The Rift
| "The Rift" | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Song by Ween | |||||
| from the album Shinola, Vol. 1 | |||||
| Written | c. early 1992 | ||||
| Released | July 19, 2005 | ||||
| Recorded | June 1992–Spring 1994 (Chocolate and Cheese sessions) c. 2004–2005 (overdubs) | ||||
| Studio | Rented office space in Pennington, NJ ? | ||||
| Length | 5:41 | ||||
| Label | Chocodog Records | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | Ween | ||||
| Producer(s) | Andrew Weiss | ||||
| Shinola, Vol. 1 track listing | |||||
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| Ween In 1992 Work Master track listing | |||||
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"The Rift" is a song by Ween. Originally a Chocolate and Cheese outtake, it was later released in a remixed form on the 2005 odds-and-ends compilation Shinola, Vol. 1.
Appearances[edit | edit source]
- Vallejo (demo, 1992)
- Lite And Easy (demo, 1992)
- Ween In 1992 Work Master (demo, 1992)
- Shinola, Vol. 1 (2005)
Song Details[edit | edit source]
"The Rift" was written and recorded in 1992 during sessions for Chocolate and Cheese. It was first known to have been demoed in the spring of 1992, appearing on the Vallejo demo tape.[1] It would then be professionally recorded at Graphic Sound Studio on June 7, 1992 with Scott Lowe on backing vocals,[2] and possibly was re-recorded later in the sessions.[citation needed]
"The Rift" was Ween's original submission to The X-Files movie soundtrack in 1998, but it was rejected in favor of "Beacon Light". Pat Frey said of "The Rift", "it works beautifully lyrics-wise, but it wasn't accepted."[3]
For years, the song circulated as part of the bootleg Chocolate and Cheese Demos: Summer 1992, taken from the June 1992 recording. Over a decade later, in 2005, a slightly remixed version was finally officially released on the odds-and-ends compilation Shinola, Vol. 1. The lead vocals are sung by Gene Ween.
Live Performances[edit | edit source]
Although never officially played live by Ween before the release of Shinola, they did play it informally with friends billed as the Jimmy Wilson Group several times in the late '90s and early '00s.[4] In addition, the Dean Ween Group has played the song regularly since 2014.[4] Ween themselves have only played the song a handful of times, all in 2018.[4]
Lyrics[edit | edit source]
There's a rift out in space
And it could be the door
But you know I'm not sure
There's a rift out in space
No, I'm not sure
There's a rift out in space
And it could be the door
But you know I'm not sure
If you go through the rift to the palace of ice
Might it be nice?
Is it paradise?
If you go through the rift to the palace of ice
Might it be nice?
I'm the commander of time in my vessel of God
I go through the rift to the palace of ice
I'm the commander of time in my vessel of God
I go through the rift to the palace of ice
We may never come back from the palace of ice
Because the rift is a door
We may never come back from the palace of ice
Because the rift is a door
Ooh yeah
Ooh yeah
Ooh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
There's a rift out in space
And it could be the door
But you know I'm not sure
If you go through the rift to the palace of ice Might it be nice?
Is it paradise?
I'm the commander of time in my vessel of God
I go through the rift to the palace of ice
We may never come back from the palace of ice
Because the rift is a door
Ooh, yeah
Ooh, yeah
Ooh, yeah
Ooh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah[5]