12 Golden Country Greats

12 Golden Country Greats
Studio album by Ween
Released	July 16, 1996 (1996-07-16)
Recorded	November 2-November 8, 1995
Genre	Alternative rock, alternative country
Length	33:40 (original) 32:38 (reprint)
Label	Elektra
Producer	Ben Vaughn
Ween chronology
Chocolate and Cheese (1994) 12 Golden Country Greats (1996) The Mollusk (1997)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	[2]

12 Golden Country Greats is Ween's fifth album, and third for Elektra Records.

This album marked the first time Ween limited themselves to a specific genre of music. Bringing in a wide variety of seasoned (and sometimes legendary) Nashville musicians (including Charlie McCoy Buddy Spicher, Bobby Ogdin and The Jordanaires), the album sought to recreate the sound of golden-age country music with a great amount of success, while also combining this sound with classic Ween on such tracks as "Piss Up a Rope." The legendary Bradley's Barn was chosen for recording the album. Later, Ween would assemble some of the session musicians again into a touring band dubbed The Shit Creek Boys.

There are three theories regarding the title of the album. The first claim is that it refers to the dozen veteran musicians, known as The Shit Creek Boys, who played on the album. The second claim refers to the fact that the band did indeed record twelve songs during the demo sessions for the album. When it came time to record the actual album, the band chose not to use two of the songs but also decided not to change the album title. The two removed songs were titled "I Got No Darkside" and "So Long, Jerry". "So Long, Jerry", a tribute to the recently deceased Jerry Garcia, did wind up as a B-Side on the "Piss Up a Rope" single. The third claim is that the album is adversely titled merely as a tongue-in-cheek gesture. The style of the album title might also be a homage to Throbbing Gristle's 1979 "20 Jazz Funk Greats", an album with only 13 tracks and is a pioneering album of industrial music.

Track listing

The original version of "Powder Blue" runs for 4:16 and ends with a sample from Muhammad Ali. Ween were denied permission to use the sample by the Ali lawyers, but Elektra pressed the album accidentally.[1] Repressings of the album contain a cut version, causing the song to abruptly end after Ali is introduced in the lyrics.

Gene sings every song except "Piss up a Rope" and "Help me Scrape the Mucus off my Brain" which feature Dean on vocals.

In the tradition of country music, during the song "Powder Blue" Gene introduces each member of the band who then plays a short solo on their instrument.

Singles

"Piss Up a Rope" was released as a single by Elektra and features the tracks "You Were the Fool" and "So Long, Jerry" (a tribute to Jerry Garcia, recorded during the 12 Golden Country Greats sessions that was never used on the album.)

"Piss Up a Rope" was also released as a 7-inch single on Diesel Only Records, featuring another non-album track recorded during the 12 Golden Country Greats sessions – "Sweet Texas Fire".

Personnel

• Dean Ween – Guitar, Vocals
• Gene Ween – Vocals
• The Jordanaires – Vocals
• Pete Wade – Dobro, Guitar, 6-String Bass
• Bob Wray – Bass guitar
• Kip Paxton – Bass
• Buddy Blackman – Banjo
• Russ Hicks – Pedal Steel
• Buddy Spicher – Fiddle, Mandolin
• Bobby Ogdin – Piano
• Hargus "Pig" Robbins – Piano
• Dennis Solee – Clarinet
• Charlie McCoy – Organ, Banjo, Bass, Harmonica, Percussion, Trumpet, Tuba, Vibraphone
• Gene Chrisman – drums
• Buddy Harman – Drums
• Bobby Bradley – Engineer
• Ben Vaughn – Producer
• Chuck Dehaan – Art Direction

References