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sidewinder · 07-15-2014, 06:21 PM

Freeman - Freeman (2014)
Aaron Freeman (aka Gene Ween from Ween) decided to break up the band in 2012, having already started to pursue solo efforts. Under his full name, he released Marvelous Clouds that same year, an album I found rather underwhelming (as it turns out, it's actually an album of Rod McKuen songs - never heard of the guy). Aaron was responsible for most of Ween's softer, more heartfelt (yet still silly/cool) songs and many were my favorite on Ween's albums. Naturally, though, as he continues to age and rehab, his music becomes less interesting and his debut solo effort - maybe due in part to being covers - ended up bordering on soft rock/adult contemporary and seemed rather soulless. Many of his "soft" Ween songs were satyrical takes on soft rock, but they worked really well with strange/funny lyrics, vocal effects and slightly goofy music backing it up. Marvelous Clouds overall just seemed to lack the fun element and we were left with nothing very interesting. The source material may have been boring but he failed to spice them up. Coming out of rehab and being in a new frame of mind, you can't really blame him.

But now his "debut" as Freeman, on the other hand, is far better and I could see some of the songs fitting in pretty well on a Ween album (post-The Mollusk, mind you). "Black Bush", for example, would work nicely on Quebec. I didn't have high expectations after Marvelous Clouds but halfway through this, I'm impressed! This is far more Ween-like and maybe that's due to working with a band this time around. Whatever it is, this is far more engaging. My interest faded a bit toward the end but the work day was wrapping up and I was fading. Looking forward to listening again though. Recommended to Ween fans.

07-15-2014, 06:21 PM	#21029 (permalink)
sidewinder Engorged Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 5,536	Freeman - Freeman (2014) Aaron Freeman (aka Gene Ween from Ween) decided to break up the band in 2012, having already started to pursue solo efforts. Under his full name, he released Marvelous Clouds that same year, an album I found rather underwhelming (as it turns out, it's actually an album of Rod McKuen songs - never heard of the guy). Aaron was responsible for most of Ween's softer, more heartfelt (yet still silly/cool) songs and many were my favorite on Ween's albums. Naturally, though, as he continues to age and rehab, his music becomes less interesting and his debut solo effort - maybe due in part to being covers - ended up bordering on soft rock/adult contemporary and seemed rather soulless. Many of his "soft" Ween songs were satyrical takes on soft rock, but they worked really well with strange/funny lyrics, vocal effects and slightly goofy music backing it up. Marvelous Clouds overall just seemed to lack the fun element and we were left with nothing very interesting. The source material may have been boring but he failed to spice them up. Coming out of rehab and being in a new frame of mind, you can't really blame him. But now his "debut" as Freeman, on the other hand, is far better and I could see some of the songs fitting in pretty well on a Ween album (post-The Mollusk, mind you). "Black Bush", for example, would work nicely on Quebec. I didn't have high expectations after Marvelous Clouds but halfway through this, I'm impressed! This is far more Ween-like and maybe that's due to working with a band this time around. Whatever it is, this is far more engaging. My interest faded a bit toward the end but the work day was wrapping up and I was fading. Looking forward to listening again though. Recommended to Ween fans. __________________ last.fm \| my collection on RYM \| vinyl instagram @allthatyouseeandhear I'd love to see your signature/links too, but the huge and obnoxious ones have caused me to block all signatures.