Ween Unveil ‘12 Golden Country Greats’ 30th Anniversary Deluxe Reissue, Featuring 26 Unreleased Tracks
In a career defined by radical, tongue-in-cheek affronts to expectations, Ween’s 12 Golden Country Greats stands as their most committed gag. After courting underground acclaim with the no-fi basement rock of The Pod and Pure Guava and graduating to artfully irreverent alternative on Chocolate and Cheese, Ween ditched their Tascam four-track and took their major label money down to Music City for a sweaty, caustic collection of polished country pastiches. Backed by a crew of legendary hired guns that they affectionately crowned the Shit Creek Boys, Dean and Gene Ween (Mickey Melchiondo and Aaron Freeman) cut to Nashville specs, recording real blue verses over fully-assembled arrangements for barn-burners like “Piss Up a Rope” and “Help Me Scrape the Mucus Off My Brain.”
Today, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their divisive country romp, Ween have unveiled a massive deluxe reissue. The expanded 12 Golden Country Greats adds a whopping 26 previously unreleased four-track demos and outtakes; among them are the mythical “I Got No Darkside” and Jerry Garcia tribute “So Long, Jerry,” which were winnowed away at the last minute to cut the album down to only 10 country greats. Other pearls in the pile include their cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Fool to Cry,” “Good Timing Rhyming Song,” and the knee-slapping, screeching dust-up “Bad Day in Brownsville,” released today as a preview single with footage of a man on a horse.
12 Golden Country Greats (Deluxe Edition) will arrive on July 31 via Rhino. Pre-order the project here, and read on for the complete tracklist.
12 Golden Country Greats (Deluxe Edition) – Ween:
Disc One: Original Album Remastered
1. “I’m Holding You”
2. “Japanese Cowboy”
3. “Piss Up A Rope”
4. “I Don’t Wanna Leave You On The Farm”
5. “Pretty Girl”
6. “Powder Blue”
7. “Mister Richard Smoker”
8. “Help Me Scrape The Mucus Off My Brain”
9. “You Were The Fool”
10. “Fluffy”
Disc Two: 12 Golden Demos
1. “I Don’t Wanna Leave You On The Farm” – Demo *
2. “Piss Up A Rope” – Demo *
3. “Mister Richard Smoker” – Demo *
4. “Help Me Scrape The Mucus Off My Brain” – Demo *
5. “Pretty Girl” – Demo *
6. “Fluffy” – Demo *
7. “You Were The Fool” – Demo *
8. “Powder Blue” – Demo *
9. “I’ve Got No Darkside” – Demo *
10. “Maybelle” – Demo *
11. “I’m Holding You” – Demo *
12. “So Long Jerry” – Demo *
Disc Three: 14 Golden Outtakes and Demos
1. “I’ve Got No Darkside” *
2. “Boston Chicken” *
3. “Bad Day In Brownsville” *
4. “Good Timing Rhyming Song” *
5. “Sweet Texas Fire”
6. “Twinkle” *
7. “If You Can’t Look Me In The Eye” *
8. “I’m Gonna Fix Your Ass” *
9. “Fool To Cry” *
10. “Spaghetti” *
11. “I’ll Miss You”
12. “Maybelle” – Waste Version *
13. “Scum Of This Town” *
14. “So Long Jerry”
