The Mollusk is the sixth studio album by American rock band Ween, released by Elektra Records on June 24, 1997. It is a multi-genre concept album with a dark nautical theme, with most songs incorporating elements from psychedelia and/or 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".[1] Gene Ween has echoed this sentiment, saying: "The Mollusk is probably my favorite, at the end of the day".


Recording
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.[6] In 1995, they relocated their recording equipment to a rented beach house on the shore of Holgate, New Jersey,[7] 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 finished in 1996 and released on June 24, 1997.[6]

Impact
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". The track "Ocean Man" is played during the end credits of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.[17]

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.[18]

Track listing
All tracks are written by Gene Ween and Dean Ween.

The Mollusk
No. Title Length
1. "I'm Dancing in the Show Tonight" 1:56
2. "The Mollusk" 2:37
3. "Polka Dot Tail" 3:20
4. "I'll Be Your Jonny on the Spot" 2:01
5. "Mutilated Lips" 3:49
6. "The Blarney Stone" 3:14
7. "It's Gonna Be (Alright)" 3:19
8. "The Golden Eel" 4:04
9. "Cold Blows the Wind" 4:28
10. "Pink Eye (On My Leg)" 3:13
11. "Waving My ♥♥♥♥ in the Wind" 2:12
12. "Buckingham Green" 3:19
13. "Ocean Man" 2:07
14. "She Wanted to Leave" 4:26
Total length: 43:54