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'{{Multiple issues| {{More citations needed|date=May 2013}} {{original research|date=May 2013}} }} {{Infobox album | name = 12 Golden Country Greats | type = studio | artist = [[Ween]] | cover = Ween-12GoldenCountryGreats.jpg | alt = | released = {{Start date|1996|7|16}} | recorded = November 2–8, 1995 | venue = | studio = | genre = [[Country music|Country]],<ref name=allmusic/> [[alternative country]] | length = 33:35 | label = [[Elektra Records|Elektra]] | producer = [[Ben Vaughn]] | prev_title = [[Chocolate and Cheese]] | prev_year = 1994 | next_title = [[The Mollusk]] | next_year = 1997 | misc = {{Singles | name = 12 Golden Country Greats | type = Studio | single1 = [[Piss Up a Rope]] | single1date = 1996 | single2 = You Were the Fool | single2date = 1996 }} }} {{Album ratings | rev1 = [[AllMusic]] | rev1Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name=allmusic>{{cite web|author=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |title=12 Golden Country Greats|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/12-golden-country-greats-mw0000184885|website=Allmusic |accessdate=16 February 2013}}</ref> | rev2 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' | rev2Score = C–<ref name=entertainmentweekly>{{cite magazine|author=Ethan Smith |title=12 Golden Country Greats|url=http://www.ew.com/article/1996/07/26/12-golden-country-greats|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |accessdate=10 July 2015}}</ref> | rev3 = ''[[NME]]'' | rev3score = 1/10<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Cigarettes |first=Johnny |date=1998 |title=Ween - 12 Golden Country Greats |url=http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000450reviews.html |magazine=[[NME]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000817105755/http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000450reviews.html |archive-date=2000-08-17 |access-date=2018-06-18}}</ref> | rev4 = ''[[Pitchfork Media|Pitchfork]]'' | rev4Score = 8.5/10<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/w/ween/12-golden-country-greats.shtml |title=Ween 12 Golden Country Greats |publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000520052802/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/w/ween/12-golden-country-greats.shtml |archive-date=2000-05-20 |access-date=10 July 2015 |dead-url=yes |df= }}</ref> | rev5 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' | rev5score = {{rating|2|5}}<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Flaum |first=Eric |date=1996-08-08 |title=Ween: 12 Golden Country Greats |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/ween/albums/album/207285/review/5946345/12_golden_country_greats |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001103549/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/ween/albums/album/207285/review/5946345/12_golden_country_greats |archive-date=2007-10-01 |access-date=2018-06-18}}</ref> | rev6 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'' | rev6Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Ween |last=Sarig |first=Roni |title=[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide|The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]] |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |pages=864–65}}</ref> | rev7 = ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' | rev7score = 6/10<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Norris |first=Chris |date=August 1996 |title=Ween 12 Golden Country Greats |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ODyv3kH8WPMC |magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] |page=103 |access-date=2018-06-18}}</ref> | rev8 = [[Sputnikmusic]] | rev8Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>{{cite web|author=Zachery Powell |title=Ween 12 Golden Country Greats|url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/9491/Ween-12-Golden-Country-Greats/|website=[[Sputnikmusic]] |date=2006-10-10 |accessdate=16 February 2013}}</ref> }} '''''12 Golden Country Greats''''' is the fifth studio album by the American rock band [[Ween]], and their third on [[Elektra Records]]. This album marked the first time Ween limited themselves to a specific genre of music. According to producer and friend of the band [[Ben Vaughn]], Ween asked him to produce the album as he had already been working with musicians on the Nashville country scene, having produced [[Arthur Alexander]]'s ''Lonely Just Like Me'' album and co-written songs with [[Rodney Crowell]] and [[Gary Nicholson (singer)|Gary Nicholson]]. Although they managed to get many highly regarded country musicians to play on the album, some, such as keyboardist [[Bobby Emmons]] (who also served as a church [[deacon]]) and [[Danny Davis (country musician)|Danny Davis]], turned them down due to the "blue" nature of much of their material. The session musicians were responsible for almost all instrumentation on the album: the only instrumental parts recorded by the core members of the band were guitar solos by Dean and Gene on "I Don't Wanna Leave You on the Farm" and "Fluffy" respectively.<ref name=toc>{{cite web |url=http://tasteofcountry.com/ween-12-golden-country-greats-interview-ben-vaughn/ |title=Ween Producer Ben Vaughn Details the Making of ’12 Golden Country Greats’ |last1=Wilkening |first1=Matthew|date=16 July 2016 |website=[[Taste of Country]] |access-date=1 October 2016}}</ref> 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. ==Album title== There are purported to be three theories about the album title but it is likely a homage to [[Throbbing Gristle]]'s ''[[20 Jazz Funk Greats]]'' which had only 13 tracks and is an early industrial album. Such juxtaposition is not lost on Ween, choosing to do a country record, which was far removed from their usual repertoire. However, they went further and actually hired the best session musicians Nashville had and tried to create the 'golden age' sound of country, albeit with Ween's particular humorous and idiosyncratic additives. This theory is not a stretch as they have other examples, notably the album cover art of Ween's second album ''[[The Pod]]''<ref>http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/04/dusting-em-off-ween-the-pod/</ref> was a copy of the album cover art for ''[[The Best of Leonard Cohen]]''. Other theories include the idea that 12 session musicians were hired by Ween to record the album, and that the album was originally going to be 12 tracks long. "So Long Jerry" and ˇI've Got No Dark Side" were originally recorded during the sessions for the album, but were ultimately cut for unknown reasons. <ref>http://www.ween.net/ween-faq.html</ref> ==Track listing== All tracks written by Ween. {{tracklist | title1 = I'm Holding You | length1 = 4:02 | title2 = Japanese Cowboy | length2 = 3:01 | title3 = [[Piss Up a Rope]] | length3 = 3:33 | title4 = I Don't Wanna Leave You on the Farm | length4 = 2:44 | title5 = Pretty Girl | length5 = 2:35 | title6 = Powder Blue | length6 = 4:16 | note6 = 3:13 on repressed versions of the album | title7 = Mister Richard Smoker | length7 = 2:42 | title8 = Help Me Scrape the Mucus off My Brain | length8 = 2:45 | title9 = You Were the Fool | length9 = 4:26 | title10 = Fluffy | length10 = 3:31 | total_length = 33:35 }} 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. The original version runs for 4:16 and ends with a sample from [[Muhammad Ali]]. Ween were denied permission to use the sample by Ali's lawyers, but Elektra pressed the album accidentally. Repressings of the album contain a cut version, causing the song to abruptly end after the introduction "Ladies & Gentlemen, I'd like to present Muhammad Ali". Gene sings every song except "Piss up a Rope" and "Help me Scrape the Mucus off my Brain," which feature Dean on vocals. The melody of "Japanese Cowboy" closely resembles that of "[[Chariots of Fire (instrumental)|Chariots of Fire]]" by [[Vangelis]]: the band has played the two songs as a medley in live shows.<ref name=toc /> "Help Me Scrape the Mucus Off My Brain" is a riff on Merle Haggard's "If We Make It Through December", featuring a nearly identical melody but played much faster than Haggard's much more somber original. ==Reception== Reviews for the album were mostly positive. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of [[Allmusic]] called it "as satisfying as any of their records, and gutsier, too", despite interpreting "Mister Richard Smoker" as being homophobic. He awarded the album 4 stars out of 5. Ethan Smith of [[Entertainment Weekly]] railed the album, describing the entire album as having songs "notable more for their homophobia, misogyny, and racism than for anything funny", and gave the album a C−. [[Sputnikmusic]]'s Zachary Powell gave the album 4 and a half stars out of 5 and claimed that "Writing songs about similar themes to what country songs have been written about but including their personal brown touch is what the band does best." Another writer of the same site, Bill Thomas, gave the album 4 out of 5. In a 2011 interview, Vaughn remarked that when the album was released many Ween fans were confused by the radical break with the band's previous sound, comparing it to the fan reception given to [[Neil Young]]'s album ''[[Trans (album)|Trans]]''.<ref name=toc /> ==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 but not 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]] – [[Singing|Vocals]], [[Guitar]] on "I Don't Want to Leave You on the Farm" * [[Gene Ween]] – Vocals, Guitar on "Fluffy" * [[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]] – [[Musical styles (violin)#Fiddle|Fiddle]], [[Mandolin]] * [[Bobby Ogdin]] – [[Piano]] * [[Hargus "Pig" Robbins]] – Piano * [[Denis Solee]] – [[Clarinet]] * [[Charlie McCoy]] – [[organ (music)|Organ]], Banjo, Bass, [[Harmonica]], Percussion, [[Trumpet]], [[Tuba]], [[Vibraphone]] * [[Gene Chrisman]] – [[Drum kit|drums]] * [[Buddy Harman]] – Drums * [[Bobby Bradley (musician)|Bobby Bradley]] – Engineer * [[Ben Vaughn]] – Producer * [[Chuck Dehaan]] – Art Direction ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Ween}} [[Category:1996 albums]] [[Category:Ween albums]] [[Category:Elektra Records albums]] [[Category:Alternative country albums by American artists]] [[Category:Albums produced by Ben Vaughn]]'