Making your first release a 5-track EP of Ween covers is a gloriously stupid idea worthy of someone like.....well Ween actually!
New York band The Cogs decided that being a two piece and recording in their bedroom, that it would be a good idea to put out an EP of songs originally recorded by their heroes Ween, a band who operate under similar circumstances.
So, they picked their favorites - two apiece from God, Ween, Satan and The Pod and one from their 'hit' album Pure Guava - recorded them and put them out. The songs chosen are some of Ween's more straight-forward musical moments - pretty much 70's rock meets 80's trash-pop with a Zappa-esque approach to lyrics - and the performances here are straight readings, give or take the occasional tweak in the pace. Stand-outs are the T-Rex tongue-in-cheek gasp of "Captain Fantasy" and the slack-as-hell "Birthday Boy" which is lo-fi with the best of them.
The big question though is, why make your first release a cover of some other, in particular almost a cult, band's songs ? Sure it's liable to draw attention but aren't they running the risk of being seen as "that band who did the Ween covers EP" for at least the near future ?
The Cogs have now extended to a five-piece and will be putting out some of their own material in the near future, so it's best to wait for that. For the meantime this is a good little EP which unfortunately may only amount to little more than a curio for Ween fans.
If you can't find Absolute Ween in your local store, it can be ordered by mail for $7 from: Bear Records, JAF Box 444, New York, NY 10116 Canadian orders must send $11.
