Customer Reviews

White Pepper

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

it seems that ween has reached their Beatles phase, outstanding displays of songwriting are backed with mellotrons, backwards guitar, and plenty of cool noises. every song is great!

Some here are hung up on The Mollusk--to that I say, Up aRope. The Mollusk is a great album, but their best? Come on. White Pepper makes its way into your aural stimulation center with no apologies for being a thrill to listen to. This one FLOWS. I miss the sick comedy and rough edges of the GWS and Pod era that make Ween Ween, but White Pepper is a gem that delves into new sound for Gene and Dean--these guys are Musicians. Pandy Fackler and Bananas and Blow are Ween on the flip, while Even if You Don't, Back to Basom, Stay Forever and Falling Out shine with pop brilliance. The album would not be complete without Stroker Ace, the kickbutt hard rock entry,which could use a cousin in place of the sappy She's Your Baby (I guess we all get older and express some "feeling" or whatever), and a little short on the total time, but a fine offering. Once through and you ask if this is the definitive, as we know them Ween; twice through and more you discover some of the old magic still resides, and the melodies imprint themselves in your memory. And by all means, catch them in concert. If you don't, you're missing the poopship.....long live Boognish.

I had already heard most of the songs on this album from concerts before the release date. I loved them, and now the studio versions add alot to these already great works of music. This is a somewhat straightforward album, But the songs are amzingly beautiful. The first two tracks sound like they could have been taken from their last album "The Mollusk". In fact Flutes of Chi was originally a demo from the Mollusk sessions. Even if you Don't sounds as if Billy Joel wrote it, but you can definitely hear the brothers Ween touch on it. Bananas and Blow sounds like a Jimmy Buffet tune. Strokerace has a very hardrockin' sound. Ice Castles is a beautiful instrumental piece. The melody and lyrics to Back to Basom are magical sounding. The Grobe is a great rock tune. Pandy Fackler is a Jazzy song that will leave you humming the melody and laughing. The last three songs are a bit on the country side. The song Falling Out stands out among those. Every track is strong on this album.

The newest ween album is a bit different than the usual ween, but then again each of their albums are really unique from one another. If anyone has ever doubted ween's talent its because they never have seen them live or haven't yet heard this album. However, I wish they threw in one more crazy, weird, old school, ween song. The beautiful thing about ween and their concerts is that all different types of people go. You got your country folks, your classic punk rockers, the preppy guys, the middle age folks still lookin for a good time, even r&b, and of course the hippies. This album adheres to the concert followers. I can see this album instantly being apart of my summer of 2000. "White Pepper" will with out a doubt create more ween fans. If you have never heard of Ween, this is a mellow way to ease into the bands randomness. Don't be a sucka, buy this album and listen to it with a good friend.

Most accessible you ask? By any other standard, "White Pepper" is a edgy, even bizarre album in the world of progressive and alternative rock. By Ween standards, "White Pepper" is far less bizarre than it's predecessors. If you're listening to Ween just for a laugh, you're missing the point completely. Gene and Dean are accomplished musicians that play to a wide spectrum of listeners. First time listeners will most likely find this one the most accessible if they were scared off by the craziness of Ween's earlier albums. I for one like those albums more, but hardcore Ween fans look at music quite a bit differently than most. Another thing that first time listeners will enjoy more about "White Pepper" is the flawless production held within. The songwriting, instruments and vocals are equally mind blowing, slapping another big fat stamp in their discography.

"Exactly Where I'm At", "Flutes of Chi", and "Even If You Don't" are solid examples of progressive and Brit-pop-styled rock. There are some "weird" ones too, such as the Jimmy Buffett parody "Bananas and Blow", or the hardcore punk edge of "Stroker Ace". "Pandy Fackler" mimics Steely Dan's lush jazz-pop in a very satirical way. "Back to Basom" is also one of my favorites.

Overall, "White Pepper" isn't as funny, crazy or sprawling as their previous albums; but who cares. Ween put together more pop gems here than most bands could hope to record in their entire career.

It is no secret that most, if not all, of Ween's albums are not a mere collection of songs but rather what is termed "concept albums," anthologies of music that have a continuous theme that solidifies the album, bringing a greater scope and range to a collective whole (verses a mere mismatch of mu-zak played alongside one another for a limited time). This said, Ween's White Pepper, by title alone, hints at the band's attempt at simultaneously saluting while, par for the band, satirizing previous ideas, themes, concepts, and heralded forerunners of the medium. As such, Ween has taken upon itself to render its rendition of the Beatles's White Album alongside Sgt. Peppers.

Before even listening to the work, the liner notes initiate Ween is on a mission: one side of the sleeve is completely white (with the exception of the "white pepper," whose representation echoes Edward Weston's "Pepper, No. 30") while exploding with a cornucopia of red, green, and yellow peppers on the reverse side. Thus, we have the "white" side and the (sgt.) "pepper" side. The album itself sustains this in that, as with the British greats, it proceeds to cover most every genre of music without lapsing from the group's trademark sound. Yet, with Ween, the band is not using the guise of the Beatles to solely parody the greatest rock band of all time, but rather as an avenue to poke fun at the various greats and genres they represent: Reggae and Jimmy Buffet with "Bananas and Blow," Wendy Carlos, a la A Clockwork Orange, with a psychedelic interpretation of "Ice Castles," Pink Floyd/The Who/Zepplin with "Back to Basom," more rock with the ELO-ish "Exactly Where I'm At" and Jethro Tull in full tow with "Flutes of Chi," lounge in general with "Pandy Flacker," early '80's punk with "Stroker Ace," as usual with Ween, a tip of the ten-gallon with "Falling Out," and, foreseeably, the Beatles with "Even If You Don't."

And the ever-irritating final denominator: "How good does the result sound?" As with most of Ween, either it is completely "on" or absolutely "off" (this general rule-of-thumb doesn't merely apply per song-The Mollusk and Chocolate and Cheese easily qualify in the former while The Pod collapses into the latter). In this regard, White Pepper qualifies as "on" out of sheer dynamicism reinforced with the one thing that remains Beatle-esque: a playful, and at times naïve, approach to lyricism. This is Ween's modus operanti, achieving the preset attempt at an homage while maintaining the band's trademark gallows humor whose noose is, as always, dangling above the neck of society and popular music in general. For instance, White Pepper is laden with direct and indirect quotes and references to the Beatles's canon, oftentimes in jest moreso than in reverence. The Ween copyright over clever lyricism becomes, instead of a method for compensation for lack of musicality (which many contemporary bands fall prey), a vital force in the overall strength of the work. As with all of Ween's catalogue, be it "on" or "off," it is always challenging and always a refreshing break from most of the music on the market today.

Oh, and the cover work is also a nod toward Edward Weston's Pepper No. 30 (1930).

Ween's previous offerings, from GodWeenSatan to The Mollusk have been wildly varied, highly eccentric affairs, to say the least. From the Philly soul of 'Freedom of '76' to the helium-inhaling madness of 'Push th' little daisies,' there are few musical genres or lyrical gutters that the brothers Ween haven't explored and indeed exploited. By contrast, their most recent album, White Pepper has a fairly straight-ahead rock feel to it. While they do take several dives of the musical deep-end (Bananas and Blow, Pandy Fackler,) songs like 'Even if you don't' and 'Back to Basom' would fit relatively comfortably on any Beatles or Pink Floyd album. Paradoxically, the conventional, more homogenous sound of White Pepper, leads to it having a less conceptual feel than the likes of Chocolate and Cheese and The Mollusk. Nevertheless, White Pepper is a fine album with several songs that rank among the group's best. Take the closer,'She's you baby.' This slow moving ballad is surprisingly direct and moving, its poignancy tempered only by the fact that it might just be an inside joke. But beauty for Ween has always been in the ambiguity and White Pepper is no exception. Put on White Pepper and get ready for a whole new kind of magical mystery tour.

White Pepper has blown my mind. Ween changes musical styles basically every song on this cd. Truly innovative, more commercial and inescapably catchy, White Pepper will remain in your cd changer for a good month before you even consider taking it out. There are really no tracks that stand out above the work as a whole. White Pepper is a complete album of quality songs. Some of my personal favorites are Bananas and Blow (hilarious), Ice Castles which reminds me of A Clockwork Orange's main theme every time I hear it (really creepy stuff), Flutes of Chi, and the Grobe. White Pepper is not as daring or dark as The Mollusk, it is more accessible to "pop" music fans, so some hardcore Ween fans may be disappointed but to them I say: KEEP LISTENING!

This is a very creative CD with a cool and imaginative salute to the Beatles White album and Sargent Pepper. I can see why this band is so hot in Australia. This CD is definately worth the money and likely to get more popular in the US after their recent David Letterman appearance!

Time will be very kind to Ween. While they currently serve the boognish below the radar of mainstream recognition, they are the most generous, creative, energetic bunch of lads working in the music biz. Their entire oeuvre will oneday be revered by critics and listeners alike.

This album is great and reminds that even though ween has always catered to their own sense of humor, at heart they could not help but write interesting and often beautiful songs. Songs, my friends. Yes, some of their old lyrics and arrangements have been pretty unusual, but the promise for the catchy-sounds of White Pepper were made back in the Pod.

Anyone who says they "miss" the more chaotic sounds of God Ween Satan or the Pod should just put those albums on (or go check them out live). Ween is trying out new stuff, and it's really all pretty damn good.

Oh, Ween. Ween. Ween. Ween Ween. Ween. Ween. Ween. Ween.

Ween.