ALBUM REVIEW: Ween - God Ween Satan: The Oneness

    Depending on who you ask, Ween has two origin stories - the first is that of Aaron Freeman and Michael Melchiondo (or Gene and Dean Ween), two junior high classmates who bonded over music and eventually started hashing out various demo tapes of almost intentionally bad quality before slowly refining their craft. The other story is that of Gene and Dean Ween being visited by the demon god Boognish (seen in their logo) who presented the Ween duo with images of money and power, while also giving them their musical mission, with some believing that he was the one who gave the Ween duo their immense musical prowess. Origin stories aside, Ween emerged in the late 80s as an incredibly oddball group making seemingly intentionally annoying music ("brown" music as their dedicated fanbase calls it, a kind of music that's "fucked-up sounding, in a good way"), but one that managed to pull themselves some good gigs as opening acts, still as a duo with a DAT machine providing additional instruments - of course, with the 1990s being such an oddball decade where seemingly anything and everything could succeed, Ween got noticed and signed to the indie label Twin/Tone, which would be the home of their first album, thus beginning an eclectic and flavorful musical catalog that spans countless genres, styles, themes, and complexities, all under the bubble of Ween's crass sense of humor and surprisingly virtuous musical ability. God Ween Satan isn't just Ween's debut (and the first of three lo-fi albums), but the ideal introduction to Ween at their most primordial beginning, filled with a handful of musical ideas, a fun attitude, and plenty of brown to go around.

    What any repeat listeners of Ween will eventually learn is that they are a group that is nearly impossible to pigeonhole into one set genre, although sometimes the task can be made a bit easier if one goes by album. If God Ween Satan can be classified as one particular genre, it's probably punk - musically rough around the edges with loud, distorted guitar, and often shout-y vocals from singer Gene Ween. Even this doesn't quite do it justice, though, as some moments lean purely into the experimental or noisy side, while other moments prove a surprising detour, such as the psychedelic pop of "Don't Laugh (I Love You)" or "Marble Tulip Juicy Tree", both moments that play surprisingly sweet on an otherwise aggressive and noisy album. Other surprising musical influences work their way in, such as gospel on the track "Up on the Hill", complete with a reference to the demon god Boognish himself (all hail). There's also touches of folk ("Puffy Cloud"), mexican music ("El Camino"), and even a full-blown Prince pastiche (and partial cover) on the incredibly unsubtle "L.M.L.Y.P.", a song that manages to remain funny in spite of the repetition of the line "Let me lick your pussy" multiple times throughout the 9-mintue track - something about it coming from these guys makes it funny. Speaking of, Ween's humor on this album is directly in your face, and if you try to escape it you'll be left cold and wet - by the time you get to the raw screaming of "Bumblebee" you'll know exactly what you're in for. Some of it is pretty entertaining (see "L.M.L.Y.P."), others are decently funny ("Nicole", another 9-minute track), and others fail to do more than annoy ("Blackjack"). Overall, God Ween Satan is best taken as a whole and not song-by-song - taken as a whole statement, it's quite a rousing success in making obnoxiousness not only tolerable, but even a bit entertaining.

    That isn't to say the album is purely a sea of so-called brown music with no quality - in spite of the outward attempt to make annoying songs, Ween do show themselves as talented artists, perhaps exactly because they can make their crude ideas come across so well. Putting aside the album opens with the noisy and aggressive punk of "You Fucked Up", which proves not only a great opener but also the first slam dunk of many for Ween. The album is dotted with plenty of these entertaining oddball moments, from the pure noise and hilarity of "Bumblebee", wherein Gene digs out his soul to express the pure pain of being stung by a bumblebee, or the surprisingly catchy nonsensical moments like "Never Squeal" or "Cold and Wet". The album also, for its credit, sees a major pick-up in quality after about the first quarter, where we're treated to moments like the surprisingly sweet "Don't Laugh (I Love You)" or the lengthy jam on "Nicole", followed by the surprisingly heavy "Common Bitch", which almost feels like picking up right where "You Fucked Up" left off. The best moments on God Ween Satan strike that perfect balance of being funny while also providing plenty of music satisfaction, such as the stoned closing of "Puffy Cloud", another shockingly gentle moment slapped at the end of an abrasive and often deliberately obnoxious record. That is the real genius of Ween, obviously.

    In all seriousness, I could sit here and highlight select moments that I enjoy throughout this album more, but I think that wouldn't quite do God Ween Satan justice - this is an album that truly excels the most taken as a whole. As a brief aside, Ween also released a live rendition of this record back in 2016 from an earlier performance back in September of 2001, and that live version of the record is worth seeking out. Still, God Ween Satan seems like the only possible way Ween could ever begin - it's got an obnoxious attitude, strives to annoy, is incredibly lo-fi, and is realistically an experience that is all over the place... and yet it all works? Ween's commitment to eccentricities is what makes their debut a success, balanced out by solid musicianship and the occasional glimpse of more than brown. Ween would go on to much greater heights from this record, but that doesn't mean that this debut wasn't an essential part of Ween's artistic growth and style - how many groups could make an album like this work? I can't think of many, and yet somehow Ween were bold enough to put this out as their first record, and it still managed to be a solid time. It's an acquired taste, more-so than I think any other record I've talked about, but once you get the taste, you've won the battle, and you've helped the Ween duo spread the good word of Boognish even further.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to God Ween Satan: The Oneness