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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Twisted Masterpiece, July 14, 2004
This album is the epitome of Ween. For those of you who are unfamiliar with them, they're a couple of guys ("brothers" Gene and Dean Ween - obviously psyeunoms) who make extremely bizarre and downright hilarious music. They typically sing in weird voices (even altering them to sound like they just gulped loads of helium), and worship something named the "Boognish". What sets them apart from someone like Weird Al is that you don't feel like you're listening to a novelty act, because they're extraordinarily talented musicians. "GodWeenSatan: The Oneness" is their first album, comprised of no less than 29 extremely lo-fi recordings. But even in their early days (when the guys were about 20 years old), they're able to showcase a wide diversity in musical styles (this diversity would increase with each subsequent album).I usually go track-by-track in my reviews, but there's too damn many of them, and it would go over the word limit, so I'll just point out various highlights. The opening cut, "You F'ed Up", is classic Ween: it's a harsh slice of pure heavy metal, with some of the most offendingly hilarious lyrics ever devised. I won't even try to quote them here. "Common B*tch" is quite similar, and also great. "Fat Lenny" has Gene (who sings almost all of the songs) spitting out lyrics in a tone of voice eerily similar to Cartman from South Park (despite the fact that it was released in 1990). "I Gots a Weasel" is a faux blues number, while "Squelch the Weasel" is a medieval folk pastiche (also kinda sounds like Simon & Garfunkle) The two funniest "songs" on the album are "I'm In the Mood To Move" and "Blackjack". Both of them are built upon a very sparse musical backdrop, and feature Gene and Dean "singing" (not really) some bizarre phrases ("Big Black Betty, Little Spanish Eddie.."), obviously inside jokes, yet they're still hilarious. On "Blackjack", they can't even contain their laughter, which makes it all the more funny. Songs like "Cold & Wet", "Stacey", and "Marble Tulip Juicy Tree" contain guitar solos that further enforce that these guys actually have talent despite their goofyness. They're not exactly Hendrix or Clapton-like guitar solos..but they're good enough to enforce that these guys are musically able. They even casually toss off an absolutely perfect pop song, "Don't Laugh (I Love You)", which features those Chipmunks/Helium like vocals I alluded to earlier. "Nicole" is another slower song with a two chord reggae beat that goes on and on and on, but it's great. Same with "L.M.L.Y.P" (Let Me Lick Your ___), a blatant Prince sex/funk parody (it even borrows lyrics from a Prince song). "Birthday Boy" is one of the best songs, and is actually kind of touching (seriously!). It's a slow, electric guitar ballad with some answering machine messages and a few seconds of "Echoes" by Pink Floyd played at the end. They even delve into jazz ("Never Squeal"), gospel/a cappela ("Up on the Hill"), latin music ("El Camino"), folk (the extremely brief "Old Man Thunder") 60's/70's style hippie rock ("Hippy Smell") and noisy psychadelia ("Licking the Palm for Guava"/"Mushroom Festival in Hell"). The aforementioned "Marble Tulip Juicy Tree" is prog rock-ish, something they'd further explore on later albums like "The Mollusk". If you've never heard any Ween music before, this album might scare you off. At 70 minutes long, it'll take a good 5 listens before everything starts falling into place..or, not falling into place I guess. "Chocolate & Cheese" is probably the best place to start, as it's a much more polished sound, while still retaining the bizarre humor that makes them great. But if you want to hear Ween at their most twisted and, IMHO, best, give "The Oneness" a shot. You'll be a Boognish worshipper in no time. Best Songs: Birthday Boy, Marble Tulip Juicy Tree, Nan, Blackjack, Cold & Wet, L.M.L.Y.P, Mushroom Festival In Hell, You F'd Up, Fat Lenny.
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See all 29 tracks on this disc
by Ween 
