Published on May 11, 2004
The Mollusk is a masterwork; a masterwork of *what* is less
clear. Is it parody? Is it serious? A tribute? An homage? The
listener, familiar with Ween’s alleged habit of parody
(exemplified, I think, on
12 Golden Country Greats) is well-known. But, how could a
parody be conducted so straight-faced, with such conviction and
effort? This is the crux of the problem with Ween; does one
understand the music as a parody, a joke, and laugh while
listening? Or does one instead appreciate it as good music, and run
the risk that the joke is, in fact, on oneself?
The musicianship is impeccable. Vocals, guitars, synthesizers —
they’re all tight. The music itself is excellent, as well — each
song, each vignette, is orchestrated carefully with surprising
attention to detail. The title track features surprisingly
well-executed Wakeman-esque keyboard lines, while the guitar solo
in “Polka Dot Tail” (an otherwise bizarre song) screams from the
bottom of an ocean.
This album, ostensibly a “prog-rock” epic, juxtaposes pieces
like “I’ll Be Your Johnny on the Spot,” a new-wave punk tune, with
the bizarre Irish drinking song “The Blarney Stone.” The
seriousness with which these songs, and the lyrics, take themselves
lead me to believe the album is in fact an elaborate parody, with
the music serving as straight-man to the comic antics of the
lyrics. The prog-rock influences are obvious, but serve more as
tools to the music rather than objects to be acted upon.
However, that is not to suggest the album is entirely unmoving,
emotionally. “Cold Blows the Wind” is quite possibly one of the
best love songs ever written, although it is a bit emotionlessly
delivered (some might say that is its strongest point.) The album
closer, “She Wanted to Leave” is hauntingly beautiful, made even
more so by the soft, restrained reprise of the album-opening melody
echoed a few seconds following the final verse.
The Mollusk may be Ween’s most cohesive work (outside of the
aforementioned
12 Golden Country Greats which was significantly more
restrained in style,) and it is certainly their best from a musical
standpoint (the guitar solos alone cement this statement.) If
anything, it suffers from perhaps over-doing the point.