Ween’s Chocolate and Cheese: A Freaky Ride from Juvenile to Genius

Chocolate and Cheese is the album where Ween transitioned from sounding like a couple of kids messing around on a four-track to a fully-fledged band experimenting in a high-end studio. Even three decades later, it’s a bizarre and captivating journey. Tracks like “The HIV Song” mix gleeful cries of “HIV!” and “AIDS!” over a ludicrously upbeat, cartoonish backing, while “Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down)” takes on the eerie perspective of a sick child, with hauntingly pitch-shifted vocals.

While some tracks are simply strange—like “Mister Would You Please Help My Pony?”—there’s also undeniable beauty in the album. “A Tear For Eddie” is a gorgeous instrumental tribute to the late Parliament-Funkadelic guitarist Eddie Hazel, and “Freedom Of ’76” delivers equally lovely soul vibes. The album closes with “Buenas Tardes Amigo,” a Sergio Leone-esque epic complete with some of the best hand-claps ever recorded.

This deluxe edition continues the genre-hopping spirit of the original but offers little that surpasses the 1993 tracklist. Still, tracks like the high-octane blues of “Dirty Money,” the glam rock of “Junkie Boy,” and the somber “I Really Miss You (And I’m All Alone)” come close to capturing the original album’s brilliant madness.