It's really taken me a long time to get around to this, but I finally am able to finish reviewing my top 5 cd's of all time, and I saved the best cd for last. After this, i suppose I can start reviewing some more cuurent stuff, and some more disputed stuff that might help people, but I figured I'd do this first so people who read my reviews get an idea of what my tastes are so that they might have an idea of where I'm coming from. That being said, i should be able to rattle off this review very easily, seeing as how one always knows what they like, and I like this a lot.
Beck Hanson was born in LA but as a youth traveled to many places, none of them that nice, to live with different members of his family. His dad was a bluegrass musician in LA, but growing up for the most part in the slums there (besides his stints in Kentucky and Europe) led him into breakdancing and hip-hop. The first result of this crazy mix onto a major label, "Mellow Gold," was pretty good and very unique, although all the musical layman may remember it for is the lay bum anthem "Loser." Following some non-major releases, Beck finally released his follow-up in 1996 with the help of the Dust Bros., "Odelay," which we now know to be a friggin' masterpiece. Beck continued on with some eclectic stuff along with the almost equally brilliant "Midnite Vultures" later but that is for another review. The tracks:
1. Devil's Haircut (5)
2. Hotwax (5)
3. Lord Only Knows (5)
4. The New Pollution (5)
5. Derelict (5)
6. Novacane (5)
7. Jack-A** (5)
8. Where It's At (5)
9. Minus (5)
10. Sissyneck (5)
11. Readymade (5)
12. High 5 (5)
13. Ramshackle (5)
Devil's Haircut is a great way to start an album. Who needs intros? He just comes out with a hard driving guitar riff, and proceeds to go to town with some lyrics that really make no sense, but seem to stick in your head. This is Beck doing mainstream rock, and he does it better than most, the part at the end where's he screaming "devil's haircut in my mind" over and over again lat's ya know, "this ain't no mellow gold."
If you heard the guitar riff to Hotwax bare, you'd think it'd be a kinda swingin country song, but really this song has a hip-hop type feel to it. Once again, I'm feeling the nonsensical flow by Beck, especially the chorus which translated from Spanish (a flaskback to Loser perhaps) says, "I'm a broken record, I have bubblegum in my brain." I like the little accordion jag and of course, the woman's conversation with the enchanting wizard of rhthym, but there are many other little intricacies of this song make it a great listen a million times over.
Beck does folk in his own way with Lord Only Knows. Here the lyrics do make sense, and they're good too. At the end the old man breaks in with "odelay" chant, and then suddenly the song changes moods from somber to happy and as the track fades Beck tells us he's "going back to Houston, to do the hot dog dance, goin back to Houston, to get me some pants."
The New Pollution starts out with a little techno ditty, and then comes in with a little guitar riff I can describe best as "cool." This song is about a girl, but not one like I've ever met. The style is actualy pretty simple as far as this cd goes, but it's a great one, very definitively beck.
Saying Derelict was the worst song on this cd was like saying that Cornell is the worst Ivy, they're all good. This song can be a downer sometimes so it doesn't always fit with the rest of the cd, but I like it. The lyrics are dark and kinda funky, and I really like the drums in this song.
I love Novacane, escpecially the guitar riff at the end where he's just yelling. The back beat when's he rapping is realy catchy too, and all the instruments are brought out for the bridges, each one unique.
If Jack-a** was on Mutations, where some say it would fit better, it would be the best song on the album. I personally think it belongs right where it is. The backbeat is real soft and Beck's voice is dreamy and bored, but it all works nice. A good break between two party tracks.
Where It's At is probably the best alternative song of all time. I could never get enough of this song. The first time I heard it on the radio I definetely would not have guessed it was Beck, but I had not heard odelay yet. The sound of the album static at the start of the song is a great touch, as is his "good drum break" toward the start, and the little saxophone ditty toward the end. All the rest is pure magic as well, captures a mood perfectly and stays with it.
Minus is a great song because the backbeat to Beck's verses and the chorus don't sound like they go together, but they flow seamlessly into one another and really create a good vibe about the song. The way it slows up at the end is just another enhancement to the track.
I'm definetely feeling the whistle that starts off Sissyneck, and everything after it. There's kind of a country feel to it, but its still a real kinda party song. very unique, very beck.
High 5 gets a bad rap but I think it's a greatly innovative and cool-sounding song. Beck gets in touch with his inner-city self by rapping through a mega phone once again, and "his boys?" guide him through it with shout outs to designers and their praise of his back beat.
Ramshackle closes out the cd nice and slow, so I can fall asleep to it after jamming out, like any good cd. Only problem is that the noise at the end, meant to simulate what happens if the needle slips off the end of a record on an old school turntable, is really annoying and would wake you up. It's still a real pretty song though, although sometimes forgettable when compared to the brilliance on other tracks.
This cd is more than just great, its a benchmark. Call me snobbish, but if I want to see if I person has good musical taste, I'll let them simmer on "odelay" for a few days and if they don't like it, then I probably don't respect their taste in music. I suppose now I can get back to reviewing other stuff, but its good that we remember just how good alternative stuff was before we start giving Dashboard Confessional albums (and I don't have a problem with them at all, they're ok) 5 stars.
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