12 Golden Country Greats

June 2025 12 Golden Country Greats studio Ween Ween-12GoldenCountryGreats.jpg 1996 7 16 November 2–8, 1995 Bradley's Barn, Mount Juliet, Tennessee Country country rock alternative country 33:35 (original version)32:37 (reissued version)1:57:46 (deluxe edition) Elektra Ben Vaughn Chocolate and Cheese 1994 The Mollusk 1997 12 Golden Country Greats Studio Piss Up a Rope 1996 You Were the Fool 1996 studio 12 Golden Country Greats (Deluxe Edition) Bad Day in Brownsville May 13, 2026 Boston Chicken June 3, 2026 So Long Jerry June 24, 2026 Help Me Scrape the Mucus off My Brain (2026 Remaster) July 15, 2026 12 Golden Country Greats is the fifth studio album by the American rock band Ween, and their third on Elektra Records. It is the only album on which the group limited themselves to a specific genre of music (in this case, country music). Background and recording According to producer and friend of the band Ben Vaughn, Ween asked him to produce the album because he already had experience working with musicians in the Nashville country scene, having produced Arthur Alexander's album Lonely Just Like Me (1993) and co-written songs with Rodney Crowell and Gary Nicholson. The legendary Bradley's Barn was chosen as the recording studio for the album.Hudak Joseph Ween to Revisit '12 Golden Country Greats' Album at Nashville Shows https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/ween-to-revisit-12-golden-country-greats-album-at-nashville-shows-711699/ Rolling Stone 15 August 2018 9 May 2024 Some musicians, such as keyboardist Bobby Emmons (who also served as a church deacon) and Danny Davis, declined to participate in the recording due to the vulgar nature of much of the lyrics, with Emmons saying "I prefer not to work on blue material". However, Ween and Vaughn still got many highly regarded country musicians to play on the album.http://tasteofcountry.com/ween-12-golden-country-greats-interview-ben-vaughn/ Ween Producer Ben Vaughn Details the Making of '12 Golden Country Greats' Wilkening Matthew 16 July 2016 Taste of Country 1 October 2016 Later, Ween assembled some of the session musicians again into a touring band dubbed The Shit Creek Boys. Album title Despite the album's title, it only features ten tracks. Ween claimed that the "12" represents the veteran musicians that appear on the record.May 2023 However, the band did indeed record twelve songs during the demo sessions for the album. When it came time to record the actual album, the band chose not to use the songs "I Got No Darkside" and "So Long, Jerry" but kept the album title. "So Long, Jerry", a tribute to the then recently deceased Jerry Garcia, was featured as a B-Side on the "Piss Up a Rope" single. Song information The session musicians were responsible for almost all of the instrumentation on the album. The only instrumental parts recorded by the core members of Ween were guitar solos by Dean and Gene on "I Don't Wanna Leave You on the Farm" and "Fluffy", respectively. Gene sings the lead vocal part on every song except "Piss Up a Rope" and "Help Me Scrape the Mucus off My Brain", which feature Dean on lead vocals. The Jordanaires, best known for having provided background vocals for Elvis Presley, appear on the tracks "I'm Holding You" and "Powder Blue". The melody of "Japanese Cowboy" closely resembles that of "Chariots of Fire" by Vangelis. The band has played the two songs as a medley in live shows. In the tradition of country music, during "Powder Blue", Gene introduces each member of the band, who then plays a short solo on their instrument. The track was intended to run for 4:16, the last approximately one minute of which would consist of an audio clip of Muhammad Ali from after the Rumble in the Jungle fight playing over the backing instrumental track of the song. Ali's lawyers denied Ween permission to use the audio sample, but the album had already been mixed by that point, and Elektra accidentally initially pressed the album with Ali's speech still included. Repressings contain a cropped version of the track that ends abruptly at 3:13, after the introduction: "Ladies & Gentlemen, I'd like to present Muhammad Ali" (who is no longer heard). Singles "Piss Up a Rope" was released as a 7-inch vinyl single on Diesel Only Records. The B-side was "Sweet Texas Fire", a non-album track recorded during the Chocolate & Cheese sessions. "You Were the Fool" and "Piss Up a Rope" were released together as a 7-inch vinyl single on Flying Nun Records (with "You Were the Fool" on "Side A" and "Piss Up a Rope" on "Side AA"). "So Long Jerry" (a tribute to Jerry Garcia recorded during the 12 Golden Country Greats sessions, but omitted from the final album) was included with these songs on a CD single issued by Elektra. Appearances in other media "Piss Up a Rope" was included in the 1997 crime film U Turn, which was set in a rural area. That same year "I'm Holding You" was included in the independent drama film Dream with the Fishes.» Our Favorite 'Pulp Fiction' Knockoffs https://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/our-favorite-pulp-fiction-knockoffs/ "I'm Holding You" also appeared on the soundtrack album for Dream with the Fishes, which was released in June 1997.https://www.allmusic.com/album/dream-with-the-fishes-mw0000665795 Dream with the Fishes - Original Soundtrack | ... | AllMusic www.allmusic.com Reception AllMusic 4 5Stephen Thomas Erlewine 12 Golden Country Greats https://www.allmusic.com/album/12-golden-country-greats-mw0000184885 AllMusic 16 February 2013 Entertainment Weekly C−Ethan Smith 12 Golden Country Greats https://www.ew.com/article/1996/07/26/12-golden-country-greats Entertainment Weekly 10 July 2015 NME 1/10Cigarettes Johnny 1998 Ween - 12 Golden Country Greats https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000450reviews.html NME https://web.archive.org/web/20000817105755/http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000450reviews.html 2000-08-17 2018-06-18 Pitchfork 8.5/10http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/w/ween/12-golden-country-greats.shtml Ween 12 Golden Country Greats Pitchfork Media https://web.archive.org/web/20000520052802/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/w/ween/12-golden-country-greats.shtml 2000-05-20 10 July 2015 dead Rolling Stone 2 5Flaum Eric 1996-08-08 Ween: 12 Golden Country Greats https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/ween/albums/album/207285/review/5946345/12_golden_country_greats Rolling Stone https://web.archive.org/web/20071001103549/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/ween/albums/album/207285/review/5946345/12_golden_country_greats 2007-10-01 dead 2018-06-18 The Rolling Stone Album Guide 3 5Ween Sarig Roni The New Rolling Stone Album Guide Brackett Nathan Hoard Christian Simon & Schuster 2004 0-7432-0169-8 864–65 Spin 6/10Norris Chris August 1996 Ween 12 Golden Country Greats https://books.google.com/books?id=ODyv3kH8WPMC Spin 103 2018-06-18 Sputnikmusic 4.5 5Zachery Powell Ween 12 Golden Country Greats https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/9491/Ween-12-Golden-Country-Greats/ Sputnikmusic 2006-10-10 16 February 2013 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, and awarded the album 4 stars out of 5. Sputnikmusic's Zachary Powell gave the album 4 1 2 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 for the same site, Bill Thomas, gave the album 4 stars out of 5. Ethan Smith of Entertainment Weekly, on the other hand, railed against the album, describing the songs as being "notable more for their homophobia, misogyny, and racism than for anything funny", and gave it a C−. In a 2011 interview, producer Ben 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. 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition On May 13, 2026, the band announced through Rhino Records that 12 Golden Country Greats would receive a remastered deluxe edition spread across 3 LPs, released in July. The first LP is the remastered original album, the second LP contains demos for most of the album (minus Japanese Cowboy) and including early versions of 3 cut tracks. The 3rd LP consists of various vault tracks that had never been given an official release before, also including the two songs ("I've Got No Darkside" and "So Long Jerry") that had been intended for the original album but were cut at the last minute, as well as a cover of the Rolling Stones song Fool to Cry.Ween Announce 12 Golden Country Greats 30th Anniversary Edition With More Than 25 Unreleased Tracks https://stereogum.com/2498841/ween-announce-12-golden-country-greats-30th-anniversary-edition-with-more-than-25-unreleased-tracks/music Stereogum May 13, 2026 May 13, 2026 Track listing 12 Golden Country Greats I'm Holding You 4:02 Freeman Japanese Cowboy 3:01 Freeman Piss Up a Rope 3:33 Melchiondo I Don't Wanna Leave You on the Farm 2:44 Freeman Pretty Girl 2:35 Freeman Powder Blue 4:16 3:13 on repressings of the album Freeman Mister Richard Smoker 2:42 Freeman Help Me Scrape the Mucus off My Brain 2:45 Melchiondo You Were the Fool 4:26 Freeman Fluffy 3:31 Freeman Lead Vocals 33:35 Ween 30th anniversary deluxe edition bonus tracks 12 Golden Demos 39:44 Ween I Don’t Wanna Leave You on the Farm (demo) 2:37 Piss Up a Rope (demo) 3:28 Mister Richard Smoker (demo) 2:06 Help Me Scrape the Mucus off My Brain (demo) 2:38 Pretty Girl (demo) 2:33 Fluffy (demo) 2:39 You Were the Fool (demo) 2:49 Powder Blue (demo) 2:31 I’ve Got No Darkside (demo) 5:03 Maybelle (demo) 4:26 I’m Holding You (demo) 3:59 So Long Jerry (demo) 4:55 14 Golden Outtakes and Demos 44:27 Ween except “Fool to Cry” by the Rolling Stones I've Got No Darkside 5:16 Boston Chicken 2:38 Bad Day in Brownsville 1:10 Good Timing Rhyming Song 1:28 Sweet Texas Fire 2:31 Twinkle 2:18 If You Can't Look Me in the Eye 1:51 I'm Gonna Fix Your Ass 4:54 Fool to Cry 4:13 Spaghetti 3:16 I'll Miss You 2:55 Maybelle (Waste Version) 4:28 Scum of This Town 1:54 So Long Jerry 5:35 Personnel Ween Dean Ween – lead vocals; guitar (tracks 4, 6, 9) Berman Stuart 2025-06-13 A conversation with Dean Ween from 1996 https://stubermania.substack.com/p/a-conversation-with-dean-ween-from 2026-01-18 stübermania! Gene Ween – lead vocals; guitar (track 10) Additional musicians: The Jordanaires – backing vocals (tracks 1, 6) Bill Matthews Neal Matthews Jr. Gordon Stoker Ray Walker Pete Wade – dobro, guitars; 6-string bass guitar (on "Piss Up a Rope")Wilkening Matthew WilkeningMatthew 2011-07-16 Ween Producer Ben Vaughn Details the Making of '12 Golden Country Greats' https://tasteofcountry.com/ween-12-golden-country-greats-interview-ben-vaughn/ 2026-07-20 Taste of Country en Bob Wray – bass guitar Kip Paxton – bass guitar Buddy Blackman – banjo Russ Hicks – pedal steel Buddy Spicher – fiddle; mandolin (on "So Long Jerry") Bobby Ogdin – piano Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano Denis Solee – clarinet (on "Mister Richard Smoker") Charlie McCoy – bass guitar, harmonica; arrangements; organ, percussion, vibraphone (on “So Long Jerry”); banjo, trumpet, tuba (on "Mister Richard Smoker") Gene Chrisman – drums (tracks 1–8, 10) Buddy Harman – drums (on "You Were the Fool") Technical: Andrew Weiss – engineer Bobby Bradley – engineer Ben Vaughn – producer Chuck Dehaan – art direction Charts + Chart performance for 12 Golden Country Greats Chart (1996) Peakposition Australian Albums (ARIA)298 72BillboardHeatseekers 23 Ween true July 29, 2026 M https://web.archive.org/web/20211117152151/https://www.billboard.com/artist/ween/chart-history/tln/ Ween Chart History (Heatseekers Albums) Billboard + 2026 chart performance for 12 Golden Country Greats Chart (2026) PeakpositionFlanders 67 Ween 12 Golden Country Greats true August 9, 2026 US Top Album Sales (Billboard)https://www.billboard.com/charts/top-album-sales/2026-08-15/ Top Album Sales: Week of August 15, 2026 Billboard August 11, 2026 subscription 47 References External links album 32648 12 Golden Country Greats Category:1996 albums Category:Ween albums Category:Elektra Records albums Category:Alternative country albums by American artists Category:Albums produced by Ben Vaughn