, 2002, by Geffen Records. It was self-produced by the band, and was their first album to feature bassist Scott Shriner, following the departure of former bassist Mikey Welsh in 2001, although Shriner was featured in the music video for “Photograph” from the band’s previous album Weezer (also known as the Green Album). Musically, the album features a hard-rock sound and heavy metal riffs uncommon to Weezer‘s previous releases.
During the recording, Weezer would release demos every day on the band’s website in an attempt to collect feedback from fans. Although guitarist and vocalist Rivers Cuomo would often disagree with fans on most aspects of the album. The band’s uploading also resulted in some radio stations playing the still unreleased songs.
Supported by the singles “Dope Nose” and “Keep Fishin'”. Maladroit received positive reviews from critics. The album debuted and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, selling 152,000 copies its first week. As of 2022, the album has sold 605,000 copies in the United States and was certified Gold by the RIAA a month after its release.
The cover art was done by a fan selected from contest submissions. The album title maladroit, meaning “awkward, clumsy, inept”, was suggested by a board member on the Weezer message boards who went by the screen name of Lethe. The album’s first 600,000 copies were specifically numbered with the number located on the back of the CD case near the lower right-hand corner.
Tracklist:
- American Gigolo
- Dope Nose
- Keep Fishin’
- Take Control
- Death and Destruction
- Slob
- Burndt Jamb
- Space Rock
- Slave
- Fall Together
- Possibilities
- Love Explosion
- December
- Living Without You (on some European issues)
- Island in the Sun (European and Australian bonus track)
Weezer
Rivers Cuomo: lead vocals, guitar, production
Pat Wilson: drums, production
Brian Bell: guitar, backing vocals, production
Scott Shriner: bass guitar, backing vocals, production
Additional personnel
Chad Bamford: additional production, engineer
Rod Cervera: additional production
Jordan Schur: executive producer
Tom Lord-Alge: mixing
Christopher Carroll: additional engineering
Carlos “Loco” Bedoya: additional engineering
Femio Hernández: assistant engineer
Darren Mora: assistant engineer
Steven P. Robillard: assistant engineer
Stephen Marcussen: mastering
Karl Koch: “Farm Hand”
