Ween are perhaps alt-rock’s greatest success story. While they have never had major commercial success per se, they have had one of the longest careers of any band of their generation and definitely of their genre. While they are still releasing albums to critical acclaim, At The Cat’s Cradle documents a performance from their early days reminding us all that Ween in it’s original incarnation was a sight and sound to behold. A sort of holy grail of weirdness, the kind that Jack Black drank of frequently I’m sure as Tenacious D. is a the logical next step from Ween’s “Captain Fantasy “and others. In these early years, Ween performed as the duo of Deen and Gene Ween, accompanied by drum tracks from a tape deck (and later DAT machine).
The audio here is the main draw in my opinion. It’s surprisingly clear since I’m nearly positive that nothing professional really exists from early years Ween. Oddities such as “Captain Fantasy,” “Pork Roll, Egg and Cheese,” “El Camino,” and “ReggaeJunkieJew” all shine amongst the 21 song set and if you don’t nearly die laughing during “Cover It With gas and Set It on Fire” or “Never Squeal on th’ Pusher” then I’d check your pulse because you’re likely dead. What’s truly amazing here is, like genre predecessors They Might be Giants, Deen and Gene are superb musicians. These gents can play a variety of styles very well, it just happens to be overshadowed by their crazy antics and general goofiness.
The DVD portion here is listed as a “bonus” DVD and you can pretty much take it as such. The audio portion is much better in comparison but the DVD is kind of fun to have along for the ride. It features a somewhat slimmer set of songs that appear to have been fan-filmed. It’s a bit hard to watch but its pretty clear sounding so you could consider a bonus bit of audio I suppose. Overall this is a fun set that serves as a not so gentle reminder that not every band has to strive to be U2.
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
