#WEEN DISCOGRAPHY REVIEW FULL#

Ween may not have a huge commercial following, but their quirky yet precise, humorous yet blatantly poignant tunes are still keeping the fans happy. I was on my knees when you knocked me down.' To make you happy, to push you along and gain some respect, to be thrown a crumb. The album wraps up with 'If You Could Save Yourself (You'd Save Us All),' a sad ballad about lost love and broken hearts that opens with a chord progression very similar to David Bowie's 'Five Years.' Ween manages to work the odd blending of genres and styles that defines Quebec into the closer, as a bouncy circus organ is barely audible in the background while Gene sings such self-loathing lyrics as 'I thought you needed my help to make it good again, to make us strong. Ween returns to the 'brown sound' on 'Chocolate Town,' where they 'sail brown bay to chocolate town,' and 'Tried and True,' where Gene asks, 'Can you look in my soul, can you smell my whole.life.' Yeah, we know what you're talking about, Gener! Ween break into their more dramatic, emotional side on 'Among His Tribe,' and later in the album on 'Alcan Road' and 'The Argus,' but get back to their funky, funny roots with 'So Many People in the Neighborhood,' 'Hey There Fancypants' and 'The F**ked Jam,' which is a tune that shows what happens when drum machines and synthesizers go oh so right. The lofty sound of 'Transdermal Celebration,' the start of what could almost be a Ween rock opera, takes listeners into the stratosphere, complete with a nice phaser wipe in the middle of the song that documents a cataclysmic event that leaves the world mutated. With its catchy guitar riffs and driving bass, 'Transdermal Celebration' is one of the psychedelic highlights of Quebec (along with 'Happy Colored Marbles' and 'Captain').

Although a tongue-in-cheek look at the latest prescription 'wonder drug,' you wouldn't bat an eye if you heard 'Zoloft' playing over the tinny speakers at your local dentist's office. Give me a grip, make me love me,' are a perfect example of this.

#WEEN DISCOGRAPHY REVIEW FULL#

The juxtaposition of Ween's style is already in full effect as you get to the second track, the lethargic, languid (in a good way) 'Zoloft.' Ween has a penchant for wrapping current social commentary into the kookiest of their songs, and lines like 'Give me that z-o-l-o-f-t. The album starts out with 'It's Gonna be a Long Night,' a rockin' powerhouse of a tune very reminiscent of Motorhead's 'Ace of Spades' and Ween's own 'Stroker Ace' from White Pepper. Overall, Quebec is much more reminiscent of Pure Guava, Chocolate and Cheese and White Pepper in its eclectic mix of genres. Ween is all over the place in Quebec, ranging from guitar-heavy metal to bubbly psychedelica, twangy country to spooky dirges - and, of course, the normal mix of kooky quirkiness we've come to expect from Ween.

Unlike God Ween Satan: The Oneness (the heavy metal album), 12 Golden Country Greats (the country album) and The Mollusk (the sea shanty album), Quebec doesn't adhere to any one genre. Dean, Gene and the rest of the Ween crew have always been fairly prolific when it comes to album releases, so we're not used to going three years without a new Ween album, but Quebec was well worth the wait.Д¬locking in at just over 55 minutes, Quebec delivers a good long Ween listening experience. Who else could craft songs about spinal meningitis, mononucleosis and all-night Scotchgard benders and still come across as amusing, entertaining and charming? After a three year album hiatus (partially due to long-term publisher Elektra's refusal to release their latest), Ween is back with their eighth studio album: Quebec. There's no denying that Ween is one of the most original acts in music.

Ween discography review