Beck - Odelay

1996

Track Listing                                                  

1. Devil's haircut                            8. Where it's at

2. Hotwax                                      9. Minus

3. Lord only knows                       10. Sissyneck       

4. The new pollution                     11. Readymade                 

5. Derelict                                     12. High 5 (Rock the Catskills)

6. Novacane                                 13. Ramshackle

7. Jack-ass

Band Members:   

Beck - All other instruments        Mike Boito - Organ, trumpet       Joey Waronker - Drums, percussion

Charlie Haden - Bass      Gary Leisz - Pedal steel        David Brown - Saxophone                   

Produced By :  Beck, The Dust brothers, Mario Caldato Jr., Brian Paulson, Tom Rothrock, Rob Schnapf

Samples :  Devil's haircut - Out of sight by Them

Devil's haircut - Soul drums by Pretty Purdie

Hotwax- Song for Aretha by Pretty Purdie

Hotwax - Up on the hill by Monk Higgins & The Specialties

Lord only knows - Look out for Lucy by Mike Millius

The new pollution - Venus by Joe Thomas

Jack-ass - It's all over now baby blue by Them

Where it's at - Needle to the grove by Mantronix

Sissyneck - The moog and me by Dick Hyman

Sissyneck - A part of me by Chappell & Co.

Readymade - Desafinado by Laurindo

High 5 - Mr. Cool by Rasputin's Stash

Notes

After the release of his debut album Beck released another rare independent album, then two years later released his most popular album to date, Odelay.  Odelay contained 5 singles, with three of them being major hits.  These three tracks "Devil's haircut", "The new pollution", and "Where it's at" could possibly be his most popular songs ever recorded.  These three tracks do make the album a nice listen, but there are also many other fine tracks as well.  The album cover has been mistaken to be a mop head flying over the hurdle, but it is actually a komondor, a rare breed of dog. Odelay is Beck's most successful album and has been praised all other the music world.  It peaked at number 16 on the Billboard charts and Rolling Stone named it the 305th greatest album of all time.

Recommendations

Beck has an usual style and is not for everyone.  With that said I still believe that this is a must own for any music fan.  He pleases to almost all types of genres here, and with an open mind you couldn't possibly tell me that there isn't a song here that you don't like. 

If you plan on purchasing Odelay

Usually with great and popular albums comes many different copies to purchase, especially when it's been released more than ten years.  In 2008 a ten year anniversary set was released.  This copy costs a little more than the original, but it does contain two discs and many more bonus tracks.  I would recommend this if you have the cash, but if you rather get two Beck CD's as oppose to buying this (very good) deluxe set, then just stick with the original 1996 disc like I did.  There are also several other imports and vinyl released that are overly priced.  You will find the original and the deluxe versions available at your local record store without a problem.  If you're just too lazy, or want one of the imports, you can purchase them at Cdnow.com.

If you don't plan on purchasing Odelay but want to hear some tracks from it

Some of his most popular tracks can be found here.  You will defiantly want the three tracks I mentioned earlier, as well as deeper tracks such as "Hotwax."  All of these tracks can be purchased at Itunes or Napster.  If interested for more Beck ideas, check out my ideal compilation at my Beck Home Page.  

My Top 5