That is all fine and well on paper. After all, Ween wouldn't be Ween without their charming quirkiness. However, in my opinion, at this very early point in their career, the Weeners' songwriting abilities were not quite good enough to carry such an extense album, to pull off the unique mixture of absurdity and melodic bliss that characterized their later efforts.
Songs like Bumblebee or the aforementioned Common Bitch have little musical value, and seem to exist only to allow the kids to scream obscenities at the top of their lungs and engage in cryptic inside jokes that leave the listener cold.
That is not to say that the album is worthless - far from it. The opener You Fucked Up would not, if performed by any other artist, be considered a highlight. It is little more than a generic heavy metal song. However, the lyrics, the over-the-top vocal performance, elevate it to the status of classic. Songs like Tick and I Gots a Weasel are short, exhuberant, fast, and absolutely engaging. More elaborate, lengthy tracks include the sugar-coated Don't Laugh (I Love You), the bitter Nan and the unusually poignant and sincere Birthday Boy.
In between you will find the hypnotic reggae Nicole (9:20), the Prince homage L.M.L.Y.P. (8:48), and many more experiments in excess and genre parody. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.
I do realize that, perhaps, I am analyzing this album the wrong way. That I should take it as a whole, as a journey through the hazy and colorful world of early Ween, that those pointless short songs serve a purpose. I understand all of this. However, every time I put this album on I can't help but feel that it is terribly inconsistent. It is exciting at times, and dragging - even grating at others. They still had not perfected their craft. They would get much better at it very soon. B–
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