Mollusk [Explicit Lyrics]

Ween | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 24, 1997)
• Original Release Date: June 24, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B000002HOM
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,784 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #56 in Music > Miscellaneous > Comedy > Comedic Music > Comedy Rock

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Bruce Springsteen used the Jersey Shore as the backdrop for his tragic-heroic tales of everyday people in nowhere places. Ween, as you might expect, have a slightly different take on the proud coastline between New York and Atlantic City, the place where they recorded much of their new album, The Mollusk. Gene and Dean are more interested in dead jellyfish, rusted beer cans, flotsam and jetsam, dirty syringes and other assorted detritus that washes up. As for the kind people who live near the water? Ween's only interested in the ones who lurk at amusement park freak shows--and even then, only the really twisted ones. The Mollusk was made between rounds of surf-fishing for bluefish and bass--both before and after the water pipes burst in their winter beach house/studio, leaving recording equipment adrift in an indoor flood. Naturally, the album sounds thoroughly soaked. This is Ween's 'wet' album, in much the same way last year's 12 Golden Country Greats was their Nashville album. Songs like "The Golden Eel" and "Ocean Man" mine the water motif quite literally, while the hilarious title track and "Polka Dot Tail" take it one step further, the first by aping the dopey Brit folk mysticism of Donovan's "Atlantis" and the second by lumbering whimsically like "Yellow Submarine." Other tracks, such as the opening ditty "I'm Dancing in the Show Tonight," are more impressionistically soaked: the piano notes sprinkle lightly, the tuba plods like a foot through mud, and the vocals warp as if they were accidentally thrown into the washing machine. Though they're good enough songwriters to play it straight and almost get away with it ("It's Gonna Be" sounds pulled from the Peter Cetera songbook), the Ween boys are at their best on songs like "Mutilated Lips," when they're foraging through the grotesque, the surreal, the outright nasty--anything that titillates their sick sense of humor. They're still guys who get off on weird sounds (such as "Pink Eye"'s vacuum cleaner melody and dog bark percussion) and wiener jokes ("Waving My Dick in the Wind"). And what's most fun for us is hearing how much fun it still seems to be for them. --Roni Sarig

Product Description

Heavyweight 180gm vinyl LP pressing. 1997's The Mollusk is yet another sign that Ween just got better and better with each record. The Mollusk is perhaps their most concise and well-honed record to date. After the previous year's exercise in country music (12 Golden Country Greats) the duo returns to its usual genre jumping, though there is a heavy focus on Prog-Rock. Often nautically themed and, as always, way smarter than they're given credit for, The Mollusk is one of the highest points in a brilliant catalog. --This text refers to the Vinyl edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A nautical-themed masterpiece, September 9, 2004

By 

Alan Pounds "Minnesota Hip-Hop Fiend" (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mollusk (Audio CD)

Ween threw everyone a curveball as usual with "The Mollusk". This album is much like it's multi-genre predecessor "Chocolate & Cheese" on the surface. But if you look deeper, you will find that there is a focused nautical concept to the album.

The title track sweeps you off into a harmonious atmosphere early on in the album. Gene and Dean create a universe of soundscapes that tickle yours ears from that point on. "Polka Dot Tail" paints a vivid picture of a whale splashing around in the water. "The Blarney Stone" displays a bar full of drunkin pirates. You can just imagine the beer mugs being thrown around in a drunken haze; I know it was like that when I saw them live. "Mutilated Lips" is probably my favorite track on here. The chorus itself will get stuck in your head, as it is incredibly catchy and captivating. "It's Gonna Be (Alright)", a slower number, sticks with the nautical theme, throwing in sounds of a submarine under the sea. "Waving My D*ck in the Wind" is a very funny pseudo-country style song. "Buckingham Green" is an epic in itself with great lyrics. I can go on and on about every song on this album, they all add to the greatness of The Mollusk.

The songwriting and performance along with the watery concept behind the album make for a very concise and focused gem. The Mollusk will take you away from the world of other boring played out concepts that flood MTV and our radio waves. Some people may look at The Mollusk as a joke album, or misinterpret the purpose of what they do. You just have to look a little deeper. This is truly a unique piece of modern progressive rock. This is Ween's most focused seminal work; it will blow you away.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the one..., February 11, 2004

By 

B. Convery (US) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mollusk (Audio CD)

When people ask me what is the one ween album that you need, i say that you need all of them. This is the best one, though. ween albums always seem to be a mixed bag as far as musical styles go, ranging drastically between tracks, you never know what is going to happen after the two second silence between songs. that is the beauty of ween, no matter how brown and poop-scented it may be. there have been a few (if not all) ween albums that i hated after the first listen, only to come back a couple of days later begging for more. after you familiarize and get comfortable with it, you come to love it similiar to taking cough syrup.

but the mollusk is on a level of it's own. it is a concept album that is best heard from start to finish. it starts with a little waltzy cover of "dancing in the show tonight". it is an odd place to start, especially hearing the childish vocals. next is "the mollusk", a song that every human with a soul loves upon their first listen. this song brought back man beach memories from my childhood, fishing with uncles, etc. "polka dot tale" is brown and not my favorite, prolly my least on the album. "i'll be your johnny on the spot" is a nice quick tune that makes my gas petal foot push harder. "mutilated lips" is an amazing song that makes me want to burst and implode at the same time. words, aside from its very lyrics, can't descrbe how i feel about this song that has the most amazing (and quite possibly longest) chorus ever. "the blarney stone" hits home for me as well. i'm irish, i drink, and i love rowdy pubs. "It's gonna be" is the intermission for the audience. it is a nice little love song, but feel free to go to the bathroom while it's playing. "The Golden Eel", I can't reveal any of it's secrets either. "Cold Blows the Wind" is another love type ballad, just a much darker one. Has a medieval tone to it and Ilike it a lot. Melodrama. "Pink Eye" is lots of random noises as it's palate for aural delight. "Waving my D*ck in the Wind" is a happy upbeat song that reminds me of old black & white shows like Leave it to Beaver and Ozzie & Harriet with a spritz of weenery of course! :) "Buckingham Green" is a hard hitting emotional tune that sounds like old school Ozzy. "Ocean Man" is a hoppy boppy ballad of the ocean. a great song to clap to when the pretty girls are listening with you! "She wanted to Leave"... Unfortunately the album has to end somewhere and this seems like a fine song to do it with. The lyrics are sad but at least the protagonist drinks his rum on his ship in the end.... And it ends with a downtempo beat of "dancing in the show tonight" with the sound of waves crashing in the background.

This is one fabulous package, the Mollusk is. Easily a five star album and one of my favorites of all time.

PS: IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING to purchase this album, do yourself a favor; buy it in the beginning of the summer when the weather is nice. I found that most enjoyable. I also made a promise to myself to only listen to it during those three months. Otherwise, I'd be really frigging sick of it by now.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best albums of the last 25+ years, February 21, 2006

By 

David Sheehan (KY, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mollusk (Audio CD)

This album is amazing. To me it ranks right up there with the best albums of all time. "The Mollusk," in my mind, sits comfortably with such greats as "Abbey Road," "Before and After Science," "Beggar's Banquet," "Songs in the Key of Life," and "Selling England by the Pound." Ween have shown us that they are indeed the masters of the homage, tackling genres as disparate as adult contemporary ("It's Gonna Be (Alright)"), sea shanty ("She Wanted to Leave (Reprise)"), and progressive rock ("Buckingham Green," which is probably the greatest song Genesis never wrote) all on one 44 minute album. Every song is priceless, but as an album they represent arguably the pinnacle of postmodern rock. Brilliant!