Odelay (Beck)

Beck's second best album. I'm not saying what's #1.

After years of absorbing classical and jazz, I have recently begun to gain an education in other styles of music. I had not heard of Beck prior to having it recommended to me. I am so glad I picked up this album! The sounds, the revolutionary ideas, the crazy songwriting... all come together to make this an amazing 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.

Beck's second album is often called his masterpiece, and I'm not arguing much. 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. But it's every bit "goofy novelty" as "Loser". Let us not forget that a lot of samples on the song are from an obscure sex-ed record. Yeah, that's mature. 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. Plus who can forget that chorus? "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. And just to ... Read more

Beck's a pretty eclectic artist. He raps, sings, does folky songs, rock, and a lot of weird stuff. He samples a bunch of artists on Odelay, and puts all the sounds together to create an album that is both wide ranging and still cohesive in the unique sum of its parts. There are a variety of instruments used and no song sounds much like any other. I don't know how much of it can really be attributed to Beck and how much credit you really have to give to the original artists he borrows from so heavily, which is part of the reason I'm not totally huge on it. Even if he's not responsible for some of the music though, he still put it all together, made plenty of instrumentation on his own, and did all the vocal stuff. The songs are transformed to fit into his style, so it's not just like he took a riff he liked and sang or rapped over it. The album starts with a great guitar part and trademark repetitive-yet-catchy chorus in "Devil's Haircut". The next track, "Hotwax" has an odd m... Read more

An all-time great record-the record stands not as a collection of songs but as a complete work--it's in the top 10 albums of all time.

Intoxicating tunes. I generally dont care for dance music but Beck adding the elements of Jazz, hip-hop and the sound effects really works well.

Dissapointing,considering his last album was BRILLIANT!

Odelay is the album that proves Beck to be the Frank Zappa of our generation! His musicianship and arrangements are beautiful and he puts everything together with a great sense of humor and undeniable energy and creativity. He also shows a great deal of versatility, seemlessly blending various genres such as hip-hop, funk, country, folk, rock and jazz to create sonic masterpieces enhanced by wry, rambling, irony-tinged lyrics. He can write slow-tempo folk ballads like "Jack-ass" and "Ramshackle" and also create rollicking dance tunes like "The New Pollution" and "Where It's At".

The crushing overplay of Beck’s “Loser” song almost tainted him permanently for me, but I gave “Odelay” a try and saw the light. Beck has talent. His music is unique, humorous, and just a lot more interesting than most of the stuff out there. If you like “Odelay” and “Midnite Vultures,” don’t overlook “Mutations,” which in my opinion is the best CD Beck has released to date.

a wonderful, fun album

This guy is so overated its sickening!

I think Beck is one of the most talented musicians today. I loved his album before this and I love this one. He is sounds a lot like Prince (or should I say the Artist formally known as Prince, or is it back to Prince now?) It is a good album regardless.

Beck is someone who is pushing the borders of rock music today.

yeah, Beck.

This is such a great record! Now I'm all fired up to get his new one which came out earlier this week (just ordered it through a link from RIA). Beck is like Dylan was in the 60s -- he can do no wrong!!

Beck takes music from different backgrounds and mixes it very well.

he's got fabulous style, and I like the music, but I don't think it'll have the staying power of, say, Yo La Tengo. He's almost *too* eclectic.