Ween has always occurred to me as a musical chameleon. You want thrashy, idiotic punk? Ween can do that. Do you want a moving, emotional ballad? Ween can do that, too. Do you want an obviously drug-fueled voyage into dissonant sound and grating, nonsensical vocals? Ween can serve that up hot with a side of grits. So, it shouldn't seem strange that Ween can do country, and country is what you get in 12 Golden Country Greats. Now, country is a genre of music I tend to admire from afar - I never want to get too close, lest I start feeling urges to square-dance with a ten-gallon hat and tight jeans. So having Ween do a country album gave me the excuse to get into country, even if it was largely the Ween version. But then again, a little parody never hurt anyone, and this album is a must for Ween fans and anyone who wants a little absurdity with their country. Ween pulls off the endeavor by bringing in a bunch of ringers (some of whom they name during songs), who obviously have the whole country thing down to a T. Although Dean Ween is by all accounts one of the most talented guitar-Gods around (or, at least, by all my accounts), he probably couldn't handle a steel guitar too well, so Ween took this concept to its logical conclusion and brought in fiddlers, steel guitarists, a drummer, etc., which give almost all the tracks a good, solid grounding in the basics of the genre. The Ween-ness is brought in courtesy of the lyrics; for a Ween album, the vocals are mostly straight and modulation-free, so it's up to the lyrical content to remind you that yes, these are the same guys behind such timeless classics as Touch My Tooter and Fat Lenny. The lyrics make the album, sometimes going light on the absurdity (Japanese Cowboy, Powder Blue) to laying it on thick (You Were the Fool, I'm Holding You) to just being downright hilarious (Piss Up a Rope, Help Me Scrape the Mucous Off My Brain). For Ween fans, I suspect, the lyrics are where it's at, because even after you know what Ween is going to say in a given song, it's still somehow fresh and funny the tenth time you hear it. The lyrics shine for most of the time in 12 Golden Country Greats, with comedy being the main aim, though sometimes the only joke is "hey, look, we're doing country!" Musically, the songs are generally catchy and well-paced. Since I don't know country very well, I can only postulate that the songs reflect a range of country styles within country itself - nowhere is this more apparent than in the cheerfully homophobic Mister Richard Smoker, which seems to be plucked out of the days of ragtime, and the almost normal I Don't Want to Leave You On the Farm, which I can only assume is closer to bluegrass. I could be wrong, but I don't really care. The only song that really drags for the casual listener not familiar with Ween's forays into the lengthy, annoying song that never seems to end (Black Jack, anyone?) is Fluffy. But Fluffy is probably the funniest piece here, and sucks you in to its world of lazy front porches and excited dogs with its slow-motion, warped approach. So, overall, this album is musically solid, lyrically brilliant, funny, and delightfully misnamed. Where the remaining two golden country greats went, only Ween knows, but Gene and Dean turn in a 10-song tribute/mockery of country that stands out as being both authentic and ridiculous. On a personal note, I was once dating a girl who was a true country fan. Wondering if she might like this album, I played it for her. She was horrified. But, as I said before, if you're a fan of Ween, this album cannot be missed, or left on the farm.

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12 Golden Country Greats

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12 Golden Country Greats

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