For those not that familiar with Ween, they are the Chameleons of rock and roll. They have and will try their hand at any and every genre of music that exists and while sometimes it seems tongue in cheek, they always go the distance and make the music sound as authentic as possible. Ween studio albums end up being a bit scatter brained with multiple genres on a single record, but they are always interesting and worth a listen. The song “Gabrielle” actually comes off of a compilation album of rare songs and I guess what amounts to b-sides called Shinola Vol. 1 and its actually one of my favorites by these guys. The song is a dead ringer for the classic rock sound of Thin Lizzy right down to the chord progression and vocal phrasing and it sometimes makes me wish Ween would pick a genre and stick with it, but then again, then they wouldn’t be Ween. Have a listen:
I like to compare Ween to an unknown superstar in a pro sports league. People who are aware of them love them and secretly hope that the masses won’t start wearing their jerseys and smothering them with adoration, but also are aware that they deserve a lot more recognition and respect. Maybe thats a bad analogy, but to me it makes sense. Ween are a kickass band and can adapt their playing to a specific genre like no other. A perfect example is this song, “Freedom of ‘76″ off of their 1994 release Chocolate and Cheese. Listening to this song with no prior knowledge of Ween you’d swear it was a 70’s soul band out of Philadelphia and not 2 white guys who write goofy songs called “Don’t shit where you eat”. Even better is this crazy video that they made, directed by Spike Jonze. Jonze somehow visaualized the two Ween boys as outlaws trying to liberate the people from god knows what and it makes for an unforgettable video. Liberty Bell thefts, Riot Squads, Mob crowds and Jailbreaks… this video has it all. Thank god for Ween:
