Ween Cover the Rolling Stones On Expanded ‘Country Greats’ Album

Ween will celebrate the 30th anniversary of 1996’s 12 Golden Country Greats by releasing an expanded three-record edition of the album.

The July 17 release will feature 20 unreleased demos and outtakes.

12 Golden Country Greats found the group ditching the lo-fi, two-man recording methods of their earlier albums in favor of collaborating with a who’s-who of Nashville studio legends, as discussed in our 2011 interview with producer Ben Vaughn.

Read More: How Ween Changed Their Ways for ’12 Golden Country Greats’

The new additions to the expanded 12 Golden Country Greats include a cover of the Rolling Stones‘ «Fool to Cry» and «So Long Jerry,» a tribute to Grateful Dead singer and guitarist Jerry Garcia, who died a year prior to the album’s release.

You can hear another previously unreleased song, «Bad Day in Brownsville,» below.

Despite its title, 12 Golden Country Greats was originally only released with 10 songs. The two tracks cut from the record, «I’ve Got No Darkside» and the aforementioned «So Long, Jerry» have now been returned, along with other never officially released songs such as «Boston Chicken» and «Good Timing Rhyming Song.»

In August 2024, Ween announced that they would be stepping away from live performances «for the foreseeable future.» There’s been no word on their return, but in recent months they have been busy releasing archival material.

First up was Bring Out the Foos: Live 1996, a CD-only collection taken from a tour where the band opened for the Foo Fighters, performing (in their words) «in front of crowds with varying degrees of love, hate and apathy.»

On Record Store Day (April 18), they released Europe «90,» a triple-vinyl set from what guitarist Deen Ween refers to as «the best Ween show of all time.»

Hear Ween Perform ‘Bad Day in Brownsville’

Ween, ’12 Golden Country Greats’ (Deluxe Edition) Track List

LP One: Original Album Remastered
Side One
“I’m Holding You”
“Japanese Cowboy”
“Piss Up A Rope”
“I Don’t Wanna Leave You On The Farm”
“Pretty Girl”

Side Two
“Powder Blue”
“Mister Richard Smoker”
“Help Me Scrape The Mucus Off My Brain”
“You Were The Fool”
“Fluffy”

LP Two: 12 Golden Demos
Side One
“I Don’t Wanna Leave You On The Farm” – Demo *
“Piss Up A Rope” – Demo *
“Mister Richard Smoker” – Demo *
“Help Me Scrape The Mucus Off My Brain” – Demo *
“Pretty Girl” – Demo *
“Fluffy” – Demo *
“You Were The Fool” – Demo *

Side Two
“Powder Blue” – Demo *
“I’ve Got No Darkside” – Demo *
“Maybelle” – Demo *
“I’m Holding You” – Demo *
“So Long Jerry” – Demo *

LP Three: 14 Golden Outtakes and Demos
Side One
“I’ve Got No Darkside” *
“Boston Chicken” *
“Bad Day In Brownsville” *
“Good Timing Rhyming Song” *
“Sweet Texas Fire”
“Twinkle” *
“If You Can’t Look Me In The Eye” *
“I’m Gonna Fix Your Ass” *

Side Two
“Fool To Cry” *
“Spaghetti” *
“I’ll Miss You”
“Maybelle” – Waste Version *
“Scum Of This Town” *
“So Long Jerry”

* = previously unreleased