Released June 24, 1997 Length 43:54 Release date 24 June 1997 Label Elektra Records | Recorded 1995–96 Artist Ween Producer Andrew Weiss | |
 | ||
The Mollusk
(1997) Paintin' the Town Brown Ween Live 1990-1998
(1999) Genres Alternative rock, Experimental rock, Progressive rock, Psychedelic pop, Art rock, Neo-psychedelia, Comedy rock Similar Chocolate and Cheese, Live in Chicago, 12 Golden Country Greats, White Pepper, GodWeenSatan: The Oneness | ||
Ween the mollusk 1997 full album
The Mollusk is the sixth studio album by American rock band Ween, released by Elektra Records on June 24, 1997. It is a multigenre concept album with a dark nautical theme, with most songs incorporating elements from psychedelia and sea shanties while also featuring a heavy progressive rock influence. According to Dean Ween, "I will say that the only record that I ever felt really confident about was The Mollusk. That's my favorite record we've ever done."
Contents
Ween i m dancing in the show tonight
Background
Starting with the release of their 1994 album Chocolate and Cheese, Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo—known by their stage names Gene and Dean Ween, respectively—began to significantly enhance their approach to studio recording. While their earlier albums were almost entirely recorded by Freeman and Melchiondo themselves at their home using a 4-track recorder, Chocolate and Cheese marked the first time the band produced an album in a professional recording studio. It also notably began their transition from a duo to a more traditional band with the addition of drummer Claude Coleman, allowing Freeman and Melchiondo to experiment with a wider range of musical styles than they could with the drum machine used on previous releases.
Though Ween's 1996 album 12 Golden Country Greats was their first record to feature a full-fledged band on each track, these songs were recorded with various Nashville session musicians and was viewed by the band as more of a spin-off album in the vein of The Beach Boys' Christmas Album than a true follow-up to Chocolate and Cheese. The Mollusk was the debut album for keyboardist Glenn McClelland, and with bassist Dave Dreiwitz joining shortly before the album’s release, the band finally evolved into the final five-man incarnation that continues to this day.
Recording
After recording 1994's Chocolate and Cheese, Gene and Dean Ween decided they wanted to return to their early method recording albums at home. In 1995, the band relocated their recording equipment to a rented beach house on the shore of Holgate, New Jersey. The band's recording equipment and some of the material were nearly lost when a water pipe burst in the house while the house was unoccupied. At this point, the band put the album on hold and made plans to record 1996's 12 Golden Country Greats in Nashville. After recording 12 Golden Country Greats in 1995 and releasing and touring behind the album, the band completed the remaining tracking of The Mollusk at various inland locations. The album was finished in 1996 and released on June 24, 1997.
Track listing
Personnel
In popular culture
"Ocean Man", the thirteenth track in the album, appears during the end credits of 2004's The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. Melchiondo later recalls that the creator of SpongeBob SquarePants, Steven Hillenburg, had contacted Ween, and told them that The Mollusk was a huge inspiration creatively. This would be Ween's second time working with SpongeBob.
Electric Six covered the song "Buckingham Green" on their cover-album Mimicry and Memories (2015).
Charts
Songs
1I'm Dancing in the Show Tonight1:58
2The Mollusk2:39
3Polka Dot Tail3:22