View source for The Mollusk

{{other uses|Mollusk (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox album
| name         = The Mollusk
| type         = [[Album]]
| artist       = [[Ween]]
| cover        = Ween-TheMollusk.jpg
| alt          = 
| released     = June 24, 1997
| recorded     = 1996–1997
| venue        = 
| studio       = {{Collapsible list|title=Various|titlestyle=font-weight:normal;font-size:12px;background:transparent;text-align:left|
* The Flood Zone ([[Holgate, New Jersey]])
* Stoney Brook ([[Hopewell, New Jersey]])
* The Zion House of Flesh (Hopewell, New Jersey)
* Byoak Farms ([[Holicong, Pennsylvania]])
* Tuff Guy ([[Vernon, New Jersey]])
* Gener's Apartments ([[Stockton, New Jersey]]; [[New Hope, Pennsylvania]])}}
| genre        = [[Experimental rock]]
| length       = 44:05
| label        = [[Elektra Records|Elektra]]
| producer     = [[Andrew Weiss (musician)|Andrew Weiss]]
| prev_title   = [[12 Golden Country Greats]]
| prev_year    = 1996
| next_title   = [[Paintin' the Town Brown: Ween Live 1990–1998]]
| next_year    = 1999
| misc         = {{Singles
 | name        = The Mollusk
 | type        = Studio
 | single1     = [[Mutilated Lips]]
 | single1date = June 1997
 | single2     = [[Ocean Man]]
 | single2date = October 6, 1997<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Gavin-Report/90/97/Gavin-1997-08-29.pdf|format=PDF|title=AllMusic|date=August 29, 1997|website=Worldradiohistory.com|access-date=June 24, 2025}}</ref>
}}
}}

'''''The Mollusk''''' is the sixth studio album by American [[Rock music|rock]] band [[Ween]], released by [[Elektra Records]] on June 24, 1997.<ref name="Earshot Magazine"/> It is a multi-genre [[concept album]] with a dark [[Maritime history|nautical]] theme, with several songs incorporating elements from [[psychedelic music|psychedelia]] and/or [[sea shanty|sea shanties]], while also featuring a heavy [[progressive rock]] influence. [[Dean Ween]] described the album as "the only record that I ever felt really confident about" and "my favorite record we've ever done".<ref name="Straight.com">{{cite web | url=https://www.straight.com/article-117368/dean-ween-picks-his-favourite-ween-disc-gives-the-back-story-on-la-cucaracha |title=Dean Ween picks his favourite Ween disc, gives the back story on La Cucaracha|date=7 November 2007 |access-date=2008-03-27 |website=[[Straight.com]]}}</ref> [[Gene Ween]] has echoed this sentiment, saying: "''The Mollusk'' is probably my favorite, at the end of the day".

==Background==
Starting with the release of their 1994 album ''[[Chocolate and Cheese]]'', Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo—known by their stage names [[Gene Ween|Gene]] and [[Dean Ween]], respectively—began to significantly enhance their approach to studio recording. While their earlier albums were almost entirely recorded by Freeman and Melchiondo themselves at their home using a 4-track recorder, ''Chocolate and Cheese'' marked the first time the band produced an album in a professional recording studio. It also notably began their transition from a duo to a more traditional band with the addition of drummer [[Claude Coleman, Jr.|Claude Coleman]], allowing Freeman and Melchiondo to experiment with a wider range of musical styles than they could with the drum machine they had used on previous releases.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Shteamer|first1=Hank|title=Ween's Chocolate and Cheese (33 1/3)|date=31 March 2011|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-0826431172}}</ref>

Though Ween's 1996 album ''[[12 Golden Country Greats]]'' was their first record to feature a full-fledged band on each track, the songs were recorded with various [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]] session musicians, so it was viewed by the band as more of a spin-off album, in the vein of ''[[The Beach Boys' Christmas Album]]'', than a true follow-up to ''Chocolate and Cheese''.<ref>{{cite interview |last1=Aaron |first1=Freeman |last2=Melchiondo |first2= Mickey |subject-link=Ween |interviewer=Brad Hastings |title=Interview with Ween |url=https://archive.org/details/weeninterview |publisher=KROX Radio |location=Austin, Texas |date=1996 |work=101X |access-date=17 May 2015}}</ref> ''The Mollusk'' was the debut album for keyboardist [[Glenn McClelland]], and, with bassist [[Dave Dreiwitz]] joining shortly before the album's release, the band finally evolved into the final five-person incarnation that continues to this day.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Melchiondo|first1=Mickey|title=Ask Deaner|url=http://036271e.netsolhost.com/WordPress/page/2/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107012200/http://036271e.netsolhost.com/WordPress/page/2/|archive-date=2012-11-07|website=Askdeaner.com|access-date=17 May 2015}}</ref>

The cover art for ''The Mollusk'' was created by [[Storm Thorgerson]], the graphic designer who designed many of [[Pink Floyd]]'s album covers, including ''[[The Dark Side of the Moon]]''. Thorgerson liked the album so much that, although he was only hired to do the cover art, he decided to do the related promo and poster art, including all of the initial print ads associated with ''The Mollusk'', for no extra charge.<ref name="stereo"/>

==Recording and release==
After recording 1994's ''Chocolate and Cheese'' in a professional studio, Gene and Dean Ween decided they wanted to return to their early method of recording albums at home.<ref name="Earshot Magazine">{{cite web|url=http://www.citypaper.net/earshot/earshot.0797/zoom.ween.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991006124142/http://www.citypaper.net/earshot/earshot.0797/zoom.ween.shtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=1999-10-06|title=Dean Ween Mollusk Interview With Earshot Magazine|access-date=2008-03-27|publisher=[[Philadelphia City Paper]]}}</ref>  In 1995, they relocated their recording equipment to a rented beach house on the shore of [[Holgate, New Jersey]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goingtotheshore.com/my-blog/2011/08/shore-chat-with-captain-mickey-aka-dean-ween.html |title=Shore Chat with Captain Mickey aka Dean Ween |website=Goingtotheshore.com |date= |access-date=2012-03-02}}</ref> and the equipment and some of the early materials for the album were nearly lost when a water pipe burst in the house while it was unoccupied.  At this point, the band put this album on hold and made plans to record 1996's ''12 Golden Country Greats'' in Nashville. After recording ''12 Golden Country Greats'' in 1995 and releasing and touring behind it, Ween completed the remaining tracking of ''The Mollusk'' at various inland locations. The album was mixed by [[Andrew Weiss (musician)|Andrew Weiss]] at the Magic Shop studio in New York City. For the mixing, Weiss used the studio's vintage Neve console and a Digidesign [[Pro-Tools]] system.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1997/Billboard-1997-07-05.pdf|format=PDF|title=AllMusic|date=July 5, 1997|website=Worldradiohistory.com|access-date=June 24, 2025}}</ref>

A few months after the July 1996 release of ''12 Golden Country Greats'', there were rumors on the internet that Ween would be releasing a new [[double album]] in 1997; by this time, it was already known that the new album was going to be titled ''The Mollusk''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://groups.google.com/g/alt.music.ween/c/ekp61-lrioQ/m/enpqB7FEVhIJ|title=new ween double album?|website=groups.google.com}}</ref> The album was eventually released by Elektra on June 24, 1997,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JLoecqYeotYC&q=%22mollusk%22&pg=PA102|title=SPIN|first=SPIN Media|last=LLC|date=July 2, 1997|publisher=SPIN Media LLC|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>''All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul''. (2002). United Kingdom: Backbeat Books.</ref> although some sources incorrectly list the release date as being in April 1997.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://open.spotify.com/album/1yfJqxKKXG320vhqLfUEeC|title=The Mollusk|date=April 18, 1997|website=Open.spotify.com}}</ref> Like with their previous releases on Elektra, the album only charted in Australia and the United States, appearing in the lower reaches of the latter country's charts. On the Australian release of ''The Mollusk'', there is a sticker warning that the album is for an 18+ audience, due to explicit language. However, on the U.S. release there is no [[parental advisory]] sticker.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/6697309-Ween-The-Mollusk|title=Ween - The Mollusk|date=1997|website=Discogs.com}}</ref>

==Music and lyrics==
[[AllMusic]] labelled it as being another "multi-genre extravaganza" like ''Chocolate and Cheese'', in contrast to ''12 Golden Country Greats'', which focused on a single genre.<ref name="allmusic"/> The album draws from [[celtic rock]], [[country rock|country]], [[cowpunk]], [[electronica]], 17th century [[folk music]], [[jazz music|jazz]], [[new wave music|new wave]], [[progressive rock]], [[psychedelic rock|psychedelia]], [[punk rock|punk]], [[soft rock]], [[symphonic rock]], [[show tunes]], [[surf rock]] and [[vaudeville]].<ref name="sl"/><ref name="pitch"/><ref name="stereo"/><ref name="key">{{Cite web|url=https://www.keymag.co.uk/reviews/ween-the-mollusk|title=WEEN - THE MOLLUSK: How an Album Inspired the World's Most Famous Kid's Cartoon|website=Keymag.co.uk}}</ref> At the time, the album's overall sound was described as "gay sea shanties".<ref name="bomb"/>

The opening track "I'm Dancing in the Show Tonight" incorporates elements from vaudeville and show tunes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://whatculture.com/music/15-weirdest-bands-of-all-time?page=2|title=15 Weirdest Bands Of All Time|date=August 29, 2015|website=WhatCulture.com}}</ref><ref name="far">{{Cite web|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/classic-review-ween-the-mollusk/|title=When Ween went for whimsy on 'The Mollusk'|date=June 24, 2022|website=faroutmagazine.co.uk}}</ref> In a July 2017 interview for the album's 20th anniversary, Dean Ween said that the music from the song came from an old ballet practice record his sister had.<ref name="stereo">{{Cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1951136/weens-the-mollusk-turns-20-an-oral-history-by-mickey-melchiondo/reviews/the-anniversary/|title=Ween's The Mollusk Turns 20: An Oral History|author=Mickey Melchiondo|website=Stereogum.com|date=July 11, 2017}}</ref> The band made the song during their first recording session with keyboardist Glenn McClelland, who they met at a bar in 1996. Ween had McClelland's two-year-old son Charlie sing on the song.<ref name="stereo"/> McClelland only became an official member of Ween in April 1997, first performing with them in May 1997, meaning it may have been recorded in 1997 as one of the last songs for the album. According to Dean Ween, "everybody sang on the song", and there were 11 other vocal tracks mixed in with Charlie McClelland's voice, which was the most prominent one on the song.<ref name="stereo"/> The vocal tracks were all at different speeds, which Dean Ween said "[made it sound] really fucked up".<ref name="stereo"/> Some incorrectly believed that the high pitched vocals were simply achieved through pitch shifting Dean Ween's voice.<ref name="far"/> Between the summer of 1997 and the end of that year, it was played live 31 times, but only sporadically appeared in Ween's setlists during later years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://brownbase.org/every_time_played.php?band=Ween&song_id=89|title=Brownbase &#124; Ween Setlists and Statistics &#124; I'm Dancing in the Show Tonight|website=Brownbase.org}}</ref> The recording session for "I'm Dancing in the Show Tonight" also yielded an additional song called "Boys Club", which had a poppy 1970s-esque [[yacht rock]] sound. This song didn't make it to ''The Mollusk'', and was later included on the 2005 rarities album ''[[Shinola, Vol. 1]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/shinola-vol-1-mw0000170397|title=Shinola, Vol. 1 - Ween &#124; Album |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>

The single "[[Ocean Man]]" has a tropical surf rock sound,<ref name="sl">{{Cite web|url=https://www.staimusic.com/en/bands/ween_4970.html|title=Hear Authentic Ween Music on Staimusic|website=Staimusic.com}}</ref><ref name="weird">{{Cite web|url=https://www.news-gazette.com/blogs/the-weirdness-that-is-ween/article_0076ef05-0bd0-5da5-8db6-5a3b0336273e.html|title=The Weirdness that is Ween|first=The|last=News-Gazette|date=October 19, 2014|website=The News-Gazette}}</ref> while "Pink Eye (On My Leg)" is a jazz and psychedelic tinged instrumental which has sound clips of a dog barking.<ref name="key"/><ref name="stereo"/> "I'll Be Your Johnny on the Spot" is a fast punk influenced track. The lyrics are about the phrase itself "I'll Be Your Johnny on the Spot", which is used to mean someone you can rely on to pull through for you.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://chanticleernews.com/2833/culture/the-mollusk-by-ween/|title="The Mollusk" by Ween|first=Jacob|last=Ackerman|website=Chanticleernews.com}}</ref> It debuted live while the band were on tour for ''12 Golden Country Greats'', and this early live version had country instrumentation rather than distorted punk instrumentation. "Buckingham Green" incorporates symphonic rock elements, and the song's title may have been a reference to a shopping center called "Buckingham Green", which is located near the band's hometown of New Hope, Pennsylvania. In July 1997, Ben Ratliff of ''[[The New York Times]]'' described the song as being about an eyeball that frees itself from a child's face and floats above an English park.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/19/arts/in-music-of-the-absurd-the-comedy-has-heart.html|title=In Music of the Absurd, The Comedy Has Heart - NYTimes.com|work=The New York Times |date=May 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527064306/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/19/arts/in-music-of-the-absurd-the-comedy-has-heart.html |archive-date=27 May 2015 |last1=Ratliff |first1=Ben }}</ref> "The Blarney Stone" incorporates sea shanty and celtic rock elements, and like "I'll Be Your Johnny on the Spot", had earlier been performed live with country instrumentation. It is lyrically about a tattoo artist friend of the band named Joe Rose. "Waving My Dick in the Wind" is a country/cowpunk song, and the most country-influenced track on ''The Mollusk'',<ref name="allmusic"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://genius.com/Ween-waving-my-dick-in-the-wind-lyrics|title=Ween – Waving My Dick in the Wind|website=Genius.com}}</ref> with the band having originally considered recording it with the Nashville musicians for ''12 Golden Country Greats''.<ref name="stereo"/> It has been described as a "leftover country tune".<ref name="pitch"/> "Cold Blows the Wind" was inspired from an old book of 17th century folk songs that Gene Ween had.<ref name="stereo"/> "She Wanted to Leave" has been called an homage/parody of the British progressive rock band [[The Moody Blues]].<ref name="pitch"/>

"It's Gonna Be (Alright)" is a soft rock ballad with subtle electronic elements, and has lyrics inspired by a breakup Gene Ween was going through.<ref name="stereo"/> When it was written, he was feeling depressed and didn't have his head in the right mindset to make music, so Dean Ween cheered him up by taking him for a night of gambling at [[Atlantic City]].<ref name="stereo"/> The band ended up winning money while gambling and spent it at a steakhouse.<ref name="stereo"/> The song has rarely been performed live by the band, only being played a few times on the subsequent tour for ''The Mollusk''.

==Touring and promotion==
No music videos were made in conjunction with Elektra for ''The Mollusk''. To promote the upcoming album, Ween performed "The Golden Eel" on the [[Comedy Central]] show ''[[Viva Variety]]'', with this being their first live performance with Glenn McClelland on keyboards.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7d9FXUepiQ|title=Ween - The Golden Eel (Live on Viva Variety 1997)|date=October 28, 2023|via=YouTube}}</ref> Ween then appeared as guests on ''[[Oddville, MTV]]'', where they performed the single "[[Mutilated Lips]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuUMa2q00F4&t=1s|title=ODDVILLE EP 25 WEEN, Georgianna Robertson, Human Seagull Beyond Vaudeville|date=November 13, 2024|via=YouTube}}</ref> The performance was taped on June 10, 1997, before the show itself premiered on June 16, 1997, and Ween's episode didn't air until July 17, 1997.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://brownbase.org/setlist.php?band=Ween&show_id=636|title=Brownbase &#124; Ween Setlists and Statistics &#124; 6/10/1997 New York|website=Brownbase.org}}</ref> Ween's next performance was at [[KTCL]]'s Big Adventure in [[Denver]], [[Colorado]] on June 28, 1997, with this also being their first performance after the album's release.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://brownbase.org/setlist.php?band=Ween&show_id=635|title=Brownbase &#124; Ween Setlists and Statistics &#124; 6/28/1997 Denver|website=Brownbase.org}}</ref> Ween continued to tour the album throughout the United States up until September 1997.<ref name="97stats"/> In October 1997, Ween went on a tour of the Pacific, playing two shows in New Zealand, nine shows in Australia and a single show in Japan and Hawaii.<ref name="97stats"/> They followed these shows up with a tour of Europe, which lasted between November and early December 1997.<ref name="97stats">{{Cite web|url=https://brownbase.org/show_filter.php?band=Ween&year=1997#nav_top|title=Brownbase &#124; Ween Setlists and Statistics &#124; Shows - 1997|website=Brownbase.org}}</ref> In January 1998, they returned to playing shows in the United States, before taking a three-month break, eventually returning for more U.S. shows on April 18, 1998.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://brownbase.org/show_filter.php?band=Ween&year=1998#nav_top|title=Brownbase &#124; Ween Setlists and Statistics &#124; Shows - 1998|website=Brownbase.org}}</ref> Later in 1998, they voiced themselves on the ''[[South Park]]'' episode "[[Chef Aid]]". For ''South Park'', they recorded a folk pop song about homosexuality called "The Rainbow", with this song appearing in the "Chef Aid" episode and in a soundtrack album based on that episode, titled ''Chef Aid: The South Park Album''. The version on ''Chef Aid: The South Park Album'' has guest vocals from [[Isaac Hayes]], who voiced [[Chef (South Park)|Chef]] on ''South Park''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/chef-aid-the-south-park-album-mw0000601245|title=Chef Aid: The South Park Album - South Park &#124; ... |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> Ween continued to tour throughout 1998 and 1999, before releasing their next album ''[[White Pepper]]'' in May 2000, which was their last for Elektra/[[Warner Music Group|Warner Music]]. In August 2022, Ween performed "Buckingham Green" and the title track at the 25th anniversary concert for ''South Park''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://consequence.net/2024/02/south-park-25th-anniversary-concert-record-store-day/|title=South Park 25th anniversary concert getting Record Store Day vinyl release|website=Consequence.net|date=February 16, 2024}}</ref>

==Reception==
{{Music ratings
|rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
|rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref name=allmusic>{{cite web|author=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-mollusk-mw0000023211 |title=The Mollusk – Ween &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards |website=[[AllMusic]] |date=1997-06-24 |access-date=2015-08-19}}</ref>
|rev2 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
|rev2score = C<ref name="ew">{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1997/06/27/mollusk/|title=The Mollusk|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|author=Rob Brunner|date=1997-06-27|access-date=2020-12-05}}</ref>
|rev3 = ''[[:it:Claudio Fabretti|OndaRock]]''
|rev3score =8.5/10<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ondarock.it/rockedintorni/ween.htm|title=Ween|author=Stefano Ferreri|website=[[:it:Claudio Fabretti|OndaRock]]|language=it}}</ref>
|rev5 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
|rev5score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="rs">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/ween/albums/album/236560/review/5944398/the_mollusk |title=Ween: The Mollusk : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=1997-06-23 |access-date=2015-08-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090725052202/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/ween/albums/album/236560/review/5944398/the_mollusk |archive-date=July 25, 2009 }}</ref>
|rev4 = [[Pitchfork (website)|''Pitchfork'']]
|rev4score = 9.7/10<ref name="pitch">{{cite web |url=http://pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/w/ween/mollusk.shtml |title=Ween: The Mollusk: Pitchfork Review |access-date=2015-08-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030421012901/http://pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/w/ween/mollusk.shtml |archive-date=April 21, 2003 }}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev6Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Ween |last=Sarig |first=Roni |title=[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide|The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]] |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/864 864–65] }}</ref>
}}<!-- Automatically generated by DASHBot-->
Sara Scribner of ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' described ''The Mollusk'' as a "poppier, less fractured album" in 1997.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Scribner |first1=Sara |title=Ween Revels in Twisted Humor and Sarcasm |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-sep-30-ca-37567-story.html |access-date=May 2, 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=September 30, 1997}}</ref> Rob Brunner of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' gave it a C on June 27, 1997. He considered it a return to the band's previous sound, and critiqued its "juvenility". He said, "after a strange detour with the flippant ''12 Golden Country Greats'', this alt-rock comedy act returns to past albums’ suburban-stoners-with-a-tape-deck silliness with ''The Mollusk''."<ref name="ew"/> J.W Lim of the ''[[Associated Press]]'' wrote in 1997 that "Ween gets back to genre hopping with ''The Mollusk''". He considered "Ocean Man" to be the strongest track on the album, and described "Pink Eye (On My Leg)" as being a song that "could be the theme for a sitcom about an intergalatic salvage operator and his space dog sparky."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eoVhAAAAIBAJ&dq=ween+mollusk&pg=PA11&article_id=2209,2777096|title=The Southeast Missourian|publisher=The Southeast Missourian|via=Google Books}}</ref> On June 23, 1997, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'''s Neva Chonin called "Mutilated Lips" the funniest track on the album, and said "Ween may be weird, but they're rarely weird in the same way twice", adding that "there's likely a wonderfully wack [[techno music|techno]] album on the horizon."<ref name="rs"/> In her July 1, 1997 review, Lynn Gellar of ''[[Bomb (magazine)|Bomb]]'' magazine wrote that Ween were equivalent to meeting a man at a party who was "willing to do anything for a laugh." She added that, "the fact that they’re great musicians capable of jumping genres every album is just icing on a sardonic cake."<ref name="bomb">{{Cite web|url=https://bombmagazine.org/articles/1997/07/01/subjectivity-ween-michael-kroll-and-the-dandy-warhols/|title=BOMB Magazine &#124; Subjectivity: Ween, Michael Kroll, and the Dandy…|website=BOMB Magazine}}</ref> In September 1997, Lisa Harwin of ''[[The Michigan Daily]]'' labelled it "another collection of weirdness".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KfxJAAAAIBAJ&dq=ween+mollusk&pg=PA5&article_id=4399,2318476|title=The Michigan Daily|publisher=The Michigan Daily|via=Google Books}}</ref>

In their September 1997 review, ''[[CMJ]]'' referred to the album as "twisted parody pop", writing, "''The Mollusk'' finds the  Ween 'brothers' returning from the Nashville stylings of ''12 Golden Country Greats'' to the safety and comfort of their own living room, bedroom, basement, or wherever it is they record, for another artful and offensive hit-and-run job on an array of genres".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/CMJ/1997/CMJ-New-Music-1997-09.pdf|format=PDF|title=AllMusic|date=September 1997|website=Worldradiohistory.com|access-date=June 24, 2025}}</ref>

===Legacy and impact===
In January 1998, "Waving My Dick in the Wind" was included on the 1997 edition of [[Triple J Hottest 100, 1997|Triple J's Hottest 100]] list, an annual list of the most popular songs in Australia.<ref>https://www.abc.net.au/listen/doublej/music-reads/features/the-hottest-100-of-1997-the-full-list/10266494</ref> ''[[Consequence of Sound]]'' included the album on their list of the 50 best albums from 1997.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://consequence.net/2017/04/top-50-albums-of-1997/ |title=Top 50 Albums of 1997 - Consequence| date=24 April 2017 }}</ref> ''[[Newsweek]]'' named ''The Mollusk'' as the 14th best album of 1997 in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newsweek.com/ok-computer-radiohead-zaireeka-23-best-albums-1997-626409 |title = 'OK Computer' and Beyond: The 23 Best Albums of 1997| website=[[Newsweek]] | date=June 18, 2017 }}</ref> In 2007, ''[[Impose (magazine)|Impose]]'' magazine included it on an album list titled "29 Reasons 1997 Shits All Over 2007".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imposemagazine.com/reviews/29-reasons-1997-shits-all-over|title=- 29 Reasons 1997 Shits All Over 2007|date=December 19, 2007|website=Impose Magazine}}</ref> ''[[Stereogum]]'' ranked it as the third best Ween album in November 2012, behind only ''White Pepper'' and ''[[Quebec (Ween album)|Quebec]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1199782/ween-albums-from-worst-to-best/photo/|title=Ween Albums From Worst To Best|date=November 14, 2012}}</ref>

''The Mollusk'' was a direct influence on the animated television series ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]''. [[Stephen Hillenburg]], the show's creator, contacted the band shortly after the album's release, and he requested a song from them which later became "[[Loop de Loop (Spongebob Squarepants)|Loop de Loop]]". The track "Ocean Man" is played during the end credits of ''[[The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie]]''.<ref name="weenspongebob">{{cite web|date=2 December 2018|title=Ween farewell to Stephen Hillenburg|website=[[Facebook]]|url=https://www.facebook.com/ween/posts/10156458184193564 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/33881673563/10156458184193564 |archive-date=2022-02-26 |url-access=limited|access-date=2019-12-03}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

[[Kurt Vile]] named "[[Mutilated Lips]]" his favorite song of all time, and recalled that the album "blew [his] mind" when he listened to it as a teenager.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-10-15|title=Kurt Vile : The Aquarium Drunkard Interview|url=https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2018/10/15/kurt-vile-the-aquarium-drunkard-interview/|access-date=2021-01-18|website=Aquarium Drunkard|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Track listing==
{{track listing
| headline      = "This Side"
| title1        = I'm Dancing in the Show Tonight
| length1       = 1:56
| extra1        = [[Ween]], [[John Rox]]
| title2        = The Mollusk
| length2       = 2:37
| extra2        = Ween
| title3        = Polka Dot Tail
| length3       = 3:20
| extra3        = Ween
| title4        = I'll Be Your Jonny on the Spot
| length4       = 2:01
| extra4        = Ween
| title5        = [[Mutilated Lips]]
| length5       = 3:49
| extra5        = Ween
| title6        = The Blarney Stone
| length6       = 3:14
| extra6        = Ween
| title7        = It's Gonna Be (Alright)
| length7       = 3:19
| extra7        = Ween
| title8        = The Golden Eel
| length8       = 4:04
| extra8        = Ween
| extra_column  = Written by
}}
{{Track listing
| headline      = "That Side"
| extra_column  = Written By
| title1        = [[Cold Blows the Wind]]
| length1       = 4:28
| extra1        = Traditional
| title2        = Pink Eye (On My Leg)
| note2         = instrumental
| length2       = 3:13
| extra2        = Ween
| title3        = Waving My Dick in the Wind
| length3       = 2:12
| extra3        = Ween
| title4        = Buckingham Green
| length4       = 3:19
| extra4        = Ween
| title5        = [[Ocean Man]]
| length5       = 2:07
| extra5        = Ween
| title6        = She Wanted to Leave
| length6       = 2:15
| extra6        = Ween
}}
*

==The Mollusk Sessions==

In 2007, Ween released The Mollusk Sessions, which contains demo versions of the album's tracks as well as some cut tracks.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ween.net/the-mollusk-sessions.html |title = Ween: The Mollusk Sessions| date=2007 }}</ref>  Some of these cut tracks would end up being featured on future albums: Flutes of The Chi would end up on the following record ''White Pepper'', and Did You See Me would later be included on the B-sides compilation ''[[Shinola, Vol. 1]]''.

{{track listing
| title_width   = 100
| headline      = ''The Mollusk Sessions''
| title1        = Mutilated Lips
| length1       = 4:03
| title2        = Cold Blows the Wind
| length2       = 4:21
| title3        = The Mollusk
| length3       = 2:50
| title4        = Waving My Dick in the Wind
| length4       = 2:22
| title5        = Kim Smoltz
| length5       = 4:45
| title6        = Ocean Man
| length6       = 2:21
| title7        = Koko
| length7       = 3:39
| title8        = Did You See Me
| length8       = 5:29
| title9        = Flutes of the Chi
| length9       = 3:13
| title10       = She Wanted to Leave
| length10      = 2:28
| title11       = Vinnie the Eel
| length11      = 5:06
| total_length  = 40:37
}}

==Personnel==
{{div col|colwidth=}}
;Ween
* [[Dean Ween]] – guitar, vocals, engineering
* [[Gene Ween]] – vocals, guitar,  mandolin on ‘Ocean Man’, engineering
* [[Dave Dreiwitz]] – bass
* [[Glenn McClelland]] – keyboards
* [[Claude Coleman Jr.]] – drums, percussion, engineering
;Additional musicians
* Mean Ween – bass
* Kirk Miller – sound effects
* Bill Fowler – guitar, bass
;Production
* Juan Garcia – assistant engineering
* Bill McNamera – assistant engineering
* Steve Nebesney – assistant engineering
* Mick Preston – assistant engineering
* Ralph Smith – assistant engineering
* Jim Woolsey – assistant engineering
* [[Andrew Weiss (musician)|Andrew Weiss]] – production, engineering, mixing
* Peter Curzon – artwork
* Tom Nichols – photography
* Rupert Truman – photography
* Sam Brooks – cover design
* Finlay Cowan – cover design
* [[Storm Thorgerson]] – cover design
* Matt Kohut
* Jason Reddy
{{div col end}}

==Charts==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Chart performance for ''The Mollusk''
! scope="col"| Chart (1997)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums ([[ARIA Charts|ARIA]])<ref>{{cite Ryan|page=298}}</ref>
| 69
|-
{{album chart|Billboard200|159|artist=Ween|rowheader=true|access-date=June 23, 2017}}
|-
{{album chart|BillboardHeatseekers|5|artist=Ween|rowheader=true|access-date=June 23, 2017}}
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Ween}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mollusk, The}}
[[Category:Ween albums]]
[[Category:1997 albums]]
[[Category:Albums with cover art by Storm Thorgerson]]
[[Category:Elektra Records albums]]
[[Category:1990s concept albums]]
[[Category:Maritime music]]
[[Category:Yacht rock albums]]