Audio CD review:
Ween - Shinola, Vol. 1

Ween - Shinola, Vol. 1

Band: Ween Title: Shinola, Vol. 1 Rating: Release Date: 2005-10-25 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Tastes Good on th' Bun 2: Boys Club 3: I Fell in Love Today 4: Big Fat Fuck 5: Gabrielle 6: Did You See Me? 7: How High Can You Fly 8: Transitions 9: Israel 10: The Rift 11: Monique the Freak 12: Someday

Gem After Gem After Gem. Although it isn't any of those, it doesn't make it any better or worse. As many people have said: This isn't Chocolate & Cheese, nor is it The Mollusk. It's just. . . different. I think the main reason these songs weren't included on any albums was because they didn't fit in (Yes, even these genre-jumping fools have SOME connection throughout each album,) not because they were no good. "Tastes Good On Th' Bun" sounds like something they'd have done during the GodWeenSatan period. It's a nice riff with funny vocals. . . Still holds me throughout, even if it's just one line repeated over and over. "Boys Club" is much like "YMCA," only it's intentionally funny. It's good at first, but it becomes one of the weaker tracks. "I Fell In Love Today" is sweet and has a nice melody. I love it. "Big Fat F**k" sounds like it came right out of Pure Guava, and is another repeated line over and over. "Gabrielle" is a great, strong rock song - Verse, chorus, b-section, everything. "Did You See Me?" is pretty much authentic progressive rock, very Pink Floyd like. "How High Can You Fly?" is another prog-rock song, but less epic; though there is a great melody. "Transitions" has one of the greatest guitar riffs ever, I think, and perfect arrangement. It's catchy, too. "Israel" is insanely catchy, and it's a cute track. I love it. "The Rift" reminds me of The B-52's, a bit, and it's a good song, but you must be in the right mood to listen to it. "Monique the Freak" is the ultimate funk-rock parody, and it's amazing. It's epic. It's my favorite along with "Someday," which is quite possibly the prettiest thing they've ever recorded. I don't understand why people are so hesitant to like this release. Maybe it's just because I'm into novelty as well as fine music. >_> There is not a single weak track here (Aside from "Boys Club") and I like it more than White Pepper. =P. this is NOT a five star album I'm giving it two stars to offset all the 5 stars on here. This is not a bad album. In my opinion its really a 3 star, which means most of it is okay, a couple of really good songs, and a couple songs you'll skip over. But, everyone giving this album 5 stars has to remember what that means - 5 stars means music can't get any better, do you seriously think this is one of the best albums ever made?. Land of the misfit toys This record has a lot of great songs; well-produced, well-written tracks from the brothers Ween. Outtakes? Leftovers? Not quite. As far as I can tell, the only reason why they weren't included in other albums would be that none of them seem like they would `fit' in the context of anything previously released. Solid songs from start to finish. They're the kind of songs that Ween has always been great at-- Infectious, creative, reminiscent of something you may have heard before, but can't remember where or when. . Good album, worth getting, esp for ween fans Some songs I love. I really like this album. I Feel in Love Today is downright great. Gabrielle is pure Thin Lizzy, almost bettering it. Monique has some sweet guitar play and overall funk. Tastes good on the Bun rules too (totally Pod era). There is no bad song on this album, although I usually might skip some (Isreal, etc). Worth getting most definetly, but maybe not better than WP or Quebec. Fun, but no classic There's no doubt some of these tunes should have been previously released. I'll rock out to any Ween all day long, but if the point of these reviews is to help uninformed listeners decide whether to purchase an album or not, then here's the deal: This is a fun album, and if you like Ween you'll dig this, but there's a reason some of these cuts weren't included on albums. But it's a little absurd for all these people to give this album the coveted "5" stars. If this a 5 star album, what is the Mollusk or Chocolate and Cheese, 'cause this album ain't either of those. Reviewing music is silly anyway, 'cause one man's trash is another man's all-time favorite album, but I don't think potential listeners should be viewing this as a 5 star album. . You can see a complete list of all Ween discography, or go back to the Ween tabs