Odelay

Beck’s first and most influential work. Not a bad song in the bunch. Listen from start to finish like you would Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin or The Who. He is a consummate musician, writes, plays and sings all of his original music like Prince. A genious. EXCELLENT!!!!

In 1996, Beck Hansen released one of his biggest, and well known albums of his career Odelay. With such a short discography at the time of this release, it is very suprising how he released such a high quality album at that point. What is great about this album, as well as many other albums released by Beck is how it how it vibes so well, even with all of the different mood changes. Also a major plus is that this album journeys into different genres like with blues, funk, alt-rock, and hip hop. But no matter what Beck stays true to his style of music throughout his career, and it shows here on this album.I won't go into how great of this album is, as anyone can see from all the great reviews for this album here. Major standouts on this album starts from the beginning with "Devil's Haircut" to the well known "Where Its At?" where Beck has his saying "I got two turntables and a microphone...". Another great song on the album is "Novacane" as well as "Jack @ss". The latter song has a cool mellow kind of vibe that Beck's voice matches.Overall Odelay is a fantastic album that is great to enjoy. If you are new to Beck, I recommend you start with this one because this album is one of his best (as opposed to his depressing feelings style on his later albums), especially those who like artists who are as versitle as Beck was on this album. The album is very lively and theres hardly any dull moment here, and it is sure to keep your interest all throughout here. Peace.Lyrics: A-Production: AGuest Appearances: N/AMusical Vibes: A+Top 5 Tracks:1. Where It's At?2. Jack-@ss3. Devils Haircut4. Sissyneck5. NovacaneHonorable Mention:1. Ramshackle2. Minus

Beck’s Odelay is an album that took a few listens to finally grow on me, but I wouldn’t say I’m in love with it. A couple of songs, Devils Haircut and Where It’s At, stand out as excellent, catchy tunes. Also enjoyable are Lord Only Knows, The New Pollution, Derelict, Minus, and Sissyneck, though perhaps not as memorable as the two bigger hits. Beck uses a lot of noise in his songs. Songs like Hotwax and Lord Only Knows play repetitive, nice tunes, and then there are momentary stretches of random noise and instruments, such as the harmonica that briefly plays in Hotwax. Novacane is full of noise, jumping from one random segment of noise to another.Beck’s lyrics are just as full of random, noisy, but cool imagery. Beck also plays a large mix of styles, from the rock of Devils Haircut, to the country twangs present in Lord Only Knows and Sissyneck, to the hip-hop and rap of Where It’s At and many other songs, to the slower songs of Jack-Ass and Ramshackle. The way his songs play out remind me of abstract art, full of unclear meaning. The lucid moments are interrupted by abstraction, though I prefer the more lucid parts, which is why the odd Novacane and High 5 (Rock the Catskills) don’t work for me. I know Beck is well-loved, and I do like this album overall, but I don’t love it. The style isn’t for me. Then again, maybe with more listens it will grow on me.

If you like unique guitar riffs feedback and smooth lyrical flow between rock and rap then you’ll probably like Beck.

BUT WITH THIS CLASSIC (YES-AN OVERUSED TERM), MY EARS TOLD ME OTHERWISE. I RESPECT MORE THAN LIKE BECK, BECAUSE JUST LIKE DAVID BYRNE (OF TALKING HEADS) HE IS ALWAYS SEEKING FOR A NEW SOUND & VISION. I RECOMMEND THIS ALBUM W/O RESERVATION & IT HOLDS UP VERY WELL. HOWEVER, LIKE I SAID----I HAVE TO GET RE-UPDATED ON MY BECK. EVEN IF HE IS NOT YOUR "CUP OF TEA"....HE IS NEVER BORING.

Some day when my kids ask "So dad, what was music like in the 90s?" I'm just gonna throw in Beck and be like "Here, listen to this." Think about it though. Over Odelay's 13 tracks, Beck Hansen demonstrates the essence of both rock and pop that was the 90s.With an impressive array of instrumentation and pure, nonsensical lyrical fun Beck really pushes the envelope and explores relatively unchartered ground. I also appreciate his diversity of rock, pop, a little techno and definitely some country tones on some tracks. Admittedly, his experimentation isn't always the greatest but surprisingly it usually is. It is rare for musicians to be as daring and experimental as Beck yet still succeed as a mainstream artist. This is why I feel he can truly be called one of the greatest artists of the 90s.Beck's versatility + groundbreaking sounds + lyrical craftsmanship + 5 years and still good = 5 stars.

Every Beck album is different. I've never known anyone that loves even a majority of them. And that's part of Beck's genius: He's like Dali - so many types and styles of expression in that brain and soul - he seems compelled to express them all while not caring about mass appeal. I don't know if any Beck album is better than another; there's very little continuity between them; they're all separate entities from the soul of the universe, and he's simply the facilitator. I honestly don't think he wants Beck "fans", he just wants to eventually produce something that makes a unique connection with you personally. That's great: I love his courage of expression, so he'll always get my money. This is actually the second time I've purchased "Odelay" despite my three star rating. I'll be giving "Guero" five as one of the top 50 greatest albums I've ever heard. And I'm old, so that means something. Still, it may not connect with you one bit. Be well on your Beck trek - give it the rightful attention - it's a blast.