Ween

Bad Day In Brownsville

Paintin' the Town Brown (Ween Live '90-'98) [Explicit]

Voodoo Lady (Demo) [Explicit]

Junkie Boy

GodWeenSatan: Live (Explicit)

The Friends EP

Chocolate & Cheese

Quebec

Live At Stubb's, 7/2000 (Explicit)

White Pepper

The Mollusk

12 Golden Country Greats

Chocolate and Cheese (Deluxe Edition) [Explicit]

God Ween Satan: The Oneness [Anniversary Edition]

by  Jason AnkenyCulled from some nine years worth of tapes, Paintin' the Town Brown: Ween Live '90-'98 comes close to approximating the full gonzo brilliance of a Ween live date -- granted, there's nothing quite like the experience of being there in the flesh, watching Deaner and Gener guzzling Jack Daniels while the Scotchgard-addled masses look on adoringly, but it's a fine substitute. The two-disc set (also available on three chocolate-colored vinyl LPs, natch) covers all of the duo's stage incarnations, from their earliest appearances (backed only by a drum machine) to the full band assembled in support of The Mollusk; the set list is admirably eclectic, foregoing fan favorites like "Push th' Little Daisies" and "Buenos Tardes Amigo" in lieu of non-album obscurities including "Mountain Dew," Cover It with Gas and Set It on Fire" and "Vallejo." The highlights are a string of tunes from the now-legendary 1996 tour featuring Bobby Ogdin & the Shit Creek Boys, a group of ace Nashville sessionmen originally tapped to record Ween's classic 12 Golden Country Greats album.

不老頑童、兩個快樂的單身漢、永遠的笑容、不安的躁動者，變幻中的愛樂者，這就是Ween嗎？生於美國，1984年組隊於賓西法尼亞洲，9張專輯5張現場的精選輯，那麼暢快的節奏，那麼感傷的旋律，那麼戲虐的顛覆，這就是Ween嗎？ 

Ween是特立獨行的一隊音樂奇兵，他們不是後搖滾，不是朋克，不是實驗，不是低調，更不是藝術搖滾，説他們是獨立搖滾或者説另類流行也不盡是，他們卻有着上述所有的美和力量，他們有一顆低保真的心，這就是他們的本色。這幾年來Ween一直令我分外關注，他們並不低產，但行事低調，他們用各種不同的笑

When Ween released their debut, God Ween Satan, in 1990, the question on most listeners' minds was "Are they serious?" Ten years later, White Pepper has folks asking "Are they joking?" No, as evidenced by the straightforward pop that makes up their eighth studio effort. This isn't a sellout, but a continuation of the sound explored on their previous release, The Mollusk. Songs like "Even If You Don't" and "Back to Basom" are respective nods to their McCartney and Lennon joneses, and even more stunningly, the brothers Ween bust out their most irony-free love song yet, "Stay Forever." The boys haven't completely abandoned the silly--the Caribbean-flavored "Bananas and Blow" and the Steely Dan-influenced "Pandy Fackler" are good for giggles--but the "more pop, less poop" rule remains in effect, leaving room for majestic tastiness like "Flutes of Chi" and "The Grobe." All in all, a fantastic salute to rock & roll.


Bruce Springsteen used the Jersey Shore as the backdrop for his tragic-heroic tales of everyday people in nowhere places. Ween, as you might expect, have a slightly different take on the proud coastline between New York and Atlantic City, the place where they recorded much of their new album, The Mollusk. Gene and Dean are more interested in dead jellyfish, rusted beer cans, flotsam and jetsam, dirty syringes and other assorted detritus that washes up. As for the kind people who live near the water? Ween's only interested in the ones who lurk at amusement park freak shows--and even then, only the really twisted ones. The Mollusk was made between rounds of surf-fishing for bluefish and bass--both before and after the water pipes burst in their winter beach house/studio, leaving recording equipment adrift in an indoor flood. Naturally, the album sounds thoroughly soaked. This is Ween's 'wet' album, in much the same way last year's 12 Golden Country Greats was their Nashville album. Songs like "The Golden Eel" and "Ocean Man" mine the water motif quite literally, while the hilarious title track and "Polka Dot Tail" take it one step further, the first by aping the dopey Brit folk mysticism of Donovan's "Atlantis" and the second by lumbering whimsically like "Yellow Submarine." Other tracks, such as the opening ditty "I'm Dancing in the Show Tonight," are more impressionistically soaked: the piano notes sprinkle lightly, the tuba plods like a foot through mud, and the vocals warp as if they were accidentally thrown into the washing machine. Though they're good enough songwriters to play it straight and almost get away with it ("It's Gonna Be" sounds pulled from the Peter Cetera songbook), the Ween boys are at their best on songs like "Mutilated Lips," when they're foraging through the grotesque, the surreal, the outright nasty--anything that titillates their sick sense of humor. They're still guys who get off on weird sounds (such as "Pink Eye"'s vacuum cleaner melody and dog bark percussion) and wiener jokes ("Waving My Dick in the Wind"). And what's most fun for us is hearing how much fun it still seems to be for them.


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. 



<God Ween Satan: The Oneness [Anniversary Edition]>是Ween於2002年8月1日發行的專輯。

專輯 | 單曲