Chocolate & Cheese

The stuff they're doing for the 30th anniversary is insane - can't believe they're releasing this with new demos we've never heard before. Knowing how great Shinola was and how great all the tracks that made it on Chocolate & Cheese were, this is sure to be the best album in a while. Chocolate & Cheese was the first Ween album I heard and after hearing their song "the HIV song" I realized what I had been missing out on this whole time. The variety of all these tracks are impressive and they nail every single genre and sound they try to cover (even Candi. I don't care what anyone else says or thinks that song is amazing). Unsuspecting listeners - prepare to brown your britches.

Here we have the 3rd album by the eccentric duo known as Ween. This album has almost hit classic status having come out in 1996. I'll give a warning ⚠️ to the reader: if you like to laugh at the strange and off the wall quirks of life than you will probably enjoy this album if you're more into the straight ahead rock pop stuff than proceed with caution. This album is very diverse stylistically going from tunes like the opener "Take Me Away" which sounds like an outtake from The Doors Strange Days album to chilled out instrumentals like "A Tear For Eddie". Ween also presents some slick pop on tunes "Jappa Road" " Mister Won't You Please Help my Pony". They also have some pretty twisted tunes like HIV which sounds like a carnival or "Spinal Meningitis". If you've never heard these guys it's difficult to try and describe how they sound but I'll try by saying these guys do everything themselves so some of the album has more of an electronic vibe. The guy that plays guitar and bass on this has some decent chops but the focus is songwriting and production. These guys love modulation type FXs on almost anything and everything possibly do to the fact they were into huffing scotch guard and aren't shy about admitting it in the album notes. I think if you like stuff like Frank Zappa or Tom Waits album Rain Dogs then you'll probably like this. Check them out they're live albums are great too!

This is the Ween album with the most variety, and among that variety is some of their best songs. What Deaner Was Talking About, Buenas Tardes Amigo, Voodoo Lady, Freedom of '76, Roses Are Free, some really great stuff. It's not quite as brown as The Pod, Pure Guava, or Shinola Vol. 1, but still, easily their second best album.

Great record and a decent print. I feel like this is the easiest record to start someone off with Ween.

So good, ...so very good. I don't what these guys were smokin', inhalin', eating and/or drinking when they conceived this masterpiece...but I want some. I don't know about you but I had fun from the get go with this album and have never gotten tired of it since. From beginning to end there is something different happening. I imagine any listener will get something from this if they listen to the whole entire album. Mostly there is humor, but there is certainly so much more and it is just hard to classify this in any kind of way(much like it's creators), which I like. Definately the best thing these two whackjobs ever put together, and they usually do very well. I mean what better way to say "I am not going to miss those brain cells" when something like this is produced in the process? Absolutely perfect! And if you like this one, try 'the Mollusk'. But I warn thee, it get's a right bit salty sea-sickly. Anything earlier than these albums can get a little painful for the average listener, though I still enjoy.

Such a cool collector item pressed on "Chocolate Brown" and "Yellow Cheese" vinyl. It sounds great too!!! If you've been causally dipping your toes in the Ween pool this may be their best album to listen to and take the full plunge. If you start with "GodWeenSatan" or "The Pod" you may freak out and get turned off, but they are truly one of the greatest and important bands of the 20th and 21st century!!! Hail Boognish!!! \m/

UPDATE! AT First i thought everything was fine, but when i went to play the second disc, i noticed something had apparently smashed into it creating a scratch and crack! Very upsetting, and i hope this was just an accident due to shipping and handling and not a manufacturing issue. I'll be returning this one for another asap, and will update this review further. Original review: First off, I'm a huge fan of both ween and this album, so five stars on both. However, having owned the cd version of this album for some time now, I was surprised to see this recent pressing of the vinyl (by plain) was so sparse in album art and content. It's a single opening that houses both discs, and a single liner notes with lyrics on one side and the picture of them under the water fall on the other. Not even the ween middle finger on the vinyl stickers. In my opinion it should have been a double gatefold with the rest of the artwork on the inside or at least the middle finger on the discs. However, all gripes aside, this is still a great album and a fair pressing. 4 brown stars.

Great must have in the collection if you're a ween fan.

Classic Ween! One of their best.

Este disco demuestra lo mejor de ween, cuando staban en el cumbre de su creatividad y cuando mejor compusieron las canciones. Mis favoritos son "Roses are Free" and "Baby Bitch".

オールド・スタイル・ロックンロールの01.Take me Awayで威勢良く始まり、02.Spinal Meningitis(Got me Down)では突然ダウナーに レジデンツぽくもある小さな娘さんの声で“Am I gonna see God, mommy? Am I gonna die?”と悲しくなること言われてしまった後には、 プリンスがしっとり歌ってるみたいな03.Freedom of ’76、ベックみたいにやさぐれた04.I Can’t Put My Finger on it、 メロウなギターインストの05.A Tear for Eddie、13.Buenas Tardes Amigoでは何考えてやがんのか拙い英語でメキシカン・ブルースを ７分もかけて切々と歌い上げ…と曲想がバラエティに富んでる、つーか分裂し過ぎやろ！振れ幅広過ぎるわ！ そういう連中やって予備知識なかったら、絶対ついて行かれへんで！ しかも、このジャケットやし…。 まあ、そうツレひんこと言わんと、まずは07.Baby Bitchを聴いてみて欲しい。って、タイトルからしてビッチて…。 なんでそうやって自分らから敷居を高くするかね、この変態どもは？ そんなハードルや障害物を乗り越えて進めば、 珠玉の名曲がそこにはあるんだけど。この曲も歌詞の内容はともかく、音だけ聴けば間違いなく名曲。 マークが必要な言葉遣いはともかく本当に美しい名曲。素晴らしいです。ポウジーズのジョン・オウアもカヴァーしてたっけ。 15.What Deaner was Talkin’Aboutがまた07に匹敵する、いや、それ以上の超名曲。 たったの２分しかない短さに全てが凝縮されている完璧なポップソングの一つ。これ、大好き。 I do not think I will ever return again my friend.

Ween is an excellent band and this record was good quality.