The Dean Ween Group ‘The Deaner Album’ Review: Dean Ween stretches his wings in first solo album. 

[rating=4]

Dean Ween (aka Mickey Melchiondo) is one busy man. In addition to Ween’s well-received 2016 reunion tour,  he’s releasing his first solo effort, entitled The Deaner Album (out October 21st via ATO Records).

For anyone worried that a Dean Ween solo release would be a drastic change in tone to his signature sound, relax: The Deaner Album offers plenty of the bawdy, absurd humor Ween fans know and love, as shown on Exercise Man, an angry to with a bicyclist holding up traffic: 7 miles of traffic backed up in a turn, but you’re pumpin’ your legs and you’re feelin’ the burn…fuckin’ douchebag…. exercise man.

As one would expect from a Ween-affiliated release, the range of material is diverse: Dickie Betts, is a tribute to the Allman Brothers guitarist of the same name, while Charlie Brown is a rollicking psychedelic paean to Charles Schultz’s iconic cartoon character.

While The Deaner Album is Melchiondo’s vision, it’s also a collaborative effort, recorded with The Dean Ween group (featuring Ween veterans Claude Coleman Jr., Dave Dreiwitz, and Glenn McClelland) and a host of guest performers including The Meat Puppets Curt Kirkwood and Parliament Funkadelic guitarist Michael Chapman.

Click here to read my exclusive interview with Dean Ween discussing the new album. 

P-Funk is a particularly strong influence on the disc: first single Mercedes-Benz offers a relentlessly funky groove, while Garry is a soulful guitar jam, homaging late Parliament Funkadelic guitarist Garry Shider–making it a spiritual successor to the 1994 Ween track A Tear For Eddie (which was also a tribute–to late Funkadelic member Eddie Hazel). The album even closes with a cover of P-Funk’s Doodoo Chasers.

Gum will appeal to fans of early Ween, a beautifully warped track featuring pitch shifted vocals chronicling a laundry list of junk food, while Tammy showcases the frontman’s country music chops, a live recording that sounds like a hammered Johnny Cash committing a crime of passion.

The Deaner Album is a strong showcase for Melchiondo’s songwriting and musical chops, all imbued with the twisted humor Ween fans know and love. It’s essential listening for Boognish worshippers that will surely satiate their appetite as they keep their fingers crossed for a Ween reunion album.

Own The Deaner Album via Amazon below: