When Ween released their 1996 album 12 Golden Country Greats, it seemed like an ultimate troll move. The pranksterish duo became unlikely major-label artists during the alt-rock boom period, and they found a cult audience with their lo-fi, feverishly playful early-'90s albums Pure Guava and Chocolate And Cheese. Then they went to Nashville and assembled a group of respected session musicians, which they dubbed the Shit Creek Boys. Elvis Presley's old backup singers the Jordinaires got involved. Naturally, Ween used these folks' assistance to make an album of old-school country pastiches with titles like "Piss Up A Rope" and "Help Me Scrape The Mucus Off My Brain."
I remember the reaction to 12 Golden Country Greats being general befuddlement. In a 2012 Stereogum list, our buddy Michael Nelson named it Ween's worst album. But apparently, 12 Golden Country Greats has enough admirers that the album is about to get a deluxe reissue with a ton of bonus tracks. Today, the currently-inactive Ween announce plans for an extended 12 Golden Country Greats. It'll include two songs — "I’ve Got No Darkside" and the presumably very sincere Jerry Garcia tribute "So Long, Jerry" — that were cut from 12 Golden Country Greats, which means the album will finally live up to its title. (Absurdly, the original version of 12 Golden Country Greats only had 10 songs on it.)
Along with those two songs, the reissue will include a ton of previously unreleased four-track demos, studio outtakes, and rarities, including a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Fool To Cry." All told, the reissue will feature 36 tracks, so the title is still inaccurate. Today, the band shares the previously unreleased minute-long fuckaround "Bad Day In Brownsville." Below, you'll find that song and the box set's tracklist.
TRACKLIST:
Disc 1 (original album remastered)
01 “I’m Holding You"
02 "Japanese Cowboy"
03 "Piss Up A Rope”
04 “I Don’t Wanna Leave You On The Farm”
05 “Pretty Girl”
06 “Powder Blue”
07 “Mister Richard Smoker"
08 “Help Me Scrape The Mucus Off My Brain”
09 “You Were The Fool”
10 “Fluffy”
Disc 2 (12 Golden Demos):
01 “I Don’t Wanna Leave You On The Farm” (demo)
02 “Piss Up A Rope” (demo)
03 “Mister Richard Smoker” (demo)
04 “Help Me Scrape The Mucus Off My Brain” (demo)
05 “Pretty Girl” (demo)
06 “Fluffy” (demo)
07 “You Were The Fool” (demo)
08 “Powder Blue” (demo)
09 “I’ve Got No Darkside” (demo)
10 “Maybelle” (demo)
11 “I’m Holding You” (demo)
12 “So Long Jerry” (demo)
Disc 3 (14 Golden Outtakes and Demos):
01 “I’ve Got No Darkside”
02 “Boston Chicken”
03 “Bad Day In Brownsville”
04 “Good Timing Rhyming Song”
05 “Sweet Texas Fire”
06 “Twinkle”
07 “If You Can’t Look Me In The Eye”
08 “I’m Gonna Fix Your Ass”
09 “Fool To Cry”
10 “Spaghetti”
11 “I’ll Miss You”
12 “Maybelle” (Waste Version)
13 “Scum Of This Town”
14 “So Long Jerry”
12 Golden Country Greats (Deluxe Edition) is out 7/31 on Rhino. Pre-order it here.
