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Ween, "Shinola Vol.1"
Gene and Dean Ween have a huge catalog of unreleased demo tracks, and the Shinola seriesis their way of inflicting them on the rest of the world. self-released
Since they are currently relying more on rehearsal andpost-production wizardry instead of the raw "so dumb it's smart"enthusiasm that worked before, their albums have lost some of thatspontaneous, giddy fun. Shinola Vol.1 is warmly welcomed for those like me who liketo hear them at their rawest and most creative, resurrecting some of that sloppy, good-old-time gaity. The songs are theusual assortment of Ween offerings: some are repetitive, one-line,shroom-inspired flashbacks to their early years ("Big Fat Fuck" &"Tastes Good On Th' Bun," best suited for the inebriated listener),most of them are well-crafted 1970s genre sendups ("Monique the Freak"features funky, farty keyboards that would make even Funkadelic'sBernie Worrell feel sick to his stomach), and a few are uselesstoss-offs that should never have seen the light of day (see "Israel").
I'm sure these songs were rejected for good reason, as they tend to be abit below Ween par when it comes to lyrics. However, the majority of thematerial on this album is still more catchy and enjoyable than youraverage piece of radio schlock—even the radio schlock that they'reparodying. Most importantly, these songs are fun to listento, just like the old days, and I'm looking forward to all future Shinola installments.
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