Without question, the greatest 'major label debut after an indie career' record of the decade. Not least because it was recorded in the same exact conditions and from the same exact sessions as most of said earlier indie career, so that means that Ween hit the big time with a record compiled from the outtakes that weren't good enough for their previous album, and it's still one of the best records ever made. Prince should hang his head in comparison (and considering Ween are Prince fanatics, that's saying something).
Discuss: Ween are a joke band. Obviously they have a sense of humor, but like those avatars of insanity the Squirrels, the real joke and real entertainment comes from the fact that what we're dealing with here are incredibly accomplished musicians who avoid the easy option of simply displaying technical skills and then leaving. Unlike the Squirrels, though, things go for Ween here via the lo-fi option, for the simple reason that's all they had -- right when the movement started to go overground, this comes out and renders most everything else after it pointless. And they themselves went for studios after this point, so they were no fools.
"Poorly disguised musical skills" is how one person once put the Ween ethic, and rightly so. Everything sounds stupid and wrong, but it isn't, and you'll be pleasantly surprised how well it all holds up, with melodies, catchy chorus lines and more besides to boot. Some of the nuttiest drum machine percussion ever helps. Weird whispers, vocal distortion everywhere, English accents where appropriate, hero rock riffs fed through sludge, even a total noisefest of a track, "Mourning Glory," which I would put up against anything from New York or Japan any day of the week, and I'd probably win at that.
So you listen to the basic but just right flanging on "The Stallion Pt. 3" and elfin voices say, "I do declare…I can float in the air!…Don't caress the weasel…Don't seek the blood from the panther," and so forth. I mean, of course. Isn't this what we're meant to do with music? Go nuts! Wait for that little cowbell sound placed just right in "The Goin' Gets Tough from the Getgo," revel in "Pumpin' 4 the Man" and realize that nobody need ever record a punk-rock anthem about a shitty job ever again, enjoy the sweet and straightforward love song "Sarah" (true, and what's more, she ended up marrying one of the Ween guys just this year), and onward.
And of course, "Don't Get 2 Close (2 My Fantasy)." Because you have not lived until you've heard this chorus, overdubbed into something not far removed from the effect of "Bohemian Rhapsody":
"Don't get 2 close (2 my fantasy)!
Don't be afraid 2 clutch the hand of your creator!
Stare into the lion's eyes and if you taste the candy,
YOU'LL GET 2 THE SURPRISE!"
Sung, when I saw them earlier that year, with Gene and Dean reaching out towards the audience striking hero-rock poses. I adore them. Long may they thrive.