|
I was looking online for this Cd for a while, amazon had it for the best price. I can prove it, I love the Miami Dolphins. Good Job Amazon keep up the good work. Not a fake review. See I told you. Buyakasha Respect.
The sounds, the revolutionary ideas, the crazy songwriting. After years of absorbing classical and jazz, I have recently begun to gain an education in other styles of music. all come together to make this an amazing album. I had not heard of Beck prior to having it recommended to me. I am so glad I picked up this album. I am not an expert in this music, so I will leave the detailed, long-winded reviews to those that know what they are talking about. I like it.
Long considered pioneering white-boy, fusion-funkster-extraordinaire Beck's masterpiece, Odelay may in fact be the greatest summation of this man's dirty pop, distinctly reeling in his dance, rock, funk and experimental sides in the most cohesive and accessible disc of his career to that date by far. Some selections might have grown a tad tiresome over the decade, lacking the truly scuzzy heart of another masterpiece of his, the previous lo-fi odyssey Mellow Gold, or the production wit of Midnight Vultures.but in the end captures this influential modern artist at his commercial and creative crossroad best.
If you plan on buying this, be aware that there is a deluxe edition coming out January 29, 2008. This will have the original album plus 2 tracks on the first cd. the second cd will have b-sides and remixes. It will probably cost around 25-30 bucks.
Let us not forget that a lot of samples on the song are from an obscure sex-ed record. This is redeemed by the ironically beautiful (or should I say ironic beauty). And just to prove his eclectism, he throws in some odd material like the Eastern drone "Derelict" and the impossible-to-classify, overbearing "Novocain", which has turntables, buzzing guitars, hip-hop drums, R&B horns, bass, electric piano, and vocals all going at more-or-less the same time. Continuing on my "Beck-does-everything." thread, "Minus" is a solid bit of sludgy hard rock, and the humorous "Sissyneck" is entertaining country-funk. To me, that's where the album caves in - it's like he was trying to show us just how much noise he could pack into four-and-a-half minutes.
Yes, that's right, country-funk. It's a super song, though - that spoken part at 2:40, after those weird samples, is funny, all right. And unexpected. Plus who can forget that chorus.
Thankfully, I can't praise the song enough: the samples are amazingly integrated into the song, the organ is beautiful, and every time I hear the song, I pick up on something I previously missed. But it's every bit "goofy novelty" as "Loser". And then turns around and delivers heavy guitars. Like last time out, he often succeeds in bridging the gap between rap and everything else, most notably rap, surf-rock and techno on the amazing yet stupid "Devils Haircut" (with lyrics that mock death-metal), and rap, jazz, and soul on the brilliant, sample-laced hit single "Where It's At", which to many is Beck's shot at artistic credibility. It contains a deadly accurate Dylan harmonica interpretation, provided by Them (it's a sample of Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" - again, seamlessly incorporated). "I got two turntables and a microphone." He also pumps out a couple very solid alt-rockers, like the nerdy "Hotwax" and "New Pollution", which ends in an unforgettable sax loop.
Thanks, man. Confused. Beck's second album is often called his masterpiece, and I'm not arguing much. And "High 5 (Rock the Catskills)" is the closest thing to pure rap I've ever heard Beck do. Well, up until that weird classical loop that he throws in just for the sake of throwing it in.
Okay, forget what I said about pure hip-hop.
So am I.
But the songwriting here is exceptional; it's eclectic; and it's packed with all kinds of weird surprises.
Yeah, that's mature.
And Beck's a capable multi-instrumentalist, adding guitars (lead, rhythm, and slide), bass, drums, a wide variety of keyboards, and vocals.
of "J*cka**", a very lovely song with a title that suggests just the opposite.
But there are times when I think only Beck knows what he's intending.
I'm unsure what I think of "Ramshackle", though: it's pretty and well-written, but it's kinda boring and has a kinda crappy hidden track - just a minute of Beck strangling his guitar.
"Novocain" is horrible, but most the rest is stellar.
|
