Ween – Chocolate and cheese – 1994

[Roland Bru]

On this album Ween use better production methods (no longer recording to DAT and no longer in their garage but in a full blown studio). The effects are manifold, but the main conclusion must be: hell, this is one album with a lot of variety! Problem is, you may not like all the genre hopping if you do not like all the styles. From one song to the next, they switch from soul (A tear for Eddie) to a Ennio Morricone-style ballad (Buenes tardes amigo), from poppy muzak (Roses are free) to Talking Heads style pop usic (Voodoo lady) and from heavy metal (Take me away) to romantic balladry (What Deaner was talkin’ about). Lyrics are still either gross or funny, and frequently both.

Dean Ween’s guitar playing shines throughout, and for me the added clarity is a big plus, compared to earlier albums (God Ween Satan, The Pod and Pure Guava). As George Starostin mentioned in his reviews: Ween may be the Beatles of the 21st century: they are that good!