Ween – The Mollusk

Not sure if I got luckier than past reviewers, but my copy with these runouts sounds excellent. Can’t imagine a better sounding copy. Flat, no background noise, one of the better sounding pressings in my collection

The sound quality isn't terrible, but it's riddled with loud pops and clicks throughout, even after a wet clean. The worst sounding Ween record in my collection.

ASSS. Babies on parade, dogs play charades and
H friends and Bund bloner

I've got the 2010 black from Plain. Thing looks pristine, but it plays like garbage. Flat with surface noise throughout, especially at the start of each side. Also clicks on "Buckingham Green". Just sounds like there's cloth over the speakers or something. Too bad, such a great album too.

Dear Weeners,

I just received a July 15, 2020 Test Pressing of this one from RTI pressing plant and it is incredible! I compared it to my copy of this pressing (which is not too bad - I guess I got lucky compared to some others), the 2010 Green Marbled (https://www.discogs.com/Ween-The-Mollusk/release/2159393) - my copy is decent - and the 1997 Canadian CD - which is excellent. The 2020 RTI beats it! More depth, balanced from a bass/treble and voice standpoint. So powerful! Not sure when it will be distributed or if it already is but do get a copy.

Great Ween album. It's on vinyl, my copy is mostly quiet, and plays through fine (my cart/table combo is known for good tracking though), but that's sort of where the good things stop. The vinyl surface was smudged out of the package, and sort of wavy although not warped enough to move the arm, with the tracks a bit off center on side 1 not affecting playback (other side is fine). I was hoping for a nice open, punchy listen and as others note, this didn't really deliver to me - Buckingham Green sounds very weak and disappointing in impact for example. My Schnitzel issued Quebec I bought at the same time does sound better. There are some random noticeable pops there since new - the noise throughout the opening of Buckingham Green is a bit frustrating on mine. I agree on the cover art comment, it seems fuzzy.

It has the ween on vinyl cool factor, and its not the worst sound quality I have heard by any means, but certainly no improvement over CD and I wouldn't spend much if you are intending to give this a decent listen on mid to upper tier equipment. I'll be replacing mine if there is ever a better remaster/reissue at some point, more due to the poor mastering rather than the quality issues with the vinyl.

Definitely flawed. This specific pressing sounds very tinny, and even comes off as a little grating at parts. My record skipped TWICE on Mutilated Lips, my favorite song on the record, which really pissed me off. Here's hoping that the lord and savior, Schnitzel Records can get their hands on this record and fix the glaring issues with The Mollusk.

Even though I already have the original pressing, I got this Plain reissue because a) I want to preserve the original as much as possible; b) I was morbidly curious to its quality, as I never listened to a Plain pressing, only know about their reputation. Right out the bat, the first difference I noticed is how low-res and pixelated the artwork is compared to the original. Not by much, but still lost the fine details. As for the record itself, I was disappointed at how noisy it is. Even my OG pressing sounds almost pristine compared to this one. Could be a matter of wet-cleaning to see if it works, but haven't tried it yet. As for the mastering quality, honestly both are roughly the same. OG might be better, but not by much. Only spun it once, but I didn't notice a huge difference. To be honest, I'd totally recommend this reissue if you can get a clean copy, because so far the surface noise is the only major issue. Certainly beats paying a fortune for the original, unless you can find it for a bargain like I did.

This is such an important album, I wish it received a better treatment. One day I hope that Schnitzel gets the rights to The Mollusk and the other albums (GWS, 12 Golden Country Greats, White Pepper), their Ween pressings are more often fantastic than not. Who knows, also make The Mollusk 2x12" 45 RPM for best quality.

I acquired a new 2009 Plain pressing, on black vinyl & it sounds amazing! I was hoping for the best, yet expecting the worse, based on numerous negative reviews. However, I took a chance & was pleasantly surprised. This record sounds great to me, at least on my setup, but this is the only vinyl copy I have & don't yet own a 1st pressing to compare it with. Maybe alot of people had bad luck, getting bunk copies, but mine is perfect.. No flaws whatsoever & seems to be high quality overall, so that's 5 Stars from me. In conclusion, an early 2009 Plain black pressing is a pretty safe bet, if you're looking for this album on the cheap and don't want to shell out $ for an original. YMMV. ;-)

My black vinyl pressing on Plain is muddled, noticeable surface noise straight out of shrink. You're better off purchasing the CD.