Beck

Odelay

Beck's Odelay. Two turntables and a microphone.

Review Score:

(6/10)
We tend to forget the musical influence of certain albums, and I think it partly has to do with taking for granted the genre it paved the way for. Now we hear it all the time, eg, Beta Band, Mull Historical Society, Badly Drawn Boy, but it was Beck's 'Odelay' that brought this type of quirky type of cut-and-paste experimentalism to the mainstream. It definitely embodied new musical possibilities, and all the accolades, praise and boy-wonder genius tags Beck received were certainly deserved. 'Odelay' is basically turntablist blues, folk, jazz, and country, meaning that Beck fused the latter four genres into an ecclectic mish-mash, all under a hip-hop/turntablist-type approach. Krautrock experimentalism is nothing new in music, but Beck was the first one to create a hybrid under the guise of patchwork-like hip-hop. This CD is basically a musical palate of smokey grooves, neo-psychadelica, world-music rhythms, pieced together with the meticulous yet daring touch of a DJ. Beck the risk-taker. 'Odelay's' genius is in combining musical styles that shouldn't go together, but in doing so creates something completely unique and innovative. A the time of it's release, this CD was a musical zeigeist, and this reviewer continues to recognize it's importance.

More Reviews: