Ween

In 1992, three albums into the musically inspired, fucked up and very stoned life of the musical duo known as Dean and Gene Ween, the pair of goofball inner space explorers were just hitting their stride. With their first major label album, Pure Guava, and early indie hit "Push The Little Daisies" about to connect with the North American college radio consciousness, the pair's live show was a thing of lo-fi beauty done on the high. Performing live, a cassette deck provided the rhythm section for the sweet vocals of Gene (Aaron Freeman) and skronk guitar of Dean (Mickey Melchiondo). While present day Ween are a different live beast altogether, with their technically solid, full band and out-there improvisations, this audio and video document of Ween in their early days is everything it needs to be. Their twisted take on classic rock, AM radio pop, angry shit and sleezey funk is here in all its simplified glory. A CD features a live show from The Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, including live staples like "Captain Fantasy," "Cover it with Gas and Set It on Fire" and "You Fucked Up" alongside an early version of "Buckingham Green" that didn't show up until 1997's The Mollusk. The bonus DVD featuring live footage of performances from late '91 and early '92 in Columbus, OH and Groningen, Netherlands, is an even better reason to pick up this set. Better known numbers like "Don't Get 2 Close (2 My Fantasy)" and "The Goin' Gets Tough From The Getgo" are mixed in with lesser performed tracks like "Gladiola Heartbreaker" and "Old Queen Cole." Things get even looser with some footage at WTSR Radio in Trenton, NJ. A rap called "Shalom Absalom" furthers the story better known from "Reggaejunkiejew" and an impromptu cover of the Doobie Brothers' "Listen To The Music" gives a clear picture of where these guys have always been coming from.