Ween Announce ‘Chocolate And Cheese (Deluxe Edition)’
Ween have announced the release of a deluxe edition of their 1994 classic, Chocolate And Cheese, to be released on 2 August. The previously unreleased Junkie Boy from the set is out now, listen below.
pre-order ‘chocolate and cheese (deluxe edition) here
This 3LP set includes a newly remastered version of the original album, plus 15 previously unreleased demos and outtakes, hand-picked by Dean and Gene Ween. The music will be available from digital and streaming platforms on the same day.
Anticipation for Chocolate and Cheese was fueled by the success of “Push Th’ Little Daisies” from Ween’s previous album, 1992’s Pure Guava. When it arrived in September 1994, Chocolate and Cheese marked a new chapter for Dean and Gene (Mickey Melchiondo and Aaron Freeman) as they transitioned from four-track home recordings to a professional studio. Despite the equipment upgrade, the band remained gloriously brown on songs like I Can’t Put My Finger On It, Voodoo Lady, and the tribute to Parliament-Funkadelic guitarist Eddie Hazel, A Tear For Eddie.
Melchiondo sifted through hundreds of hours of tapes before he and Freeman chose their favourites to assemble the bonus tracks. Melchiondo jokes, “…keeping with Ween tradition, Aaron and I probably picked all the wrong songs, mixed them, and now here they are.” All of the bonus tracks are previously unreleased, including non-album gems like Warm Socks, Smooth Mover, and Dirty Money, as well as demos for the album tracks Candi, Take Me Away, Voodoo Lady, and Roses Are Free.
Renowned audio engineer Bernie Grundman – best known for his esteemed work on classic albums such as Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Steely Dan’s Aja – remastered the album for the Deluxe Edition using the original flat master tapes to optimize audio fidelity. Grundman also mastered the set’s 15 bonus tracks, sourced from cassettes and DAT tapes from the band’s extensive archive.
In the Deluxe Edition’s liner notes, Melchiondo says listening to the collection takes him back to the album’s creation. “When I hear it, I feel like I’m listening to an autobiography of our lives in the early to mid-’90s… If it sounds like we had fun making it, we did. That’s kind of what Ween is all about, though.”
Chocolate And Cheese (Deluxe Edition) – 3LP Tracklisting
Original Album Remastered
LP One: Side One
Take Me Away
Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down)
Freedom Of ’76
I Can’t Put My Finger On It
Side Two
A Tear For Eddie
Roses Are Free
Baby Bitch
Mister, Would You Please Help My Pony?
LP Two: Side One
Drifter In the Dark
Voodoo Lady
Joppa Road
Candi
Side Two
Buenas Tardes Amigo
The HIV Song
What Deaner Was Talkin’ About
Don’t Shit Where You Eat
Bonus Tracks
LP Three: Side One
Crappy Anniversary Jimmy *
Warm Socks *
Stop, Look, Listen (And Learn) *
Dirty Money *
I Got It *
Belgian Stew *
Voodoo Lady – Demo *
Side Two
Junkie Boy *
Smooth Mover *
Church Fire *
Take Me Away – Demo *
Sasha
Roses Are Free – Demo *
Candi – Demo *
I Really Miss You (And I’m All Alone) *
* previously unreleased