The Mollusk

Infobox Album |
Name = The Mollusk
Type = Album
Artist = Ween


Released = June 24, 1997
Recorded = 1997
Genre = Alternative rock
Length = 43:54
Label = Elektra
Producer = Andrew Weiss
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:am6ftr8qkl7x~T1 link]
* "Rolling Stone" Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/ween/albums/album/236560/review/5944398/the_mollusk link]
* Pitchfork (9.7/10) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/23110-ween-the-mollusk link]
* George Starostin (14/15) [http://starling.rinet.ru/music/ween.htm#Mollusk link]
Last album = "12 Golden Country Greats"
(1996)
This album = "The Mollusk"
(1997)
Next album = ""
(1999)

"The Mollusk" is the sixth full length album by Ween. It was released on Elektra Records on June 24, 1997. It is a partial concept album, with nearly every song containing a dark nautical theme. The songs on the album cover multiple genres of music and are bound together by a heavy progressive rock influence, often incorporating psychedelic elements. The album has been cited as Ween's Magnum opus by both critics and the band themselves. According to Dean Ween, "I will say that the only record that I ever felt really confident about was The Mollusk. That's my favorite record we've ever done." cite web | url=http://www.straight.com/article-117368/dean-ween-picks-his-favourite-ween-disc-gives-the-back-story-on-la-cucaracha |title=Dean Ween picks his favourite Ween disc, gives the back story on La Cucaracha|accessdate=2008-03-27 |publisher=Straight.com]

Recording

After recording 1994's "Chocolate and Cheese," Gene and Dean Ween decided they wanted to return to their early method recording albums at home. cite web | url=http://www.citypaper.net/earshot/earshot.0797/zoom.ween.shtml |title=Dean Ween Mollusk Interview With Earshot Magazine|accessdate=2008-03-27 |publisher=Philadelphia City Paper] In 1995, the band relocated their recording equipment to a rented beach house on the shore of Holgate, New Jersey. The band's recording equipment and some of the material were nearly lost when a water pipe burst in the house while the house was unoccupied. At this point, the band put the album on hold and made plans to record 1996's 12 Golden Country Greats in Nashville. After the release and subsequent tour of 12 Golden Country Greats, the band completed the remaining tracking of The Mollusk at various inland locations. cite web | url=http://www.citypaper.net/earshot/earshot.0797/zoom.ween.shtml |title=Dean Ween Mollusk Interview With Earshot Magazine|accessdate=2008-03-27 |publisher=Philadelphia City Paper]

Reception

"The Mollusk" garnered critical acclaim. George Starostin, who has reviewed over 2000 rock albums on his site, gave it a 14/15, the highest ranking of any studio album released since 1980 [ [http://starling.rinet.ru/music/ween.htm#Mollusk The Mollusk: George Starostin] ] [ [http://starling.rinet.ru/music/ratings.htm#14 14-point albums: George Starostin] ] .

Track listing

# "I'm Dancing in the Show Tonight" − 1:56
# "The Mollusk" − 2:37
# "Polka Dot Tail" − 3:20
# "I'll Be Your Jonny on the Spot" − 2:01
# "Mutilated Lips" − 3:49
# "The Blarney Stone" − 3:14
# "It's Gonna Be (Alright)" − 3:19
# "The Golden Eel" − 4:04
# "Cold Blows the Wind" − 4:28
# "Pink Eye (On My Leg)" − 3:13
# "Waving My Dick in the Wind" − 2:12
# "Buckingham Green" − 3:19
# "Ocean Man" − 2:07
# "She Wanted to Leave (Reprise)" − 4:26

* "She Wanted to Leave (Reprise)" contains the main song, "She Wanted to Leave," as well as a reprise of "I'm Dancing in the Show Tonight."

Personnel

*Dean Ween - Guitar, Vocals, Engineer
*Gene Ween - Vocals, Engineer
*Kirk Miller - Sound Effects
*Claude Coleman, Jr. - Engineer
*Juan Garcia - Assistant Engineer
*Bill McNamera - Assistant Engineer
*Steve Nebesney - Assistant Engineer
*Mick Preston - Assistant Engineer
*Ralph Smith - Assistant Engineer
*Jim Woolsey - Assistant Engineer
*Andrew Weiss - Producer, Engineer, Mixing
*Peter Curzon - Artwork
*Tom Nichols - Photography
*Rupert Truman - Photography
*Sam Brooks - Cover Design
*Finlay Cowan - Cover Design
*Storm Thorgerson - Cover Design
*Matt Kohut
*Jason Reddy
*Mean Ween
*Bill Fowler - Guitar

Charts

Album

*1997 The Mollusk Heatseekers No. 5
*1997 The Mollusk The Billboard 200 No. 159

References