I remember reading this issue of \”Rolling Stone\” sometime in \’96, and they asked a bunch of artists — everyone from rappers to rockers to weirdos — about their favorite albums from that year.
On just about everyone\’s list was Beck\’s \”Odelay.\” You have to understand, in 1996, grunge was still dying its slow death, but Bush had just released \”Razorblade Suitcase,\” Alanis Morissette released \”Jagged Little Pill,\” and No Doubt burst on the scene with \”Tragic Kingdom.\” Rock was still alive and well on the radio in \’96.
I don\’t know if you ever listened to Beck\’s major label debut album \”Mellow Gold\” all the way through, but honestly, some of those songs were unlistenable. That was a CD that countless music junkies bought on the strength of his hit song, \”Loser,\” only to find that he was a good and proper folk-rap weirdo.
With this second major-label album, however, and with the production help of the Dust Brothers (who produced Beastie Boys\’ \”Paul\’s Boutique\”), Beck perfected this mashup of blues, folk and hippie psychedelia and made it palatable — and INSANELY listenable — for beat junkies like me.
Admittedly, the album sounds like a bit of a mess.
\”Devil\’s Haircut,\” kicks off the album with a wall of guitars, and then a weird, pulsing groove with these spacey flourishes. \”Hotwax\” starts with an off-kilter dobro lick and breakbeat, and then settles into a moseying blues-tinged rap with distorted guitar riffs and harmonica scattered in between. \”Lord Only Knows\” is basically an up-tempo blues song with woozy slide guitar throughout, peppered with some crunchy rock guitar vamps. Then, in a disorienting turn, \”The New Pollution\” is this \’60s-flavored pop song with subdued guitars and a saxophone solo.
I mean, it\’s all over the place! But it\’s also an addictive, exciting listen.
\”Derelict\” is probably the album\’s weirdest track, heavily echoing the jangly, broken grooves on \”Mellow Gold,\” and both \”Novacane\” and \”High 5 (Rock the Catskills)\” are raucous, noisy rap songs that could\’ve been featured on a Beastie Boys record. Like the Beasties, too, Beck\’s lyrics are mostly silly, delivered with a disaffected sneer.
There are surprises around every corner of this album. The back half features the hit song \”Where It\’s At,\” and then veers directly into \”Minus,\” a messy punk-rock song.
If you take a stroll through Beck\’s discography, you\’ll find him chasing dizzying paths through genres and themes. He never seems satisfied with settling into a certain type of music.
Through it all, however, he has an ear for melody, an addiction to groove, and a flair for the obscure — all of which, on \”Odelay,\” anyway, adds up to an undeniable classic.