| Chocolate and Cheese | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 27, 1994[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1994 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 55:00 | |||
| Label | Elektra | |||
| Producer | Andrew Weiss | |||
| Ween chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Chocolate and Cheese | ||||
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Chocolate and Cheese is the fourth studio album by the American rock bandWeen, first released on September 27, 1994, throughElektra Records. It was the first Ween album to be recorded in a professional studio, in contrast to thefour-track home recordings ofThe Pod andPure Guava. However, most of the instruments were still played byDean andGene Ween, including theirdrum machine.
After self-producing their previous album,Pure Guava (1992), the band reunited withAndrew Weiss to produce the album. Its broad sound has been described as "genre-hopping", prominently featuring styles of music includingpsychedelia,country,funk,industrial, andLatin music.Chocolate and Cheese was supported by the singles "I Can't Put My Finger on It", "Freedom of '76", and "Voodoo Lady". Though the album did not perform well commercially, it received positive reviews and has been recognized as one of Ween's signature albums. It received a 30th anniversary deluxe edition re-release on August 2, 2024.
Ween's previous two albumsThe Pod (1991) andPure Guava (1992) had been recorded in a verylo-fi setting – the band only had access to their guitars and afour-track cassetteTASCAMPortastudio; the albums were recorded in their apartment (nicknamed "The Pod", hence the name of their second album). Having signed tomajor labelElektra Records, Ween now had access to better resources to record. In addition, drummerClaude Coleman Jr. joined the band, meaning they had live instrumentation as opposed to relying on adrum machine.
As a result,Chocolate and Cheese ended up sounding more hi-fi than Ween's prior works. The sound is clearer due to having beenrecorded digitally as opposed to thetapes that the first three albums were done on, and the resources the band now had meant they could experiment more than they did in the previous lo-fi set up.
The album is dedicated to comedianJohn Candy, who died while Ween was putting the album together. "A Tear for Eddie" was dedicated toParliament-Funkadelic guitaristEddie Hazel, who died in 1992. In a 2011 interview,Gene Ween credited a Spanish lesson onSesame Street with inspiring "Buenas Tardes Amigo".[2]
The album has elements of styles such ascircus music,country,folk rock,funk metal,industrial music,jazz,Latin music,lounge music,noise rock,psychedelia,soft rock andsynth-pop.[3][4][5] It has been labelled as a "genre hopping" album due to its variety of styles, with this aspect of the album being further amplified on the 30th anniversary deluxe edition, which includes more songs.[6] On their next album12 Golden Country Greats (1996), the band intentionally decided to record an album in a single genre, before releasingThe Mollusk in 1997, which was described as them going "back to genre hopping".[7]
"Take Me Away" is a swung guitar-driven composition, often being noted as having parallels with the styles ofElvis Presley andThe Doors. It is also noted for its sections where the song is interrupted by the singer thanking the imaginary audience pitifully applauding their performance. The song is a staple of Ween's live shows.
A counterpart to the track, "The Concert is Over," was originally meant to serve as a bookend for the album, but was scrapped after Freeman struggled with the vocal parts.[8] The song can still be found as a demo on YouTube, and was performed at some live Ween performances.[9]
"Spinal Menginitis (Got Me Down)" is notable for its dark subject matter and psychedelic arrangement. Its lyrics consist of a child sick withspinal meningitis (overdubbed with Freeman's vocals in the verses) lamenting to their mother about the illness. The song originated in 1992 after Dean Ween read a newspaper article about a "hillbilly" who referred to spinal meningitis as "Smile on, mighty Jesus."[10] Due to its potentially offensive nature, Elektra didn't want the song to appear towards the beginning of the album, but Ween insisted on having it appear as the second track.[11]
Released as a single, "Freedom of '76" draws many influences fromsoul andjazz, serving as a tribute to Freeman's birthplace ofPhiladelphia. It notably features a high falsetto from Freeman.
The arrangement was assisted by a local Trenton guitar player named Ed Wilson, who taught Melchiondo the jazzy chords strewn throughout the song. He also taught Freeman the bass part of the song, eventually leading the two to put together what they were taught by Wilson into a full song. Andrew Weiss also experimented with multi-tracked backing vocals, contributing to the recording process being particularly meticulous in the band's memory.[12]
Described as afunk metal track, the lead single "I Can't Put My Finger On It" features distorted vocals with an underlying funk rhythm occasionally broken by sections of clean, reverbed guitar. Freeman and Melchiondo based the song off the caricature of "some guy working behind a counter at a falafel shop. Some big, sweaty, Lebanese motherfucker, slicing meat off the spool of gyro."[13]
The song was performed onLate Night with Conan O'Brien on January 18, 1995, with Ween's first and only appearance on the show.[14]
"The HIV Song" was written in the style of circus music, and has dark lyrics which contrast the music. "Drifter in the Dark" has been described as a 1960s-style country ballad.[4] "Buenas Tardes Amigo" has a Latin-influenced sound that is also reminiscent of the work of film composerEnnio Morricone.[4] "Roses Are Free" has been labelled as an 80s-inspired synth-pop song and an homage toPrince.[3]
"Candi" has elements of industrial music and the band have expressed their dislike for the song, with Dean Ween calling it "the worst song that's on any Ween record."[15] It has only ever been performed twice, in 1994 and 2019.[16] "Baby Bitch" is a folk influenced song that was written about Gene Ween's ex-girlfriend. The song came about after she moved back into the area where he and his future wife were living.[17] At a 2004Bonnaroo performance, Gene Ween said that the song “Birthday Boy”, which is referred to in the track, was aboutBarrett Christy, a professional snowboarder who grew up near the band's hometown ofNew Hope, Pennsylvania.[18]
The album's title is phonetically similar to the British saying "chalk and cheese", a way of saying that two items have nothing in common. In an interview with Hank Shteamer during the writing of the33⅓ book aboutChocolate and Cheese,Dean Ween said that the original idea for the album art was to "get a sailor, like a gay sailor, in red, white and blue wearing the belt",[19] but the studio rejected this idea, thinking it was inappropriate.
Gene Ween claims to have come up with the idea for the album art that ended up being made, saying "I had it sketched out ... I remember tellingMickey how the top of the [shirt] would cut out right below the nipple line and so it was very important to have big breasts with a large 'under portion'". The creative director of Reiner Design Consultants, Roger Gorman, stated that they were given the direction to make it look like an album cover by theOhio Players.[20]
The model for the album art was Ashley Savage, and photography was done by John Kuczala. In the early 2000s, the cover was voted "sexiest album cover of all time" by readers ofPlayboy.com.[21] Seven months after the release ofChocolate and Cheese,Sugar Ray released an album with a similar title calledLemonade and Brownies, which also had female nudity on the cover. The members have mentioned being fans of the artwork ofChocolate and Cheese.[22]
"I Can't Put My Finger on It" served as the title track of anEP released by Elektra in 1994, which also included the tracks "A Tear for Eddie", "Now I'm Freaking Out", and "Bakersfield". The same year, "Voodoo Lady" was released by the New Zealand labelFlying Nun Records as a7" single, with "Buenas Tardes Amigo" on theB-side; both songs were also issued on theVoodoo Lady EP in CD format, along with the tracks "There's a Pig" and "Vallejo". "Freedom of '76" was the title track of an EP released by Flying Nun in 1995, which included two versions of the title track plus "Now I'm Freaking Out" and "Pollo Asado".
The first music video for the album was "I Can't Put My Finger on It", followed by "Voodoo Lady", and "Freedom of '76", filmed circa March 1995.[23]CKY guitarist (and dedicated Ween fan)Chad Ginsburg appeared in the "Freedom of '76" promo video as an extra shouting at Gene and Dean after they stole theLiberty Bell.
On top of the Elektra Records release (Elektra 61639-2 US 1994),Chocolate and Cheese was pressed and distributed by the labelGrand Royal in the US in 1994 as a 2 LP non-gatefold version (Grand Royal GR 010 US 1994). Flying Nun released two different versions in 1994, one of which came with a bonus 7" single (Flying Nun Records FN314 Europe 1994, no 7") and (Flying Nun Records FNSP314 UK 1994, with 7").
Note that there is a catalog number for the vinyl issue by Elektra Records, but there is no confirmation it was pressed on vinyl at this time, possibly only in promo edition.
On June 7, 2024, Ween announced they would be releasing a deluxe edition ofChocolate and Cheese to commemorate the album's 30th anniversary, with a release date of August 2, 2024.[24] The deluxe edition features both remasters of the original tracks done byBernie Grundman,[25] as well as 15 previously unreleased tracks.[26] One of these tracks, "Junkie Boy", was released as a single the same day as the announcement. On July 19, a second single was released for the 30th anniversary edition, a demo version of "Voodoo Lady".
The deluxe edition came packaged with a booklet written by Dean Ween giving more details about the album's production, revealing alternate track lists that were considered, giving stories of the album's making, and showing exclusive photos and production notes.[27]
The deluxe edition was a commercial success.Forbes reported that it had sold 5,300 copies in its first week, with sales being strong enough for the deluxe edition to hit number 15 onBillboard'sTop Album Sales chart and number 3 on the magazine's Vinyl Albums chart.[28]
To support the album, Ween toured the United States between September 1994 and March 1995. On January 18, 1995, they performed "I Can't Put My Finger on It" onLate Night with Conan O'Brien, which was taped inNew York City.[29] They then went on a tour of Europe and the United Kingdom in March–April 1995.[30][31] Later in April 1995, they embarked on a tour of Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii.[31] Like on theirPure Guava tour, the Australian leg of shows covered most of the country and ran for 11 dates. Three of the Australian shows were part of the inaugural edition of theAlternative Nation Festival. The event also featured artists such asBody Count,Faith No More,Lou Reed,Nine Inch Nails,Powderfinger,Regurgitator,The Tea Party andTool, and was discontinued after just a year.[32] In mid-May 1995, Ween returned to playing shows in the United States. They continued to tour the United States throughout the rest of 1995, before releasing their next album12 Golden Country Greats the following year.[31]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Chicago Sun-Times |  [33] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[34] |
| NME | 6/10[35] |
| Pitchfork | 9.0/10[36] |
| Q | [37] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [38] |
| Select | 4/5[39] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10[40] |
| Uncut | 9/10[41] |
In her review ofChocolate and Cheese forSpin, Terri Sutton observed that Ween "seems to have potty-trained its predilection for lengthyfunk deconstructions", limiting their "Prince/Brothers Johnson fixation" to "a prized few taut, sexy saunters" and elsewhere exploring new musical territory by taking influence fromSouthern rock,Philadelphia soul, anddisco, among other styles.[42] "Certifiably insane and dangerously insidious," Paul Rees wrote inSelect, "Chocolate and Cheese is the finest argument for dropping out and tuning in to Ween's parallel universe."[39]
Entertainment Weekly's Dimitri Ehrlich was more reserved in his praise, likening Ween to "someone so impossibly weird it almost gives you a headache – yet you think about the things that person said for weeks".[34] Mark Sutherland ofNME calledChocolate and Cheese "more like a trip round a very oddcompilation than a proper, coherent album", advising listeners "to tape the best bits and ponder on why Ween don't just stop mucking about and record an entire album's worth of similar gems."[35]Robert Christgau selected "Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down)" as the sole "choice cut" from the album inThe Village Voice.[43]
Retrospectively,AllMusic critic Heather Phares laudedChocolate and Cheese as "a brilliant fusion of pop andgonzo humor" and "arguably Ween's finest moment", which "proved for once and all that along with their twisted sense of humor and wide musical vocabulary, Dean and Gene are also impressive songwriters."[1] Similarly,Pitchfork reviewer Stuart Berman wrote that it showed "that when you scraped away the cruddy production andpitch-shifting chicanery that defined their previous records, Ween were undeniable pop songwriters."[36] Rob Hughes ofUncut found that despite Ween's many "audacious stylistic turns" throughoutChocolate and Cheese, "the songs are so good they transcend notions of pastiche", concluding that the album, while sometimes crossing "the limits of acceptable taste", documents the band's "sheer verve, ideas and invention".[41]
In 2014,Guitar World includedChocolate and Cheese on its list of "50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994".[44] The entire album was played live as part of the group's setlist at theDesert Daze festival in California on October 12, 2019.[45]
In 1995, the video for "Freedom of '76" appeared in an episode ofBeavis and Butt-Head titled "Bus Trip".[46] In 2001, "Take Me Away" was used in the filmOne Night at McCool's, in addition to being included on the soundtrack album for that film.[47] "Voodoo Lady" can be heard in the 2000 comedy filmsRoad Trip andDude, Where's My Car?, which coincidentally both starredSeann William Scott. The song was also included on the soundtrack albums for these two films,[48][49] and inRoad Trip, a poster ofChocolate and Cheese can be seen in the dorm room of the characters, alongside a poster ofLida Husik's 1997 albumFly Stereophonic. "Voodoo Lady" had earlier been included on the original version of "In the Bathroom", a skit from the 1990s sketch comedy showThe State, while the album track "Buenas Tardes Amigo" was featured in the German filmsLammbock andHerr Lehmann. In August 2022, Ween performed "Take Me Away", "Roses Are Free" and an extended version of "Voodoo Lady" for the 25th anniversary concert of the animated seriesSouth Park.[50]
A number of songs onChocolate and Cheese have been covered by a variety of other artists in the years since its release.
All tracks are written by Ween, except "Freedom of '76" written by Ween & Ed Wilson.
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Take Me Away" | Freeman | 3:01 |
| 2. | "Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down)" | Freeman | 2:53 |
| 3. | "Freedom of '76" | Freeman | 2:51 |
| 4. | "I Can't Put My Finger on It" | Freeman | 2:48 |
| 5. | "A Tear for Eddie" (instrumental) | 4:50 | |
| 6. | "Roses Are Free" | Freeman, Melchiondo | 4:35 |
| 7. | "Baby Bitch" | Freeman | 3:05 |
| 8. | "Mister Would You Please Help My Pony?" | Freeman | 2:56 |
| 9. | "Drifter in the Dark" | Freeman, Melchiondo | 2:32 |
| 10. | "Voodoo Lady" | Freeman | 3:49 |
| 11. | "Joppa Road" | Freeman | 3:03 |
| 12. | "Candi" | Williams, Freeman, Melchiondo | 4:03 |
| 13. | "Buenas Tardes Amigo" | Freeman | 7:07 |
| 14. | "The H.I.V Song" | Freeman, Melchiondo | 2:10 |
| 15. | "What Deaner Was Talking About" | Freeman | 1:59 |
| 16. | "Don't Shit Where You Eat" | Freeman | 3:20 |
| Total length: | 55:25 | ||
30th anniversary deluxe edition bonus tracks
All tracks are written byWeen except “I Really Miss You (And I’m All Alone)” Ween & Jerry Kennedy Jr.
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Crappy Anniversary Jimmy" | 3:36 | |
| 2. | "Warm Socks" | Freeman, Melchiondo | 2:42 |
| 3. | "Stop, Look, Listen (and Learn)" | Freeman | 3:31 |
| 4. | "Dirty Money" | Freeman | 3:55 |
| 5. | "I Got It" | Freeman | 2:13 |
| 6. | "Belgian Stew" | Freeman, Melchiondo | 3:10 |
| 7. | "Voodoo Lady" (demo) | Freeman | 4:36 |
| 8. | "Junkie Boy" | Freeman | 3:30 |
| 9. | "Smooth Mover" | Melchiondo, Freeman | 1:42 |
| 10. | "Church Fire" | Freeman | 1:41 |
| 11. | "Take Me Away" (demo) | Freeman | 2:31 |
| 12. | "Sasha" | Freeman | 3:02 |
| 13. | "Roses Are Free" (demo) | Freeman, Melchiondo | 3:58 |
| 14. | "Candi" (demo) | Williams, Freeman, Melchiondo | 2:34 |
| 15. | "I Really Miss You (and I'm All Alone)" | Kennedy | 3:29 |
| Total length: | 1:41:36 | ||
Ween
Additional personnel
Technical
Deluxe edition reissue personnel[56]
| Chart (1994–1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[57] | 80 |
| USHeatseekers Albums (Billboard)[58] | 10 |
| Chart (2024) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[59] | 78 |
| USTop Album Sales (Billboard)[60] | 15 |
| Studio albums | |
|---|---|
| Compilations | |
| Live albums | |
| Song articles | |
| Related articles | |
