Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo

Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo is a compilation album which was released on December 18, 2007, consisting of demos recorded by Rivers Cuomo spanning from 1992-2007. The album was the first of many released in the Alone series.
==Overview==
The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo leaked online on December 12, 2007. When released, it opened with sales of 14,000, and debuted at #163 on the Billboard Top 200. The album also topped the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart.
===Song selection===
Certain songs immediately came to Cuomo's mind when picking songs for this demo compilation. When deciding on the track listing, Cuomo listened to a great deal of his past recordings. He described choosing the songs to be very difficult. However, he knew very early in the process to include "Blast Off!" and other tracks from the aborted Songs from the Black Hole because of the well-known high demand from fans for these songs. "I knew 'Blast Off' and some of these other Songs from The Black Hole had to be on there, because for years Weezer fans have been wanting to hear these songs, and I knew if I put out the album without these songs on there, they would hunt me down and kill me." Cuomo also considered releasing the entire Songs from the Black Hole album, but felt it wasn't right considering most of the songs have been released anyway, either as songs on Pinkerton or otherwise:
"I thought about it for a long time. I thought maybe I should release it as The Black Hole and put the demos in the right order, but like I said, it was never finished, so it wouldn't really stand up, like it wouldn't be a very good listen... It was a very tough decision, but in the end I concluded that this is the best possible CD I could put out, given all the material I have. This is the best listen and this is what I want to give to the world."
Cuomo then added, "It was really tough to pick the songs. And I think there's at least one more good CD I could put out with these songs."
Cuomo was unsure of adding some songs. Namely "Lemonade" because it was 'very early in [his] career' and also "The Bomb", but Rivers also said, "Given all the material I have, this is the best listen."
===Rivers' opinions===
When asked if there were embarrassing moments Rivers said, "Yeah, like hearing me rap on "The Bomb", so many out of tune vocals, ...uh...y'know... I wish I'd done a different chord progression in part of the verse of "Lemonade", [but] I like preserving it as it is."
Rivers has said he feels like everything has sentimental value, not just music, but "Everything. Every letter that I got from a girl...in 7th grade... I kept my long hair... I still have it in a box."
When Cuomo was asked what his favorite song on the album was, he thought about it for a moment and then said, "Probably...'Wanda'..", adding, "those chords get me."
==Reception==
===Critics===
====Individual songs====
==Track listing==
== See also ==
* Alone Liner notes
* Alone Series
* Rivers Cuomo
* Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo
* Alone III: The Pinkerton Years 1994-1997
Category:Rivers Cuomo albums
Category:Rivers Cuomo
Category:Songs from the Black Hole
Category:Alone series
Category:2007 releases