Quebec
| Quebec | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 5, 2003 | |||
| Recorded | c. 2001–2003 | |||
| Length | 55:07 (Regular release) 58:18 (with Japanese edition bonus track) | |||
| Label | Sanctuary Records | |||
| Ween chronology | ||||
| ||||
Quebec (sometimes spelled quebec in lower case) is a studio album by Ween, released on August 5, 2003 on Sanctuary Records.
Description and History[edit | edit source]
Ween's eighth major studio album, Quebec marked a move away from the more pop-oriented sound of White Pepper, and back toward a more self-recorded sound.
In a 2003 interview, Gene Ween said of it: "I wrote most of these songs right before the end [of his marriage]. A lot of these songs are about that. Even if it's not direct, you can feel the beginning of the end of the breakup in these songs."[1].
The album was also influenced by drummer Claude Coleman, Jr. getting seriously injured in a car crash, which left him unable to play on the album[2]. Drumming duties were subsequently taken up by Josh Freese alongside Dean Ween and other collaborators.
Quebec marked the return of longtime producer Andrew Weiss, who had previously been on bad terms with the band after being replaced as a bassist for The Mollusk. Weiss agreed to produce the album after hearing the song "Zoloft".[1]
The album was released through Sanctuary Records, marking Ween's first independent studio release since The Pod. Early promotional discs for Quebec included the track "Ooh Va La" (which was ultimately left off the album, though it was added as a bonus track to Japanese pressings) and a tracklist order that differs from the final release.
In a 2003 interview, Dean Ween said of the album's production period: "We'd get on a kick of writing, and then we'd either go on tour or we'd have some sort of major family disaster. There was a lot of that kind of thing. It was really a depressing three years. Not a lot of good things happened in our personal lives in the last three years." Speaking about the album itself, he added: "It's a depressing record I think. I don't think depressing is the right word, but it's dark."[3] In 2007, he expressed a similar sentiment, saying: "With Quebec, I like it as a record, but it's very negative. It's one of our darker records, I think. I don't listen to any of our records, but I have never listened to that one."[4]
Gene Ween said in 2013: "Quebec is probably one of my favorite records. That record was pretty much all me anyway."[5] Previously, he had named it as one of "the two pinnacles of Ween", the other being The Mollusk.[6] He later offered a more specific reflection on Quebec as an example of his work in a 2014 interview: "Quebec was one of my favorite records, because it was very cathartic. I was going through a lot of shit and I got to put it directly down on people. And that’s how I write. I’m not a very sentimental writer. I like to be very present, autobiographical."[7]
Track Listing[edit | edit source]
Known Personnel[edit | edit source]
Sourced from the liner notes unless otherwise stated.
- Gene Ween - vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, synthesizer, omnichord, drum machine
- Dean Ween - guitar, bass, electric sitar, vocals, keyboards, vocoder, drums, "the waste"
- Andrew Weiss - producer, mixing, keyboards, synthesizer, strings, fretless bass, percussion, "the waste", drums
- Glenn McClelland - keyboards, organ, piano, accordion
- Dave Dreiwitz - bass on "Chocolate Town"
- Josh Freese - drums
- Sim Cain - drums on "It's Gonna Be a Long Night"
- Chris Shaw - co-mixing on "It's Gonna Be a Long Night" and "Transdermal Celebration"
- Howie Weinberg - mastering
- Ted Young - assistant mix engineer
- Smay Vision - design
Scans[edit | edit source]
Back cover
CD
Insert 1
Insert 2
Insert 3
Insert 4
Insert 5
Insert 6
Insert 7
Insert 8
Insert 9
Insert 10
Insert 11
Cover for the promotional version of Quebec
Disc for the promotional version of Quebec
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304072021/http://www.popmatters.com/feature/ween-030819/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20080908022734/http://www.jambase.com/Articles/2832/WEEN-DRUMMER-INJURED-IN-AUTO-ACCIDENT
- ↑ https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2003/09/12/weens-world-still-growing/62026499007/
- ↑ https://www.avclub.com/dean-ween-of-ween-1798212786
- ↑ https://www.newsweek.com/coming-clean-gene-ween-weens-former-frontman-talks-sobriety-and-miley-cyrus-250774
- ↑ https://www.westword.com/music/gene-ween-on-weens-history-working-with-dean-ween-and-playing-in-colorado-5681239
- ↑ https://americansongwriter.com/qa-shooting-the-breeze-with-aaron-freeman-aaron-freeman/