The Pod

For other uses, see POD (disambiguation).
The Pod
Studio album by
Ween
ReleasedSeptember 20, 1991[1]
RecordedJanuary–October 1990
StudioThe Pod (Solebury Township, Pennsylvania)
Genre
Length76:40
LabelShimmy-Disc
ProducerAndrew Weiss
Ween chronology
GodWeenSatan: The Oneness
(1990) 		The Pod
(1991) 		Pure Guava
(1992)

The Pod is the second studio album by American rock band Ween.[3][4] It was released on September 20, 1991, by Shimmy-Disc.

Production

[edit]

The album was recorded from January to October 1990, at the Pod on Van Sant Road in Solebury Township, Pennsylvania.[5] Recording concluded one month prior to the release of their debut on November 16.[6] The album was derived from two tapes titled the Bilboa tape and the Big Timmy Wasserman tape. Both tapes contain not only demo versions of songs on the album, but many outtakes not used on any album or tracks used on future albums.[citation needed] All of the songs have a muddy quality to them, due to being recorded on a Tascam four-track cassette recorder, and many of the vocals are manipulated in strange ways.[3]

Composition

[edit]

The album contains bizarre lyrical content, often attributed to the fact that Dean and Gene both came down with cases of mononucleosis during the recording of the album, as well as their alleged relationship with huffing Scotchgard according to Ween lore. However, when their fans began huffing Scotchgard, it was refuted by Gene Ween and Dean Ween themselves as being "the most slime-bag thing we could think of."[7]

Robyn Hitchcock is credited with "musical inspiration" for the track "Alone",[8] which borrows elements from his song "Bones in the Ground".[citation needed]

Title and album cover

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The album takes its name from the band's apartment where the album was recorded, which the band nicknamed "The Pod".[9] The album's cover art is a takeoff of the 1975 The Best of Leonard Cohen cover; Ween simply positioned a photo of part-time bassist Mean Ween's head (wearing a "Scotchgard powered bong") over Cohen's cover art, and altered the title text and other graphics.[3] The copy of the Leonard Cohen record that Ween used had purportedly belonged to Dean Ween's mother.[citation needed]

Liner notes

[edit]

From the Shimmy-Disc CD:

"Recorded by Dean and Gene Ween on a Tascam four-track cassette recorder between January and October 1990. All songs recorded at the Pod, where we lived for a year and 10 months (with our cat Mandee). The Pod was scenically located on Van Sant Road in Solebury Township, Pennsylvania. Our apartment was a haven for flies because it sits in the middle of a horse farm. In the time this album was completed, we filled up 3,600 hours of tape, and inhaled 5 cans of Scotchgard. This album was then produced and mixed by Andrew Weiss (our pal) at the Zion House of Flesh, Hopewell, New Jersey. Straight to DAT Mang. Mean Ween played the bass on "Alone" and that's him on the cover doin' up some Scotchguard powered bongs. We got evicted on October 1, 1991. But Dave Ayers says he's gonna help us out. Cover and art designs by Logarithms."[5]

Promotion

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The Pod produced three music videos. "Pollo Asado", "Captain Fantasy", and "Pork Roll Egg and Cheese" were included on a VHS music video compilation titled Shimmy-Disc Video Volume 3.[10][better source needed] Shimmy-Disc Video was a series of VHS tapes created by Shimmy Disc containing music videos from artists who were signed to the label. These tapes were never remastered or re-released, nor were the music videos.

Shimmy-Disc released a vinyl version of The Pod in 1991. It was also remastered and reissued by Elektra Records in 1995, after the relative success of Ween albums such as Pure Guava (1992) and Chocolate and Cheese (1994).[3]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Robert Christgau(dud)[12]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[13]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[14]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[2]
Spin Alternative Record Guide5/10[15]

In 1993, the album was named one of the 20 best albums of 1992 by Spin.[16] Trouser Press wrote: "Less inflamed and inspired than the first album (blame, perhaps, the five cans of Scotchguard the band claims to have inhaled), The Pod lurches, howls, fuzzes and strums through sloppy creations that are mostly one hit short of a high."[17] Aphex Twin named it one of his 10 favorite albums of all time (making it one of two Ween albums on the list, the other being Pure Guava).[18] In a 1999 review of the album, The Stranger called it "excellent" and wrote that "someday, classical music students will write dissertations on The Pod."[19] Kerrang! wrote that "the electrified production on tracks like 'Dr. Rock' and 'Sketches of Winkle' is utterly unhinged, while the barking, aimless pace of 'The Stallion' (either part, really) feels like the sweaty blatherings of the most poisonous of drunks."[20]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Ween

The Pod
No.TitleLength
1."Strap on That Jammy Pac"3:03
2."Dr. Rock"3:11
3."Frank"3:46
4."Sorry Charlie"3:51
5."The Stallion (Pt. 1)"2:51
6."Pollo Asado"2:45
7."Right to the Ways and the Rules of the World"5:05
8."Captain Fantasy"3:19
9."Demon Sweat"4:11
10."Molly"4:49
11."Can U Taste the Waste?"1:39
12."Don't Sweat It"4:02
13."Awesome Sound"2:22
14."Laura"4:37
15."Boing"1:33
16."Mononucleosis"3:01
17."Oh My Dear (Falling in Love)"1:57
18."Sketches of Winkle"2:44
19."Alone"3:12
20."Moving Away"3:06
21."She Fucks Me"3:59
22."Pork Roll Egg and Cheese"3:02
23."The Stallion (Pt. 2)"4:35
Total length:1:16:40

Tour

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Dates

[edit]
From Brownbase[21]
Date Venue Notes
Leg One
September 7, 1991 Mill Hill Park, Trenton, NJ, USA Trenton Avant Garde Festival
September 16, 1991 The Space at Chase, New York, NY, USA
October 4, 1991 City Gardens, Trenton, NJ, USA With Claude Coleman Jr and Kramer as backing.[22]
October 12, 1991 Wetlands Preserve, New York, NY, USA
October 30, 1991 VPRO Radio Studio, Hilversum, Netherlands
Melkweg, Amsterdam, Netherlands
October 31, 1991 Vera, Groningen, Netherlands
November 1, 1991 Effenaar, Eindhoven, Netherlands
Leg Two
December 6, 1991 Eisner and Lubin Auditorium, New York, NY, USA
December 31, 1991 City Gardens, Trenton, NJ, USA
January 8, 1992 Kendall Hall, Trenton, NJ, USA WTSR Radio Session. Ed Wilson on guitar[23]
January 17, 1992 Court Tavern, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
February 15, 1992 The Underworld, London, England With Claude Coleman Jr and Kramer as backing.[24][25][26][27][28]
February 16, 1992 The Princess Charlotte, Leicester, England
February 17, 1992 Riverside, Newcastle, England
February 18, 1992 Edwards No 8, Birmingham, England
February 19, 1992 Duchess of York Pub, Leeds, England
February 20, 1992 Maida Vale Studios, London, England John Peel session. Claude Coleman Jr on drums and Kramer on bass[29]
The Cathouse, Glasgow, Scotland With Claude Coleman Jr and Kramer as backing.[30][31]
February 21, 1992 The Venue, London, England
March 1, 1992 The Middle East, Cambridge, MA, USA
March 4, 1992 Euclid Tavern, Cleveland, OH, USA
March 5, 1992 The Blind Pig, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
March 6, 1992 Staches, Columbus, OH, USA Excerpts released on Ween At The Cat's Cradle DVD.
March 7, 1992 Lounge Ax, Chicago, IL, USA
March 8, 1992 Uptown Lounge, Minneapolis, MN, USA
March 11, 1992 Jelly Club, Austin, TX, USA
March 12, 1992 Club Clearview, Dallas, TX, USA
March 14, 1992 Cicero's, St. Louis, MO, USA Excerpt released on Paintin' The Town Brown.
March 16, 1992 Cat's Cradle, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
March 17, 1992 Twisters, Richmond, VA, USA
March 18, 1992 JC Dobbs, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Leg Three
May 1, 1992 Commons Cafe, Portland, OR, USA
May 2, 1992 Off Ramp, Seattle, WA, USA
May 4, 1992 Kennel Club, San Francisco, CA, USA
May 6, 1992 The Shark Club, Las Vegas, NV, USA
May 7, 1992 Club Lingerie, Los Angeles, CA, USA
May 8, 1992 Jabberjaw, Los Angeles, CA, USA
May 9, 1992 Winter's, San Diego, CA, USA
May 21, 1992 Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ, USA
May 22, 1992 9:30 Club, Washington, DC, USA
May 23, 1992 City Gardens, Trenton, NJ, USA
June 18, 1992 Marquee Nightclub, New York, NY, USA

Personnel

[edit]
Ween
Additional musicians
  • Mean Ween – bass on "Alone"
Technical
  • Dean Ween – engineer, art direction
  • Gene Ween – engineer, art direction
  • Andrew Weiss – producer, mixing
  • Michael McGrath – art direction
  • Logorythms – cover art, design
  • Howie Weinberg – remastering

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Ween the Pod | Ween Discography | Ween.Net". Ween.net. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b Sarig, Roni (2004). "Ween". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. pp. 864–65. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  3. ^ a b c d Goldstein, A. H. (September 20, 2011). "Ween's The Pod turns twenty years old today". Westword.
  4. ^ Pappademas, Alex (May 30, 2012). "Requiem for a Ween".
  5. ^ a b Ween (1991). The Pod (CD liner notes). Shimmy-Disc. p. 2. SHIMMY 049.
  6. ^ "Ween". Twin/Tone Records. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
  7. ^ Earles, Andrew (September 15, 2014). Gimme Indie Rock: 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981-1996. Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-4648-8 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Ween (1995). The Pod (CD liner notes). Elektra Records. p. 2. 61713-2.
  9. ^ Buckley, Peter (February 15, 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ "Various - Shimmy-Disc Video Volume 3". Discogs. 1990.
  11. ^ Phares, Heather. "Ween: The Pod". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  12. ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: Ween". www.robertchristgau.com.
  13. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 570.
  14. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 1219.
  15. ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-679-75574-6.
  16. ^ "Ween, The Pod (Shimmy-Disc) SPIN". www.spin.com. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
  17. ^ "Ween". Trouser Press. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  18. ^ "Perfect Sound Forever- interviewee's favorite music". www.furious.com. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  19. ^ Heimlich, Adam. "WEEN". The Stranger. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  20. ^ "11 of the best albums inspired by drugs". Kerrang!. 25 January 2021.
  21. ^ "Brownbase | Ween Setlists and Statistics | Shows". brownbase.org. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  22. ^ "Brownbase | Ween Setlists and Statistics | 10/4/1991 Trenton". brownbase.org. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  23. ^ "Brownbase | Ween Setlists and Statistics | 1/8/1992 Trenton". brownbase.org. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
  24. ^ "Brownbase | Ween Setlists and Statistics | 2/15/1992 London". brownbase.org. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  25. ^ "Brownbase | Ween Setlists and Statistics | 2/16/1992 Leicester". brownbase.org. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  26. ^ "Brownbase | Ween Setlists and Statistics | 2/17/1992 Newcastle". brownbase.org. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  27. ^ "Brownbase | Ween Setlists and Statistics | 2/18/1992 Birmingham". brownbase.org. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  28. ^ "Brownbase | Ween Setlists and Statistics | 2/19/1992 Leeds". brownbase.org. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  29. ^ Ween (1992-02-20), Ween Live at London, England @ Maida Vale Studios - Peel Session #1 on 1992-02-20, retrieved 2022-07-19
  30. ^ "Brownbase | Ween Setlists and Statistics | 2/20/1992b Glasgow". brownbase.org. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  31. ^ "Brownbase | Ween Setlists and Statistics | 2/21/1992 London". brownbase.org. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
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