[rating=8.00]
Before his first solo album Dean Ween (aka Mickey Melchiondo) was in such a funk with the dissolution of his main gig that he quit guitar for a year. Now in the lead up to his second record (lamely titled rock2) Deaner says he has more music than he knows what to do with and this record is a merely a snapshot of the fall of 2016; when his muse hits it sure packs a wallop.
Right from the very first track of rock2 Dean and cohorts throw down the gauntlet proclaiming “We got a showstopper/that’s out of site” on the aptly title “Showstopper”. The blaring guitars, dum-dat drums, and sliding bass are all funky as they interlock into a tight groove. Melchiondo and crew are confident as the riffs and catchy tunes flow; the players have harnessed their live show energy and placed it on record. Efforts like the soaring guitar explosions that are the basis of “Waste Station 9”, “Love Theme From ‘Skinheads Kicking Your Ass’” and the five minute soaring piano/vibraphone laced instrumental “The Ritz Carlton” are all propulsive, proof positive that Deaner is an axe man who channels Eddie Hazel and Frank Zappa with ease.
This being Dean Ween, however, he channels more than Zappa’s guitar skills offering tracks like the bluesy lounge rock of “Someone Greased The Fatman” the one word (plus nostril inhale) junior high joke of “Fingerbangin” and the screaming heavy metal car insult song “Yellow Pontiac”. Depending on how funny you find these excursions will go a long way to your enjoyment of things, oh and that is not even mentioning the country influenced “Pussy On My Pillow” which gets into furry love around Mexican sounding horns in case that is more your cup of meat.
Dean is a contradiction as he slums it with seventh-grade humor but also dishes out some of the prettiest guitar lines in rock today. “The Heart of Palm” is a succulent slow burner as is the 50’s inspired instrumental closer “Sunset Over Belmar” both gorgeous. Also of note is “Don’t Let The Moon Catch You Crying” which is one of the most complete straight-ahead tunes he has ever delivered and on this release those successes outweigh the bad jokes, making rock2 a loose, enjoyable ride.
