Odelay

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Odelay
Studio album by Beck
Released June 18, 1996
Recorded 1994–1995
Genre Alternative rock
Length 54:13 (Original Version)

137:17 (Deluxe Version)
Label DGC
Producer Beck Hansen, The Dust Brothers, Mario Caldato, Jr, Brian Paulson, Tom Rothrock, Rob Schnapf
Professional reviews
Beck chronology
One Foot in the Grave
(1994)		 Odelay
(1996)		 Mutations
(1998)
Singles from Odelay
  1. "Where It's At"
    Released: 1996
  2. "Devils Haircut"
    Released: 1996
  3. "The New Pollution"
    Released: 1997
  4. "Sissyneck"
    Released: 1997
  5. "Jack-Ass"
    Released: 1997

Odelay is the second major-label studio album (and fourth album overall) recorded by alternative rock artist Beck, originally released June 18, 1996. After the mainstream success of "Loser", Odelay featured several hit singles, including "Where It's At", "Devils Haircut," and "The New Pollution." The album peaked at #16 on the Billboard 200 chart and eventually sold over 2 million copies in the United States. It was also Beck's first hit album in the United Kingdom, making #17; it has since gone platinum in the UK.

On January 29, 2008, Odelay was reissued as a two-disc package featuring a number of bonus tracks, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the album's original release. As of July 2008, the album has sold 2.3 million copies in the United States.[1]

Contents

[edit] Background

[edit] Musical style

The sessions for what would become Odelay originally began as a subdued, acoustic affair. In 1994, Beck started to record tracks for his follow-up to Mellow Gold with Bong Load producers Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf. Hansen had recently experienced a number of personal tragedies (including the death of his grandfather, Al Hansen), and the tone of the songs as well as their production were considerably somber. Only a handful of tracks from these sessions have been released: "Ramshackle", "Feather in Your Cap", and "Brother". All three of these songs are acoustic, sparse, and melancholy, and have a haunting sound very different from the more upbeat, "party" style of Odelay. Beck would eventually return to this downbeat style with his 1998 album, Mutations.

He would eventually abandon work with Rothrock and Schnapf, opting to work with the Dust Brothers instead. The Dust Brothers' production style was notably more upbeat and R&B/hip-hop-focused; their resumé included work with The Beastie Boys and Tone Lōc.

[edit] Title and artwork

The title is a phonetic English rendering of the Mexican slang interjection "órale." The phrase "odelay" is repeated in the lyrics during the outro of the song "Lord Only Knows".

The album's unusual cover photo, which has been misinterpreted as a mop head jumping over a hurdle, is actually a real photo of a Komondor, a rare Hungarian breed of dog with thick matted hair. The image was chosen at the last minute after Beck failed to decide on an album cover. The image was presented to him by his girlfriend and was chosen almost out of desperation. The typeface was chosen by a record company worker.[citation needed]

[edit] Reception

Odelay won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1997. It was ranked 16 in Spin's "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005". It was voted as the best album of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll, and also in the NME's annual critics poll. In 1998, Q magazine readers voted Odelay the 51st greatest album of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 305 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Voters in Channel 4's 2005 "100 Greatest Albums" poll placed it at number 73. The music website Pitchfork Media ranked it at #19 on their top 100 albums of the 1990s.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Original issue

All songs written by Beck, John King and Michael Simpson, except where noted. All tracks produced by Beck Hansen and The Dust Brothers, except where noted.

  1. "Devils Haircut" – 3:14
  2. "Hotwax" – 3:49
  3. "Lord Only Knows" (Beck Hansen) – 4:14
  4. "The New Pollution" – 3:39
  5. "Derelict" – 4:12
  6. "Novacane" – 4:37
  7. "Jack-Ass" – 4:11
  8. "Where It's At" – 5:30
  9. "Minus" (Beck Hansen) – 2:32
    • Produced by Beck Hansen, Mario Caldato Jr. and Brian Paulson.
  10. "Sissyneck" – 3:52
  11. "Readymade" – 2:37
  12. "High 5 (Rock the Catskills)" – 4:10
  13. "Ramshackle" (Beck Hansen) – 7:29
    • Produced by Tom Rothrock and Tom Schnapf.
    • Includes a hidden track called "Computer Rock"
    • Some non-U.S. versions contain "Diskobox" and/or "Clock" as bonus tracks.

[edit] Miscellaneous

[edit] Deluxe Edition

On January 29, 2008, Odelay - Deluxe Edition was released [2]. The two-disc set contains the original album, plus 19 b-sides, remixes and previously unreleased songs. The liner notes feature complete lyrics and artwork as well as an essay from Thurston Moore and the transcript of 15 high school students interviewed by Dave Eggers.

Strangely enough, an officially released Odelay era rarity, "Diskobox", was not included on the deluxe edition for unknown reasons. It was also rumored prior to the release of the deluxe edition that the Odelay sessions version of "Debra" (later re-recorded for Midnite Vultures) would be included, but it is not featured here.

The Deluxe Edition of Odelay also includes some changes to the original album, including an extended "Sissyneck," an altered "New Pollution" introduction, and a more explicitly double-tracked vocal on "Hotwax."[3]. No official explanation for these changes has been mentioned. Additionally, some of the bonus tracks on the Deluxe Edition appear to be from lossy (e.g. MP3) sources (Specifically "Deadweight" and "Clock"). Other known issues of this release are as follows.

First CD:

  1. - "Hotwax" has a double tracked vocal
  2. - "The New Pollution" has the beeps in the intro at a different pitch
  3. - "Sissyneck" has a slightly extended 'breakdown' part at around 2:00

Bonus CD:

  1. - "Thunder Peel" is reduced to Mono from the regular Stereo version
  2. - "Electric Music And The Summer People" is an alternate mix
  3. - "Erase The Sun" runs at a faster speed
  4. - "Trouble All My Days" is reduced to Mono from the regular (sort of) Stereo version[4]

Also, the record was not remastered for this release, unlike most releases for the Universal Deluxe series.

Cover Art for Odelay - Deluxe Edition

Disc 1

  1. "Devils Haircut" - 3:15
  2. "Hotwax" - 3:49
  3. "Lord Only Knows" - 4:15
  4. "The New Pollution" - 3:39
  5. "Derelict" - 4:13
  6. "Novacane" - 4:37
  7. "Jack-Ass" - 4:12
  8. "Where It's At" - 5:30
  9. "Minus" - 2:32
  10. "Sissyneck" - 3:57
  11. "Readymade" - 2:37
  12. "High 5 (Rock The Catskills)" - 4:11
  13. "Ramshackle" - 4:47
  14. "Hidden Track (Computer Rock)" - 0:43
  15. "Deadweight" - 6:12
  16. "Inferno" (previously unreleased) - 7:03
  17. "Gold Chains" (previously unreleased) - 4:59

Disc 2

  1. "Where It's At" (U.N.K.L.E. remix) - 12:26
  2. "Richard's Hairpiece" (remix by Aphex Twin) - 3:19
  3. "American Wasteland" (remix by Mickey P.) - 2:42
  4. "Clock" - 3:17
  5. "Thunder Peel" - 2:40
  6. "Electric Music And The Summer People" - 4:38
  7. "Lemonade" - 2:21
  8. "SA-5" - 1:53
  9. "Feather In Your Cap" - 3:46
  10. "Erase The Sun" - 2:56
    • Sped up from the originally released length of 3:16.
  11. "000.000" - 5:25
  12. "Brother" - 4:47
  13. "Devil Got My Woman" - 4:34
  14. "Trouble All My Days" - 2:25
  15. "Strange Invitation" - 4:06
  16. "Burro" - 3:13

[edit] Sampled Music

Devil's Haircut
  • "I Can Only Give You Everything" by Them (Re-played by Beck)
  • "Out of Sight" by Them
  • "Soul Drums" by Pretty Purdie.
Hotwax
Lord Only Knows
The New Pollution
Novacane
Jack-Ass
  • "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" by Them
Where It's At
  • "Sex For Teens (Where It's At)"
  • "Needle to the Groove" by Mantronix
Sissyneck
Readymade
High 5 (Rock the Catskills)
  • "Unfinished Symphony #9 in B Minor" by Schubert
  • "Mr. Cool" by Rasputin's Stash
  • Part of the noise section of "Novacane" can be heard.

[edit] Personnel

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Ask Billboard". Billboard. 2008-07-18. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/ask_bb/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003829442. Retrieved on 2008-07-18. 
  2. ^ Beck's Odelay Given Deluxe Reissue Treatment
  3. ^ Beck Forum • View topic - Odelay Remastered ??? (or something)
  4. ^ http://www.becktabs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4107

[edit] External links

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Beck
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Other albums
Singles
See also
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