La Cucaracha
| La Cucaracha | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 23, 2007 | |||
| Recorded | March–April 2007 | |||
| Length | 49:25 (Regular version) 52:01 (with iTunes bonus track) | |||
| Label | Chocodog Records, Rounder | |||
| Ween chronology | ||||
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La Cucaracha is a studio album by Ween, released on October 23, 2007.
La Cucaracha was Ween's ninth and last major studio album.
Description and History[edit | edit source]
After the darker, more negative sound of their previous album, Quebec, Ween felt it necessary to record a return to a lighter sound for the sake of the band's healing.[1]
In 2006, the band would rent a dilapidated 200-year-old farmhouse in New Hope filled with black mold and make it into a home studio (indeed, Dean Ween later expressed immense displeasure at the conditions and stated he was infected with an upper respiratory infection during recording[2]). At the farmhouse, the band recorded demos for around fifty songs[2], a portion of which they brought to producer Andrew Weiss and made proper studio versions of from March to April 2007.[3]
The creative process of La Cucaracha was less collaborative than earlier Ween albums. In a 2006 interview, Gene Ween said, "In the beginning of Ween we probably merged a lot more. We're probably in more of [our] White Album stage at this point. . . . but, we talk to each other occasionally."[4]
Dean Ween stated proudly that La Cucaracha was recorded on 24-track, 2-inch tape (i.e., not digitally, as most other modern albums are). He added, "I’m really less than thrilled that most people will probably download two tracks from it and listen to it on their iPods."[2]
The album was released through both Ween's own label, Chocodog, and Rounder Records (though it had leaked onto the internet a few weeks prior, to Deaner's chagrin[5]). Deaner later stated:
This is . . . our first record on the Rounder label and I feel obligated to mention how this came to pass. The guy from Rounder drove down to New Hope from Massachusetts and took us to lunch. We’ve been on a lot of labels the past 23 years and had a lot of lunches and we’ve heard a lot of "pitches". After making small talk for the first 20 minutes I finally felt like I should ask him something, anything, since he drove all the way down here. The only thing I could come up with was, "Are there any other bands on Rounder comparable to Ween? I mean when I think of Rounder Records I think of all those Thorogood records and mostly folk type stuff." He said, "No, not really." We all started laughing and the decision was made in our minds right there that this was where we needed to be. Later that night we watched the Red Sox game at our studio and then he drove back to Boston the next day. That’s the whole story, and now Ween is on Rounder.[6]
The cover art features an artwork of a cockroach drawn by Joe MacGown[7][8] over a Mexican flag, which the album was named after.[9]
The iTunes release contained an exclusive bonus track, "Bag of Fat".
Gener has expressed dissatisfaction with the album, though stated he thought "a bunch of songs on it" were good.[10]
Track Listing[edit | edit source]
| 1 | Fiesta |
| 2 | Blue Balloon |
| 3 | Friends |
| 4 | Object |
| 5 | Learnin' to Love |
| 6 | My Own Bare Hands |
| 7 | The Fruit Man |
| 8 | Spirit Walker |
| 9 | Shamemaker |
| 10 | Sweetheart in the Summer |
| 11 | Lullaby |
| 12 | Woman and Man |
| 13 | Your Party |
Known Personnel[edit | edit source]
Sourced from the liner notes unless otherwise stated.
- Gene Ween
- Dean Ween
- Andrew Weiss - producer, engineer, mixing
- Claude Coleman, Jr.
- Dave Dreiwitz
- Glenn McClelland
- Chuggy Carter
- David Sanborn - saxophone on "Your Party"
- Bunny Seigler
- Gloria Galante
- Debbie Reichard
- Emma Kummrow
- Olga Konopelsky
- Igor Szwec
- Larry Gold - string arrangements on "Sweetheart in the Summer"
- Gabe Monago - quality control
- Howie Weinberg - mastering
- Joe MacGown - cover art
- Aaron Tanner - album design
Quotes[edit | edit source]
Dean Ween on the less-than-favorable conditions for recording the album:
. . . We wrote and recorded La Cucaracha in a rented, moldy 200-year-old farmhouse in our hometown of New Hope, PA. It is one of the most disgusting places I’ve ever had the displeasure of working and I’m sure that Gener and Andrew Weiss will back me up on that one. None of us will let our kids go there, I’m not lying to you. Right now [9/6/2007] I have an upper respiratory infection that was initially spawned by working in our black-mold-filled "studio". Hell, I wouldn’t even let my dog crap in that place. After we move out, I hope a tree falls on it so they have to bulldoze the building to its foundation, although the house is already about to cave in on its own.[2]
Scans[edit | edit source]
Cover
Back cover
CD
Insert 1
Insert 2
Poster
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ https://www.avclub.com/dean-ween-of-ween-1798212786
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 https://jambands.com/news/2007/09/06/a-letter-from-dean-ween/
- ↑ La Cucaracha liner notes
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/GeneWeen2006-06-25/GeneWeen2006-06-25t05.flac#
- ↑ https://www.westword.com/music/dean-and-gene-put-the-ween-in-halloween-5110370
- ↑ https://jambands.com/news/2007/09/06/a-letter-from-dean-ween/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/ween/comments/be8czo/comment/l45n0ws/
- ↑ https://www.joemacgown.com/insect-art-3?pgid=jv8ccorq-2fbaa789-477e-473f-a5e3-b2b25a9845b1
- ↑ "La Cucaracha" translates to "The Cockroach" in Spanish.
- ↑ https://americansongwriter.com/qa-shooting-the-breeze-with-aaron-freeman-aaron-freeman/