| Mellow Gold | review #2 | 1994 |
| Stereopathic Soul Manure | 1994 |
| One Foot In The Grave | 1994 |
| Odelay | review #2 | review #3 | 1996 |
| Mutations | 1998 |
| Midnite Vultures | 1999 |
COMMENTS
I must say beck is a wacky motherfucker rite here! he first began when he was writing tons of songs for 3 indie albums like one foot in the grave and stereopathetic soulmanure but he created mellow gold. his mix of the following: rap, folk,electro,rock,punk,noise,country,novelty stuff really makes people's head spin then came odelay! ooooooooh! it has: rap,electro,folk,rock,punk,grunge,novelty,psychadelia,country,raga,and salsa whew! then came mutations a slower mellower beck and then midnite vultures it reminds me of that episode on futurama when beck Is a robot head and plays for the concert? yea that's what it is then he calm down again in the sad sweet sea change anyway beck will never stop so rock on man!
(Philip Maddox's review)
Beck's debut album is an interesting cross between folk, slacker rap, noise, and straight ahead rock. "Interesting" and "Good" aren't necessarily the same thing, though - in fact, some of the "interesting" songs on here are really, REALLY awful - "Sweet Sunshine" is ugly, poorly recorded (intentionally, probably, but why?), and endlessly long. Ditto for "Blackhole", which REALLY sucks. "Steal My Body Home" is mopey and endless, and will drag you down with it. Really, REALLY bad tunes. Some of the rest is kinda mediocre, too. "Mutherfucker" and "Nitemare Hippy Girl" are listenable, but not particularly good. At least half of this album can be chucked out the window without further notice. It's bad.
There actually ARE a few good tunes here, and if you ask me, there are more of them here than on Odelay. You've heard "Loser", of course, and no matter how overplayed the tune is, is a good tune, with amusing lyrics and a catchy beat. The simple folk of "Pay No Mind" and "Whiskeyclone, Hotel City 1997" are amusing and even somewhat pretty. "Truckdrivin' Neighbors Downstairs" isn't much of a song, but it's funny enough to entertain anyway. A couple of the rap grooves here, "Beercan" and "Soul Suckin' Jerk", work pretty well too. "Beercan" has a funny, upbeat chorus too, and the fantastic groove that runs throughout makes it my favorite tune on the album. This really isn't too bad an album, despite its more horrible tunes, and there are a few highlights, but the highlights aren't all THAT good, and there is a lot of bad material on here, so proceed with caution.
Beck's debut album is the first glance of a somewhat daring and ambitious musician, although the highlights of Mellow Gold are the mostly acoustic songs. The hilarious anger of "Truck Drivin Neighbors Downstairs", an almost ballad-like "Pay No Mind" (which of course features lyrics much too odd to be called a typical one), and "Fuckin With My Head", featuring a slight Latin flavor in the guitar with an electronic beat and sarcastic lyrics. The above-mentioned opening track "Loser" is also successful, catchy, and creative, and a song that defined the time. The jumbled experimentation here, though, doesn't work as well as it would on the following album. Tracks like "Sweet Sunshine", "Mutherfuker", and "Steal My Body Home" sound more like noise collages than actual songs, and even experimental tracks that are more memorable, like "Beercan" and "Soul Suckin' Jerk", take some time to appreciate. Despite its' lack of cohesiveness, though, it is a more accessible spin than Odelay.
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COMMENTS
Hmm. This don't make no sense. Mellow Gold gets a higher average rating than Odelay? What the fuck, guys. What the fuck.
Seriously, now: Although the two albums have roughly equal amounts of melody, at least Odelay has fast funky beats, good production, and about ten kajillion samples. This album is just a frickin' warm-up. And dammit, "Steal My Body Home" and "Black Hole" are both great songs. You're right, though: "Beer Can" is the best song on the album. Very booty-licious.
(Casey Brennan's review)
HIGH POINTS: Where It's At, The New Pollution, Devils Haircut. LOW POINTS: Minus, Novacane, High 5 (Rock the Catskills), Derelict.
Let me start off by saying that I find this to be the most gruesomely overrated album of all Rock album released in the 1990's. Almost any critic that you talk to will tell you that this is the best album from 1996, or just an all-around classic from the decade it was made in. As for me, I beg to differ greatly. Two years before-hand, when Beck released his big hit "Loser", he was under the profile as being a true 'slacker' of the grunge era. The album that that hit came from, Mellow Gold, was an acoustic-folk alternative rock set with a hip-hop influence, and the haircut he sported at the time isn't too far away from the way Nirvana's Kurt Cobain had his hair. On here, however, we find Beck taking great strides to reposition himself as a diverse artist who mixes all sorts of eclectic music styles together in order to come up with something unique and intriguing.
And that's what he exactly did on the lead-off single "Where It's At", a crafty and creative tour-de-force that starts off with a down-to-earth and groovy organ before the drum-beat enters and Beck raps along nicely. The chorus is entertaining as hell with that memorable hook-line 'Where It's at... two turn-tables and a microphone', but more than anything else, there are a ton of great ideas and gimmicks through-out the tune. This would include the robotic voice that pops up after the first chorus and sings the main line over again, the hip-hop interludes, the diverse instrumentation (a bubbly analog keyboard pops up during one part or two, along with the appearance of a saxophone that somehow works for the tune), and neat vocal effects. You can't forget about the great video for the tune either, which is based on people doing some country line dancing.
Unfortunately, the rest of the album doesn't live up to this one classic here. There are a few scattered highlights that redeem the experience a bit, but the overall effect of the album is one that leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, almost like there was no point in listening to it. The main problem isn't that Beck is bad at mixing seemingly incompatible styles together(as if you are talented enough you can do it well), but it's that he does it in an almost completely and utterly unconvincing way (heh, maybe that's an oxy-moron there). Granted, he is able to come up with a few intriguing tunes in the opener "Devil's Haircut", which contains a highly memorable clipped grunge riff through-out the entire song while various samples flow in and out pretty nicely, and "The New Pollution", a tune that starts off with a short and weird 60's sample before the excellent drum-beat comes in and takes over. Combine that hypnotizing drum-beat with an infectious vocal melody and a retro-styled edge due to the instrumentation (the strings and sax) and you got a pretty fine song indeed.
Aside from the hit singles though, most of these songs show a real lack of imagination and conviction, ultimately leading them to sound like a bunch of samples and styles were haphazardly put together in each song for no real purpose. It's real hard to listen and get used to material like "Lord Only Knows" when you get sorta stupid stuff going through the tune like that pointless opening scream, that fast guitar solo that pops up in the middle out of nowhere, and that ending line 'Going to Houston to do the hot dog dance'. That might seem a bit nit-picky, and maybe it is, but they really interrupt the flow of a half-way decent tune in a bad way. It's not nearly as bad as tunes like "Novacane" or "Minus" though, which are quite awful. The former is based on a heavy trip-hop funky riff that gets interrupted time to time from some very un-convincing and annoying turn-table samples; the worst part though comes at the end when it turns into a noise-fest of screeching synthesizers and guitars. The latter has the same flaws (the only redeeming quality is the actual riff), but this time with some really painful screaming background vocals and such.
Then we have mediocre tunes such as "Derelict" which un-cleverly uses the same exact vocal melody as "The New Pollution", a track that comes right before this tune (we don't quite have a genius on our hands here, now do we), the terrible hip-hop excursions of "High 5 (Rock the Catskills)", and unassuming numbers like the country-tinged "SissyNeck", the drums n' bass heavy "Readymade", and the closer "Ramshackle". Of the non-hits, only the acoustic/funk/hip-hop amalgam "Hotwax" (the samples and vocal effects are convincingly done on here - and the tune is good as well) and the dreamy-folk atmosphere of "Jack-Ass" (wait this one was a minor hit) works pretty well. Otherwise, we have a fairly intelligent guy here who tries too hard to be a genius and venture out and do something that he doesn't have the talent or skill to pull off adequately. It's one thing to pull off a bunch of styles successfully like the Beatles did on the White Album, let alone have a guy with half the musical wit they had mix twice as much styles in one song convincingly
This album is, without question (in my opinion, that is), THE most overrated album of the nineties, and a contender for the most overrated album ever. You see, Beck takes every possible style of music that exists and mixes it in a blender, throwing it at you in big chunks. Sometimes it does work, but it usually doesn't, because he doesn't integrate the sound very well. The leadoff single, "Where It's At", works VERY well, with a cool, groovy middle section, a great vocal performance, and lots of cool sounds and beats to keep you entertained. It's the only song on the album that comes close to very high quality, though. As for the decent songs, "Sissyneck" has a catchy chorus, "Hotwax" is kinda funky, though it gets old, and "Devil's Haircut" has a decent guitar riff, though it's probably stolen or sampled or something.
The rest of the album ranges from mediocre to unlistenable. Among the more unlistenable songs are the extremely stupid "High 5", the endless, droning chant of the closing "Ramshackle", the misguided attempt at indie rock on "Minus", the dumb country of "Lord Only Knows", and the weak, weak, weak groove of "Novacane". As for the more mediocre tunes, "The New Pollution" mixes all of the different styles into a unique, yet strangely retro sound. I don't love it, but I kinda like it. "Readymade" is kinda neat, too, with its minimalist backing and sound effects. A couple of the other songs are OK, too, but I really don't care. The couple of good tunes and the one great tune pull it up a bit, but this album never really presents me with any interesting ideas. If you're not a big fan of A)Retro styled music, B)Slacker rap, and C)Indie styled record production, I wouldn't really bother with it.
The creative mix of musical styles only hinted at on Beck's debut comes into full force on Odelay. Moving through musical genres that shouldn't work together but somehow do, this record is one of the most artful (although not always successfully artful) to come out in recent years. His lyrics have also developed a bit more to become one of his major trademarks. Be warned, though - this album really takes a lot of listens to sink in somewhat as anything good. The major highlights are the hit singles this time around - "Where It's At" is built on an awesome sample collage in the middle (maybe the result of "two turntables and a microphone", as stated in the song's chorus?), the very retro, 60s flavored danceable and infectious "The New Pollution", and the acoustic, salsa-flavoring of "Jackass". Other highlights include the well-constructed "Lord Only Knows" and the country-electronic hybrid of "Sissyneck".
However, there's too much clumsy, stupid fluff like the horrible rap of "High 5 (Rock The Catskills)", the indie rock that wants to be creative in "Novocaine", the bass-heavy and sadly aimless "Minus", the crappy acoustic "Ramshackle", the not too special sound collages "Readymade", and the lifeless "Derelict". Even the opening single "Devil's Haircut" is a good but not that great riff-rocking opener. This album, more so than ever to me, seems like it has a little too many failed stretches to deserve its' status as a great album in the 90s - somewhat overrated if you ask me. In my opinion, Mellow Gold is far better and more focused, and even that one doesn't live up to it's reputation.
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COMMENTS
[email protected] (Rich Bunnell)
I reeeeally don't know. I bought this album based on the phenomenal strength of the singles ("Where It's At," "Devil's Haircut," and "The New Pollution") and pretty much nothing else on the album stands up to it. "Jack-ass" is pretty, and an actual song, but it's not very substantial. The rest of the album ranges from grating to unlistenable. I try to like "High 5," "Novacane," "Derelict," "Lord Only Knows" and "Hotwax," but they just end up sounding like Beck threw a bunch of musical styles in a blender and just took out whatever mush remained. Beck has since shown himself to be a talented performer, however-- his Mutations album, from what I've heard, is a lot more tuneful and restrained, and the official follow-up album Midnite Vultures is funky and catchy as hell the entire way through. I don't care very much for this one at all, however. Somewhere between a 4 and a 5 for me.
[email protected] (Andrew McQuillan)
A 4? That's fucked up. More like a 14, man. What an excellent album.
This album is sure revered by a lot of music fans who seem to know their stuff, but, like the general consensus here, I just don't "get" it. I tried to like it too, but only ended up enjoying the memorable singles "Devil's Haircut" and "Where It's At," and the country-fried throwaway "God Only Knows" A LITTLE. I respect the album's following, but it just sounds like a bunch of cluttered noise to me. A 6, mostly for effort.
I heard this album for the first time at the age of seventeen when I had no fucking idea what popular music really was. Sure, I had a few Presidents of the United States of America and Boston CDs, and even a few Beatles, but everything else was an abstraction. I bought this CD for $4.95 at a used bin because my sister liked Beck and because it had a picture of a bounding haystack on the cover. I had no preparation whatsoever for what I was about to hear, and I didn't even LIKE indie-freaks at my school.
YET I was blown away by the very first listen. How the hell did the Dust Brothers ever do it? This album was never an "acquired taste" for me--these songs all kick ass. Not because Beck knows his pop culture shit--though he obviously does--but because they're all so forking relentless. It's a GROOVE album more than anything. And all the random noise and samples and nonsensical lyrics and slacker-hick-gangsta-el-stupido-bum atmosphere are but tiny parts of that groove. In fact, they accentuate it. "Devil's Haircut" kicks things off catchily and surfa-gangsta-ly, "Hotwax" and "Lord Only Knows" ride that momentum on country-meets-head-nodding waves, "New Pollution" is another highlight with a neo-retro melody, and "Derelict" is a weird Eastern dirge in between "NP" and a monster slam-rapper that kicks my ass all over the place, "Novacane". Great song, that. Then it segues right into the best song, "Jack-Ass", a reflective tune with spacey production that reminds you of a slackie slack drifter with a unique eye on the world--which segues in turn right into the next track with a truly chilling and hilarious "jackass" sound effect. "Where it's at" is a hip-hoppy fender-rhodes-driven classic followed by a hilarious and catchy punk-grunge parody called "Minus" that has some jarring vocals. More country follows with "Sissyneck." Then there's a reflective electronic number called "Readymade" with a great melody, "High 5", a rap number with a sample from a symphony orchestra and a previous track, "Novacane", and the quiet, beautious folk closer, "Ramshackle." Plus the silly noisemaking in the final hidden track. On their own, none of these tracks are completely awesome, but put them together on the same CD in that order and you have a masterpiece. And I never even listened to any hip-hop or indie rock of any kind before I bought it. What a weird world.
WHOA HOA! The song Jack-Ass alone, despite its nonsensical lyrics, blows away 90% of other 1990s albums.
My friends hate this album (and Beck for reference), but that's okay, they hate Radiohead and the god-like Packt like Sardines in a Crush Tin Box. I really like Beck, he is one of my top 4 fav musician/bands (Beatles/Radiohead/Charly García(he is argentinian)/Beck), and even if he's the lesser of the four, I really like his music.
Odelay is a fine album. I think I prefer Mutations, but I don't really see why you trash so much this album. I know it has a lot of noise, and weird genre mixing, but I'm listening to Odelay without those three mighty (Where's At, New Pollution, Devil's Haircut), and is pleasant. Lord Only Knows maybe is a bit overlong, but What's wrong with Derelict? Mmm, yes, it sounds too much like The New Pollution, but only in the vocals! "Lifeless"? I don't see it.
The lyrics are dumb, I'll admit it. But I've never cared about the lyrics that much. The Beatles lyrics, though good, a lot of them say nothing to me (Sun King, for example). Pixies lyrics? complete nonsense. Ramones lyrics? Mostly direct and unelaborate (although I like THAT). Besides, I speak in spanish, what do I care?
It's ok if you don't like things like the last minute of Novacane. I do. I own all Beatles album. I own all Radiohead (except for HTTT). I own all Beck (except for Sea Change), and I like all genres (with a few exceptions of subgenres).
Anyway I find pretty weird that lot's of critics like Beck and you don't. Why no one has said a word is beyond me. Kid A was lucky enough to get someone who gave it the 10 it deserves. Odelay isn't that lucky.
BTW: I've just read a rewiev that TOTALLY trashes Odelay, except for this songs: Novacane, Derelict, and Minus. LOL.
(reviewed by Casey Brennan)
HIGH POINTS: Lazy Flies, Cold Brains. LOW POINTS: Static.
If you were expecting Beck to follow-up Odelay with an equally ambitious outing you were dead wrong. You can look at Odelay as being Beck's Sgt. Pepper's of the 90's or whatever (though with only half the musical wit and cohesiveness), so in a sense it can be considered the pinnacle of his career. But whenever an artist does something experimental or risky, such as making an album that mixes a bunch of genres together like good ol' Odelay does, they normally follow it up with something a bit more restrained, and Beck is no exception. Nope, Mutations is nothing like the previous album. It doesn't mix a bunch of styles together in one song, nor does it have a great switch in sound dynamics; Instead, it's a calm, mellow, and laid-back pop album with songs that all flow nicely at around the same tempo. The record actually sounds pretty retro too, like Beck was trying to make a charming record that sounds like it was recorded in early to mid 1967.
You can tell Beck was influenced by the sounds of the 60's on Odelay by the samples and instrumentation he used on songs like "The New Pollution", but on here he tries to make it sound like the songs really were recorded thirty-some years ago as much as he can. If it weren't for the production being a little full and the fact that there are synthesizers on many of the songs, you might not know that the record was made just a few years ago. In any case, Beck has calmed down and made a record that is a bit better than the previous release because he concentrates on making the songs a bit more tuneful. his is definitely apparent on a few of the tracks, including the opener "Cold Brains", a majestically atmospheric track with a nice main acoustic guitar melody, a harmonica solo that strangely works, and neat synthesizer effects. Really nice. The best track though would have to go to "Lazy Flies" because it has an immediately appealing melody that shifts along really wonderfully. Like everything else, it is built on a main acoustic melody with many added embellishments, like that great little poppy keyboard in the background going along to it, and the neat-o sound-effects. It really sounds like a great lost song from the late-60's psychedelic pop era. Gotta love it.
Overall, this really is a much more pleasurable and easier-to-get-into album, but remember me saying that it's only a bit better than the last one? Well, while it is more tuneful than Odelay could ever hope to be, that isn't really saying a whole whole bunch. At least half of the tunes (or more) sound like the melodies could have actually been worked out better to make them more memorable. "Dead Melodies" explains it all; containing a diluted melody that tries to reach out for elegant prettiness but falls short, it really is one dead melody. It has a really nice harpsichord-sounding acoustic guitar playing along and some lovely keyboards (in mellotron mode), but it's ultimately just a forgettable little ditty. Along the same lines is "We Live Again", an elegant harpsichord ballad with a melody that isn't developed enough, the cute "Cancelled Check", a slight countryish tune with tinkling piano, and the completely forgettable closer "Static" (which has at best, no melody at all).
Meanwhile, "Bottle of Blues" (fun snappy ditty), "O' Maria" (a lonesome minor-key piano ballad with trumpet solo), "Sing It Again" (a pleasant country waltz) are a little better, but well, very ordinary and ultimately forgettable. At least the two side-one fill-in's are a bit more substantial. Not so much with "Nobody's Fault But My Own", a moody sitar/string-drenched ballad, but the bossa-nova ditty "Tropicalia" is really just a lot of fun throughout. I especially love the long fade-out to the tune where the rhythm gets a bit more pumped up and the little weird synthesizer pops in at each interval. Mutations can't be called more than just a nice set of tunes however, as that is only one of a few tunes that make any real lasting impact. Most of the rest is pretty diluted and kinda forgettable.
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COMMENTS
Only a 6? This album is a completely unexpected masterpiece! And the best thing is that you don't have to be a Beck fan to adore it. But, conversely, this album can make you go from disliking Beck to appreciating him a lot in like 45 or 50 minutes. Every song is catchy except for "Static"--a very eclectic and thoughtful set of soft alterno songs with a serious (and successful) dosage of folk imbued into them. Remarkable stuff. Mutations gets a big fat 9 from me!!
(reviewed by Casey Brennan)
HIGH POINTS: Get Real Paid, Sexx Laws, Nicotine and Gravy. LOW POINTS: Beautiful Way, Debra.
Now, this is what's considered the real follow-up to Beck's smashin' (well, sucky, rather) release Odelay. Being that Mutations is a very nice diversion that comes after these two more ambitious sets however, I'm not so sure that I could ever really agree with the critics that say that. In fact, I couldn't really imagine Midnite Vultures coming right after the most overrated album of the 90's since it is just that much different. But i guess that's what we would expect from Beck right? Well, at this point of his career I would have to say yes. The cover of this album is bizarre in itself, as it features a masked alien-man holding a neon light thing-am-i-jigger up to a girls torso (the man and girl are both wearing pink neon pants too! strange stuff!). I guess it makes some sort of sexual statement, but oh what a weird sexual statement. Anyhow, it does give an indication of how sexual-fueled the atmosphere of this album is.... and also how weird it is.
The lively and giddy kick-off song "Sexx Laws" (which was a hit by the way) is definitely a good way to introduce us to what we are to expect over the course of this interesting album. Exactly what we have here is a entertaining song that is 'poppy' at heart, but which is embellished by a recurring, and must I say, energetic, motown-ish horn riff through-out, tons of silly and nonsensical rhyming lyrics, and a few African-American back-up singers. There are tons of sound affects and even a bit of a country flavour added by the banjo and pedal steel during parts of the second half of the tune. While maybe not such an appealing description, it all somehow works and comes out as a great song. The seemingly in-compatible styles are mixed in such a much more convincing way than almost anything on Odelay too; this improvement shows that Beck really did have more potential in him than once thought.
The fact that Beck mixes styles is the only real comparison you can make with Odelay though (oh and that he uses harmonica sometimes and works with the Dust Brothers on two of the tracks - no big deal) as we move on further with the album. Starting with "Nicotine and Gravy", the track following "Sexx Laws", Beck slips into an old school funk mode that lasts for the next five tracks. This is where the heart of the album really lies. A great derivative funk groove straight from the 70's is what actually opens up and continues through-out "Nicotine and Gravy", a solid mid-tempo number with a startlingly bleak ghetto atmosphere. I like the atmosphere a lot, but what actually makes this another highlight is that the verses ("I'll be your chauffeur on a midnight drive.."), the chorus (with those great lines "I think we're going crazy, her left eye is lazy, etc.), and the ending part sung by the black women singers (I don't want to die tonight..) are all sung at the same time over top one another to great effect towards the end. Nice how they tie in together. The minute jam that fades out the tune is awesome as hell too because even without a solid hook, the crazy sound effects and the drum-fills make it a captivating experience.
After that we get an up-tempo funky song in "Mixed Bizness", which although not as good, has really memorable lyrics (you'll always associate this song with the opening line "I'm mixing business with leather"), exciting horns and back-up singers, and of course, tons of embellishments to glitter the tune. The next major highlight is a completely weird electronica-funk tune called "Get Real Paid" that as Rich Bunnell pointed out will make any listener say 'What the fuck is that?' when they listen to it for the very first time. Despite making you think that, subsequent listens make you realize that this is a strangely knockout tune with completely hilarious lyrics (especially the chorus) and creatively programmed drums and synthesizer bleeps, punches, and noises. And to top that all off it, just like "Nicotine and Gravy", the three different verses are sung together at the end on top of one another in a real neat way. Really interesting I must say.
Following that is the snazzy hip-hop funk of "Hollywood Freaks", a really busy tune that is probably a bit full-sounding and mixed up, but still fine, and then the quirky "Peaches and Cream", which continues in a sexual vein in the vocals and lyrics department, and which contains an excellent buzzy-trebly guitar line in the chorus that I dig a lot. Wow, not great but a really good song there. It's at this point where Beck moves a bit away from the hard-core funk thing and gets in a more normal mode; not exactly a bad thing, but things do get less fun. Even so, there are a few really good songs on this side with "Broken Train", a melodically-sung (Beck can come up with a good vocal melody if he tries) number with a well-suited harmonica fill-in that comes in after each line of the poppy chorus, "Milk and Honey", a sort of generic-sounding funky-pop tune that is magically made into a better song with the addition of the catapulting synthesizers in the chorus, and "Pressure Zone", a snappy number that rocks harder than anything else on here.
This leaves us with the disappointing ballad "Beautiful Way", which has an engaging atmosphere but is just plain n' dull, and the soulful closer "Debra" that comes across as a bit too generic for me to really like. Beck doesn't put his own distinctive style into this latter tune at all. But before this gets too long, let me wrap up and say that Beck really is on a good track with this album. Even with only three 'real' highlights I'm willing to grant this album a very low 8, because the other songs are usually at least really good, and the sound wholly works in Beck's favor. Maybe Beck's masterpiece is coming soon - be on the lookout.
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