Beck

Odelay

Funky-Fresh Fantasic!

Review Score:

(10/10)
Beck has to be one of the geniuses in music today. Who else could take so many different genres, stitch them together seemingly at random, and come up with a product that is so easy to listen to? Nothing that I've listened to (and I've listened to a lot of stuff) can make that claim like Beck can. "Odelay" is, in a word: awesome.

Let's take a look at the tracks on this disc. "Odelay" starts out with "Devils Haircut," a good indicator of what you can expect to hear on the rest of the CD: catchy drumbeats and hooks, noise which Beck's songs would almost seem naked without, and of course Beck's trademark lyrics. Next comes one of my favorite tracks, "Hotwax." This one mixes a laid-back beat with just enough feedback, retro keyboard hooks, and even a little accordion to keep things funky enough for the rhymes ("I get down, I get down, I get down all the way...") to seem right at home with. And ya just GOTTA love the ending! ("Who are you? I'm the enchanting Wizard of Rhythm.") "Lord Only Knows" starts out with a scream that hints at a rocker of a song, then abruptly shifts into a straightforward (for Beck) country-type tune that can very easily be "goin' back to Houston." "The New Pollution" is another one of the highlights here, with a groovy late '60s/early '70s vibe and a cool sax line thrown in for good measure. "Derelict" sounds like some Arabic song, which is vaguely seductive in nature. "Novacane" just plain rocks, with a serious truck-drivin', CB radio talkin' jam. "Jack-Ass" mellows thing out with a folky groove that seems to unravel (in a good way) at the end. Now we come to "Where It's At," one of THE songs of '96/'97 and one of the main reasons I got this CD in the first place. "Two turntables and a microphone" indeed. Funky, old-school rap with that great organ hook. "Minus" reminds me of something that Kurt Cobain (RIP) would come up with the music for. "Sissyneck" is a smooth country/blues-tinged tune with a great bassline. "Readymade" is perhaps best-described as "spacey," with enough "elevator music"/organ to keep it somewhat grounded. "High 5 (Rock The Catskills) is another rocker, sounding almost like something Kid Rock would do (check out the reference to "Novacane" in the middle of this one.) And last but not least, "Ramshackle" smoothes everything out with a very mellow, very folky sound. Keep listening after the end of this song for a little noise surprise.

Well, that's it. What else can I say about "Odelay," other than if you have yet to obtain a copy, do so!

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