Quebec

With *The Mollusk*, probably one of the most consistent Ween albums. Which doesn't mean *Quebec* doesn't go all over the place, Ween being Ween. Opener "It's Gonna Be A Long Night" sounds like Mötörhead playing a sixties garage pop song (very nice riffing on this one!), "Zoloft" is like weird kraut filled with flourishes that are coming off as both extravagant and dreamy, "Transdermal Celebration" is nineties alt-rock done right, almost in earnest, "Among His Tribe" displays evocative prog overtones that are a long shot from said alt-rock in the previous song, while bizarro "So Many People In The Neighborhood" or bonkers "The Fucked Jam" owe a lot to... the Residents! I could go on and quote each cut in the tracklist, but I guess you get the picture right now: Ween is doing their unpredictable Ween thing here, and it will obviously ruffle some feathers somewhere. The thing is, as multifaceted as Gene and Dean are in *Quebec*, they also manage to create a sequence of songs where the stylistic twists and turns paradoxically strengthen the whole shebang, instead of making a mess that would be too inconsequential (as in their early nineties album *Chocolate And Cheese*). And some discrete compositions channeling folk-rock influences into surprisingly elegant balladeer art can even be considered as gems. This is the case of "Tried And True", for instance, almost reaching the memorable melodic heights of "Ocean Man". In that excellent folk-rock league, see also "Chocolate Town", also harboring C&W tones, or the small gem that "I Dont Want It" is. And please, don't miss the last two songs in the LP. In "The Argus" (awesome finish on this one, thanks to the stellar guitar work!) and "If You Could Save Yourself (You'd Save Everyone)", you can sense an unmistakable "classic rock" feel, once again sprinkled with very subtle prog / psychedelic ingredients -- hereby proving that Ween is way more than a pastiche or parody act, but a true heir of their seventies forebears. Gene and Dean are following a specific tradition here, but with a sensibility that is fully their own. And that sensibility is fully showcased in *Quebec*'s last leg. My only real gripe about this collection of songs is that the payoff at the end of some compositions is a little underwhelming at times (even if it's always there, in one way or another). But apart from that, it's a very fine album. Also, it's interesting to read that Dean and Gene were going through a rough patch around the time the thing was recorded. It's as if that sort of hardship had encouraged them to increase their focus, whether in individual songs or for the conception of the tracklist. Not saying that artists should suffer to channel their unbridled creativity, of course. But in the case of Ween, the situation obviously led them to tone down their college humor shtick. And given my taste for album that can be adventurous without succumbing to self-indulgence, I can't complain about such partial self-restraint... 3.5/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums, rounded up to 4. 8.5/10 for more general purposes: 5 + 3.5. Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ----- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 47 Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 59 (including this one) Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 111 --- Hey, Émile. J'ai enfin trouvé le temps de répondre ! Regarde sous la review de *Young, Loud And Snotty* des Dead Boys !

So many people in the neighbourhood took me out. But it had some crazy percussion. 3 2