Ween White Pepper CD

There are signs of increasing maturity on WHITE PEPPER, Ween's eighth studio album, though not enough to back the claim that Gene and Dean are actually going straight. More like they've achieved a sensible grasp on when to court the masses, and when to drop the Boognish gospel upon the faithful.

A handful of tunes signify Ween's most explicit attempts yet to create genuine silly love songs that become radio hits, and get canonized by the straight world. "Even If You Don't" is a Bay City Rollers-type upfront pop-rock ditty, "Stay Forever" is a gorgeous soft-rock charmer full of the melodic and harmonic magic of ELO, while "Falling Out" is prime faux-Merseybeat fashioned from the Beatles' "Little Girl." That the sentiments in each of these songs are direct and decidedly non-toxic intimates that Gene and Dean have been spending more time in love, and less on the Scotchguard bongs. Then again, the metallic bluster of Dean's "Stroker Ace," the quasi-Caribbean shipwreck drug story "Bananas and Blow," and the Steely Dan-like tale of a floozy named "Pandy Fackler," show that they're still comfortable hanging out in the more mucus-infested corners of their imaginations.

Recorded at Bearsville Studio & Turtle Creek Barn, Woodstock, New York.

Personnel: Dean Ween, Gene Ween (vocals, guitar); Glen McClelland (keyboards); Claude Coleman (drums).

Audio Mixer: Christopher Shaw .

Recording information: Bearsville Studio; Turtle Creek Barn, Woodstock, NY.

Photographer: Danny Clinch.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Mark McDonald; Greg Frey; Jane Scarpantoni; Russell Simins; Vaneese Thomas; Stuart Basore.

Arranger: Pat Frey.

Ween: Gene Ween, Dean Ween, Claude Coleman, Dave Dreiwitz, Glenn McClelland.

Additional personnel: Stu Basore, Jane Scarpantoni, Chris Shaw, Russel Simins, Vaneese Thomas, Angela Clemons, Mark McDonald, Greg Frey, Pat Frey, Danny Madorsky.

Rolling Stone (5/11/00, p.136) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Ween's most accessible release yet....[Their] sick sound is augmented with full-bodied melodic arrangements....Ween have [not] lost their edge..."
Entertainment Weekly (6/2/00, p.79) - "...[They] roll up an album for non-stoners. Still fighting for their right to parody....proving their newfound melodic skills and long-standing arrangement smarts can blossom without weedy drug buffoonery." - Rating: B
Q (7/00, p.125) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...A wildly inventive, often sprawling opus, comprising a multitude of styles from boisterous guitar rock to psychedelic nonsense..."
Uncut (8/00, p.86) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...The Pennsylvania dudes have ransacked all their usual obsessions--from absurd Celtic tomfoolery to prog rock pomposity--but have now added strings, horns and female backing singers..."
Magnet (1-2/01, p.45) - Included in Magnet's "20 Best Albums of 2000" - "...A chugging contest in the musty wine cellar of popular song...guzzling these fine vinatges until they vomit..."
CMJ (4/3/00, p.3) - "...runs the gamut from grandiose '70s prog rock to British folk to Motorhead-style assaults....prepare to laugh your ass off while simultaneously reveling in the sheer madness of [their] brilliance."
Melody Maker (5/9/00, p.52) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...Ween's unexpected pop album....their acerbic lyrical bite still shows through....the pop field is a fairly wide one and, as ever, Ween don't get stuck in one furrow..."
Mojo (Publisher) (6/00, p.97) - "...Top-notch whiteboy radio rock with an eerie inner glow of Manson family sunshine. It's the in-car stereo soundtrack for that summer trip on Route 666."