Reviews (page 11 of 13)
Not too shabby, not normally the music I would listen to but I do like it. Easy listening, car music
Good riffs a little working class and little country but nothing profound
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Odelay by Beck was the first album that was assigned to us, and a very interesting one indeed. When I was younger, I remember many car rides and many Sundays of chores where my dad would put on some Beck songs, so this was a nice welcome for our journey to come. I recognized a few of the songs on first listen, including the album opener "Devil's Haircut" and "Where it's At", the latter of which happened to be my personal favorite on the album. Relaxed, lofi instrumentals and lots of electric guitars and nice vocals to go along with it. A fair amount of high energy moments in the album are present as well. At times, however, I found the album to be, well, just not entertaining to listen to, such as on the tracks "Readymade" and "Ramshackle". In conclusion, the album gets a 5.8/10 (3 stars out of 5).
Lol so I had no idea what to expect. I'm currently only at the first song but it is pretty good. Very 90s idk how to describe it. 2nd song a bit weird but still not bad.
I think this album got bad lows but good highs like ‘lord only knows’. the producing is really interesting at times and I really enjoy that tho I think a lot of the songs are kinda mediocre and the production is not always enough to keep me interested. The ideas on the album are interesting but could’ve been explored more and executed better. 6,5/10
für die meisten Gelegenheiten zu krawallig...aber guter Beat
This one was easier to get through, first one I listened to from start to finish. Wouldn't be too upset if this was on in the background but wouldn't deliberately seek it out.
Interesting
Sounds fresh as hell in 2021. Beck is a legend. Three decades of genre mashing, artistic relevance, and mass appeal, and somehow it seems like he doesn't get his due. Maybe its the Scientology. This album has some real high points, some scattered filler, but the blues-breakbeat-spoken-verse-sung-chorus thing feels reeeal nice walking along the waterfront on a sunny spring day. I'll always be a Sea Change guy, and the most tuneful stuff on here (Ramshackle, Jack-Ass, New Pollution) connects the most. B+
I wasn't expecting to like this one. Not sure why but perhaps it's because Beck was liked by too many people who I thought had bad taste in music. It wasn't that bad. I kinda liked the genre smorgasbord as he rolls from Hip Hip to Alt throwing in a good dose of synths, harps and various percussion. If I had to listen to too many Beck songs of the same genre I probably would have lost it. I worry that I subconsciously feel I should like Rap since it's been happening for over 40 years. I can't get into the real Rap but I'll accept the White Boy watered down rap so I can check the box. Anyway, I enjoyed this one.
Closer to a 3.5 than a 3...a few songs were just so irritating.
This felt like Beck’s big breakthrough album when it came out and he suddenly seemed to become pretty mainstream. I didn’t really mind it but I thought it was weaker than his previous stuff. I assumed he was on the wain (read diverging from my own tastes), but his next album, Mutations, went on to become one of my top ten albums of all time. Listening back, I still don’t absolutely love it, but it’s a decent album.
On the plus side, I like the fact that he’s experimenting with different genres (from country to hip-hop), often in the same song; the Dust Brothers production combined with the dozen or so instruments he plays makes for a lot of things happening beneath the surface; the arrangements on “Where It’s At” are especially sophisticated; his guitar playing is good in-your-face at times, but usually subtle and innovative; I like the cover with the high-jumping Hungarian sheep dog. On the minus side, is Beck’s voice, which is not a singing voice, not such a big deal since he’s borderline rapping most of the time; the rap-phrasing limits the overall sound and probably limits the song-writing too; some of the more popular tracks sound like novelty songs.
Not bad. Can’t say I’m a huge Beck fan but was good.
Ok album just not my style but easy to listen to
Classic Beck. Solid album that would probably improve upon repeat listening
Too many genres being thrown together
Beck is a talented guy for sure. I like this album, but I enjoy the mellower, folky style of Beck more than the sampling, mixing side of Beck. 3 stars.
it's Beck
Didn’t age the best but still a fun listen.
Mad good production. Some cool trip hop tricks ganan. The lyrics are a bit like Beck wrote them to get out of doing his homework.
Weird but a few solid bops.
Nothing wrong with this album, but I do not have a reason to ever listen to it again. Devil's Haircut is fire though.
BECK
Beck is always fun to listen to. Not his greatest album but a decent one.
Familiar
Some later tunes fuckin bang and it's really interesting and wacky. Didn't time this one right. Also, bit much innit?
Novacane makes me feel like I'm being brainwashed.
Not bad, I expected a bit more. I'll listen to more albums by him tho
Funky, I liked it. Weird mix of electronic hip hop, but done well. Probably won't revisit but I liked it. 5/8 overall, fav song The New Pollution
like a more punky cake
At first it felt like an eclectic mix of genres that I couldn't really connect with, until I got to "Lord Only Knows". That track feels like a mix of the Killers and the Fratellis and it was then that it dawned on me how influential this album must have been for popular musicians that followed in the next decade. By track 4 I was starting to understand what Beck was about, some tracks feel like they were inspired by Frank Zappa, to the point where I feel like 'Devil's Haircut' kind of betrays what Beck is truly like. A good album, but not entirely to my taste.
decent, mostly chill album. pretty good hangover music
Beck is Beck
A few of my favorite Beck songs are on here. While I appreciate him bringing a huge variety of influences to the record (hip hop, noise, folk), it does take a minute to actually get to a point where I like it. Favorite tracks: "Sissyneck", "Derelict", "The New Pollution"
This album is truly a product of its time. Important for its time, no doubt, but in 2021 it sounds so... Dated. Respect it, don't particularly enjoy it. F. T. : Devil's Haircut
good stuff
Not bad, not my thing though, loved the creativity
Beck doesn’t know me, but I do know Beck and a few of his other albums. I don’t think this album is very good. Two stars…
Ok album. I only like on music tho
Hmmmm. Pallar inte Beck. Ruggigt keff. Försmutsar den riktigt Becks namn
Didn't like it. Not my personal style at all.
DISLIKE it started off okay and then i just got bored and liked it less and less as it went on... idk maybe it wasn't the right moment when i listened? all over the place in a way i didn't like and i just zoned out... some of it i wouldn't consider music just an amalgamation of sound
Det mesta går att återanvända från förra Beck-recensionen, det är ungefär samma visa här. Lite mer ganska skramliga hiphopbeats kanske. Singlarna plus nån till är ganska bra, särskilt "New polution". Men han får aldrig riktigt ihop ddt till nåt bra som helhet och tanken på Beck är fortfarande mer tilltalande än vad Beck verkligen är
Einfach nicht meine Stimme
I do like Beck as an artist but not this album. Just not for me. It sounded a bit frivolous to me. It's a well made record but just not to my taste.
Far from a favorite. ★★
i like beck a lot but i just know individual songs scattered across his many albums so i was very excited to listen to one album of his all the way through. where it's at is my least favorite so far.... ok ya theres not really a song that i love on this album. devils haircut and ramshackle are my favorite of the bunch though
Beck gets credit for putting a wide variety of music on this album. Some of it was good, and some of it was bad.
Awful lot of Beck on this list. Even though I liked one of his albums, I still don't like Beck. This album was probably my first exposure to Beck in the real time. Similar to Cake in both the deadpan delivery and my friend Chyna liking them. Highlights: 'The New Pollution' (only because it is essentially a Beatles song with random sax in it), 'Jack-Ass' (only because it is essentially a Bob Dylan song with random xylophone in it) Lowlights: 'Hotwax', the smoke-alarm beeps in 'Where It's At' Wiki failing Grice's maxim of quantity: "Track 13 includes a minute-long hidden track of noise."
I quite actively hated this
Didnt like it
mm es como q pasa muy desapercibido, no me parece nada wow, no termino de entender el tip de musica q es, supongo q un rockcito medio alternativo. es un meh total. 5/10
This is an album I feel like I should like, but don't. NOW called and wants their track back. This is what I would have listened to because it was "popular" but deep down inside I didn't care for. Take that nostalgia. I liked Derelict but at that point there are other artists that do that track better.
Empezó super bien y pensé que había descubierto una nueva joya, pero después me aburrió horrible
I kinda liked the first song.
Outside of One Foot in the Grave Beck is the ultimate greatest hits artist. His hits are seriously great, the rest, eh. I listened to it and wondered if maybe his hits are just stockholm syndrome as they were all played on the radio on a near constant basis. It could very well be that I really don't like Beck besides his first album and I only like the hits because I've been programmed to by radio station being paid by his record label. Maybe I have tricked and I don't like any of the music I think I do and I've been programmed to enjoy it! Ok so for serious, it's alright. Not a Beck fan so even though I can tell the songs are different his style sounds the same throughout the album.
wow dit was chaotisch. Telkens wanneer het een beetje logisch klonk, moeten ze het weer helemaal omgooien. Ik denk niet dat ik het heel goed vond eigenlijk. "People say this album is ahead of its time and groundbreaking. I say its a pretentious mess of experimentation that doesn't work." (2)
i only know one beck song (think im in love) and ive never heard of this album before - some parts reminded me of radiohead's amnesiac - i thought it sounded like the dust brothers and then i realised they produced the album - some songs would be ok as background music but the rest was just a mess frankly impressive how an album with so many different things happening in it still managed to sound so boring
Maybe I’ll need to revisit but found it hard to get into.
While appreciating the experimental side of this, it's not really for me and I found the album mostly quite jarring.
troppo rock, non mi va al momento. però in realtà è bello, solo non per me ora
Come on 1001, give me some songs that I would want to listen to again. I don't want to feel like I'm in a Rock'n Roll History class.
Will go out of my way to avoid listening to this again.
So what you’re telling me is I just like depressed Beck (Sea Change for the win) better than I do whatever this eclectic but annoying bucket of songs is. It’s not a terrible album but it feels like one full of intentional ticks and quirks meant to hide a complete lack of personality and while it kind of works (I do largely love what the Dust Brothers are doing), it ends up being more irritating than fascinating and much too long and I don’t have the patience for such quirked artifice.
Never listened to Beck. I know he did Loser, which I have not heard, and isn't on this album. After listening to this album I still have no idea what sort of music Beck plays and I have little interest in discovering it. This was a mess of weird experiments that did not go well.A shame, because the first track was promising.
Idk, nejakej rap, kriceni,.. ale dobry bicí
Apple music has a note about the album that says a producer said not to release the album, and you know what? That producer was right, and the fact that Beck has a career at all is shocking. Doesn't even have loser on the album so what is the point?
I had medium expectations, and this did not meet it. Album is a hodge podge of style and sounds. I get that it is unique, but feels all over the place
Wild and weird. Too experimental and strange for my liking. It was all over the place. Some of the songs were pretty entertaining but then others made me wanna plug my ears. I definitely appreciate the uniqueness of this album but could not see myself putting this into my daily rotation. Favorite 2: Hotwax, Where It’s At
just meh
The New Pollution was played daily when I worked at the Gap in the early 2010s. Otherwise, not quite my tempo.
I got nothing from it.
4/10
boring
Ok
I never was a big fan of Beck and today didn't change that. The music is to repetitive and somehow bleak while playing kind of up beat chords.
I bought this over 25 years ago, and sadly it has dated, and I found it hard to listen to….
Bit of nothing!
Beck throws all his influences at the wall and sees what sticks... it all kinda sticks and sounds gnarly and stuff, but also why?
war mir dich bisschen zu experimentell
I like some Beck, and I have immense respect for him as a creative, boundary-pushing musician. But this genre merge between hip-hop and 90s alternative rock just doesn’t work for me. The fact that so many of the singles received nonstop radio airplay doesn’t help. An interesting artistic statement that doesn’t translate for me.
I'm a big Beck fan. I never was a fan of this album. Some good songs. It was a really drag. I can't believe it but it's getting a 2
I do like when rap mixes rock sounds and vice versa. But I couldn’t help but feel bored to most of these songs. 5/10
Not for me
While I can see he's talented, I don't get the allure of him. He's just okay to me. 2.5/5
rock generico y molesto al oido 1,5 estrellas
Very fun and creative experience but no song I'm particularly eager to listen to again exept for "Ramshackle". Love the album cover
All over the place for my tastes rn.
meh
No resonó conmigo. Muy ruidoso
I prefer the newer Beck.
Low fi...too much 2 stars
An interesting listen, I feel like Beck tried a lot here and I gotta respect the effort and vision, that being said I don't feel like he quite stuck the landing. The mashups between styles often felt a little awkward, which was even further highlighted by the quite poor vocals. Some instrumental parts were actually pretty good, but did not have enough going on to carry an entire song often. All in all I can't say it was bad, but neither can I say I loved it. Maybe I would after a couple of listens but that doesn't really sound attractive to me
not a big fan of this album. it's a long way away from my usual listening
I didnt really enjoy it
mmm beastie boys folk. zzzz
Aside from the nostalgia of the singles, there are songs/moments I enjoy. But a lot of this feels like bougie Kid Rock.
altern. Rock, 1996 -> 2
It was fine but nothing noteworthy
Бек не мій артист. І після ще одного прослуховування цього альбому думка особлива не змінилася. Тут однозначно є свій стиль, цікава робота з семплами та мультижанровістю (думаю, велика заслуга в цьому Dust Brothers, які свого часу допомогли зробити одну з ікон семплінгу - Paul's Boutique) та й загалом відчувається, що артисти мають смак. Але мені просто не подобається і все) Не було навіть бажання зберегти якусь із пісень. Ще подумав, що є трохи вайбу розумників, який також є у Blur. Хоч музично вони дуже відрізняються, але ця іронічна зарозумілість мені не імпонує.
I always thought I liked Beck but maybe I just nostalgically like 2 or 3 songs. This album didn't really do it for me. I appreciate that he was a trailblazer for whatever genre this is considered but it isn't really moving me today.
Some interesting stuff going on, nothing really peaked my interest however.
2.25 - I’ve never been a big Beck fan. I like a handful of these songs, but I was kind of bored overall.
Um álbum alternativo/experimental, diferente. Mas não foi algo que apreciei. É um forte 2/5.
I don't understand why people like this. It is so derivative to me, not original in the least, and I hear too many references for Beck to have his sound down. I also think the writing is poor and dishonest, it wasn't for me
3/10
it wasn't by all means a bad album, but it wasn't exceptional to me either. Sounded like something i would play in the background, not necessarily an album i would enjoy listening to on a daily basics. Interesting sound tho
Eeeeeee
Didn't love it then, don't love it now. Close to strong dislike. This is a 2 or a 3 - a 2 seems maybe a bit harsh but this music does nothing for me but he get s a point for creativity. It always felt like a young Weird Al making current music instead of retreads.
A bit too laid back for me
Some fine moments, but I don't really like it. Weird and not in a good way.
First time listen First Beck album, was ok, most of it didn't really grab me to be honest. I like some of the singles I've heard by him but this album felt all over the place stylistically. For some reason develops a hip hop sound toward the end of the album I wasn't a fan of. Will have to try another album by him. Fav tracks: Where It's At, Novacane Least Fav: High 5 2.5/5
te vaag voor mij. stukken zijn echt wel chill maar dan weet hij het op een of andere manier te verpesten
I just don't click with Beck. Pretty sure I've never heard a song by him that I want to play again.
There’s just something about this I don’t like. I’ve never liked New Pollution or Devils Haircut, but they’re the best tracks on the album
Oh shit that guy from Futurama... wait a minute I've already made that joke. I need other artists so I can come up with new material
honestly just not my type of album some iconic songs for sure but I do agree with alot of reviews it seems to be to experimental and it just feels like its being to werid without reason and some of the songs have potineal i just think this album is okay
The 90's was the time for grunge. A low-fi rebellion to the hyper polished sound of the 80's. Band like Pearl Jam and Nirvana stripped down production in favor of raw sound that seems chaotic and random. Some bands that followed focused on the random, distorted sound and forgot to add the music. This is how Odelay feels. There are some bright spots, the radio hit "Where It's At" "the New Pollution" and "Devil's Haircut" have moments of melody and even some hook. But so much of this record feel like trying to be edgy and it comes across as cringe. 2/5
Appreciate the originality but it was too scattered for my taste.
Some nice noise but didn't do much for me.
Had its moments, but overall I don’t think I’m really that inspired by Beck and his stuff. He’s a talented musician and songwriter for sure, just not really my thing.
All over de place, westerns, schurend
Wasn’t a fan of this. Gimmicky at times, boring at others.
it was almost good and then it got annoying
64. beck
I like Beck. Don't like this album. But not unlistenable.
Ekstremt stort spænd af genre og ideer, men de fleste af sangene er desværre ikke lige min kop te
The random sound effects on the songs caught me off guard and destroyed the flow of the songs. I enjoyed a few songs though
I did feel the vibes, but they were difficult to reach behind the screeching of an untuned unidentifiable instrument. I did enjoy it sometimes, but I guess lo-fi just isn't really my style.
It’s Beck which means it’s meh in my book.
I don’t really like Beck. He came along when I was a little angry at pop music. I was into hair metal, and while I did like the grunge movement, even though the term grunge paints with broad strokes, I wasn’t too into the alt scene that mixed hip-hop, sampling, folk, and rock. It just made me cringe. Beck was at the forefront of that scene, so I never messed with him. Since I’ve been doing the 1,001 Albums list, I listened to Beck’s Sea Change and loved it. Thought it was one of the best pieces of music I’ve ever heard. But it wasn’t like his early stuff. Like Odelay, Beck’s fifth album. Fifth! I was certain this was his album with Loser, but no, that was Mellow Gold, of course. I remember all the singles off this album, and God help me, I dig some of them. I may hate the player, but you give me a good funky bass groove, and it's hard for me to hate the game. Or a good fuzzy guitar riff will melt me. Devil’s Haircut, track 1, and the second single, just makes me think of the 60s music I dislike. I also hate Beck’s nonsense lyrics. What the F is a devil’s haircut, and what's the big deal that’s in his mind? Again, I’m not the biggest lyrics guy, I love KISS for God’s sake, but Beck always seemed a bit….try too hard. Like I’ll make up some nonsense, and the kids’ll love it. Bah! 60s-like The first single was Where It’s At, track 8, and I can’t deny the keys get me on this one. The lyrics again are nonsense, but the groove and the instruments are fire. It reminds me of Napoleon Dynamite, which I love. The New Polliction starts out annoying me with bleeps and bloops, but then kicks into another 60s like groove. I think this may be the best vocals that Beck lays down on the album. But like on all his songs at this time, he sounds like he couldn’t care less about singing or cut all his vocals after taking expired quaaludes from 1977. It’s so lazy, and that should be punk rock, but it’s just lame. Damn, there were five singles off this album? Sissyneck was a single, and it’s just not for me. Jack-Ass is the last single,e and I can tell where Julian Casablancas, lead singer of the Strokes, got his vocal style from, as Beck lazily sings about who the F even knows. Lord Only Knows sounds like a fuzzy Kinks song, and Beck sings just like Ray Davies. So it’s alright, but I’d rather just hear the Kinks. Ugh. Writing this is making me angry. I’ve got 4-5 inches of snow on the ground, and it's like 8 degrees outside right now in Kentucky. I’ve got no time for this torture. To read that many thought this was the best album of the 90s reinforces my thoughts that when it comes to music, the 90s sucked. I’ll not be adding this to my rotation. Beck has always bothered me, and except for Sea Change and perhaps albums after that, he’ll continue to bother me.
I liked Beck a while back, but I’m too happy for this
Musical potpourri that didn’t speak to me. Could have done better with the cover, too.
When I was 11, I discovered Musescore, and pumped out a dozen half-baked incoherent pieces. This album sounds a bit like if I had discovered GarageBand instead.
not my style
An example of how you can recognize something as objectively good but still dislike it. The instrumentation is frequently interesting enough but Beck’s voice is so unemotive, I’m bored listening to him. It feels like an album a dude would argue about, saying I just didn’t get Beck’s brilliance.
There's a lot going on in here.
A US version of Neil Hannon
Best: Derelict Worst: High 5 In my head Beck is an even less serious version of Weezer so really didn’t expect to like this album much, but it definitely had a few enjoyable tracks. The lyrics on the opening track especially were pretty interesting as was the use of samples. As much as I enjoy genre mixing but this gave me whiplash, some of the tracks felt totally alien to the rest of the album. Overall, this album felt pretty silly and muddled, sometimes the music felt more like scratchy whining in my ears, I did not like this.
If an identity crisis was an album, this would be the album. It goes through a lot of genres- some almost rap, some leaning into indie, a proper folk song and some bogstandard rock. Normally, I would cite something like this as groundbreaking. In this case, it is not. Enjoyed a few tracks but overall confusing and not consistent. Favourite track- Ramshackle
Favorite tracks: Sissyneck, Devils Haircut, Derelict A little too messy and disjointed for my taste, but there were a few I liked on there
When this was new, it was not my favorite. Many things have changed since then, but it is still not really happening for me.
Quite a few songs I hated and I do not like his singing at all in most of his songs. There’s a few songs saving it from a 1/5.
forgettable
Brother this was something
2⭐️ felt like a bit of a strange blend of genres songs I already knew: n/a fave new song(s): devils haircut
90’s Alternative ⭐️The New Pollution
i really like their song loser so i'm excited -devil's haircut sounds like 3 is the magic number -okay don't really like it kinda just sounds like random noises -i like jackass!! -fav song is ramshackle overall it was okay, some good ones but also some real stinkers 2.5/5
would have loved to bust it down to this in the club. weird but not too weird. just weird enough. def not the album to listen to while going to bed.
Dont care for beck. Listenable i guess. The end of novacane might be the craziest shit ive ever heard what the fuck was that shit
What exactly do folks feel is so great about this album? It’s certainly a good representation of the 1990s generally- fake, false, a facade, with no true substance underneath. Alternating between annoying and depressing.
"Devils Haircut" is a track I'll definitely be returning to. Lots of experimental sounds on this, and some work better than others imo. Overall Rating: 5/10
Couldn’t get on board unfortunately.
So many similar tempos in the mid section of the album, hard to tell when one song ends and the next begins. At least "Minus" kicked this one out of the doldrums for a short bit. I don't need to hear this again, not sure why I needed to hear this once.
Favorite Songs: Where It’s At, Novacane, Ramshackle Least Favorite Song: Minus Very interesting blend of genres.
This is just Kid Rock for people with a college degree
pretty okay, i do like aluminum and dead leaves and the dirty ground, but the rest of it kinda blended together
Pretty impartial to this. It was on, it played, it was music. I didn't feel anything either way.
para nada me esperaba el género de los temas viendo la tapa del álbum!! jajahahah flashé mal definitivamente no es algo que yo escucharía todos los días pero a la vez no me parece malo
An interesting album, I liked “the new pollution” and novacane. I also enjoyed that is was a mixed album so you got some slower and some more up beat songs!
This album is like sitting at your desk at work with a big list of tasks that need completing, all of which have fast -approaching deadlines. You try to focus on one task, but all of a sudden you get a thought about one of the other tasks, so you shift focus to that. After twenty minutes you panic that you really do need to get that other thing done first, so you go back to it. Then you get lunch and realise that there was actually something else that was more pressing that both of the things you worked on in the morning. You scramble to work on that, but you can't really focus on it because you are still thinking about the morning's tasks. Now it is 5.30 and you need to pick your son up from football training. You're not even sure if you got any work done today.
Feels like an album I should like but was just too weird. Lots of random noises, obscure references and sounds. Some ok tunes but not for me.
it was good i give u thatt
pourquoi c'est vibe country j'aime pas sorry beck
i feel like if the vocals were better i'd like it more. fun, silly noise intermissions. derelict reminds me of within you without you by the beatles, so that was cool. sissyneck reminds me of the stones. experimental, i see the appeal. saved: lord only knows, derelict, minus, sissyneck, ramshackle.
Interesting alternate rock, not my favorite but cool!
i know Beck and i know i liked some songs in the past. but this album just feels bland and mediocre
Instrumentals are kind of all over the place, not in a bad way but in an organized chaos kind of way. Not a huge fan of the cadence and flow present on most of the tracks. Was good after a single listen. They didn't save the rest of the review so I don't remember faves/least faves.
Beck is one of those artists that I am (for the most part) just unable to get into for some reason -- and I really wanted to like this one. It has a few hits near the end, and that surprised me, but it was really underwhelming.
Did nothing for me. A mess.
A mismatch of genres, sounds and lyrics that doesn't really work for me. A couple of ok-ish songs but overall it doesn't appeal. That being said, I can appreciate the experimental nature of this album.
A little bit of Beck goes a long way. I really do not get the hype around this album as a full experience.
The sound of the 90s! Some of the beats were cool and I liked the hip hop and scratches but the singing was forgettable.
Can’t quite make my mind up on this, like I; parts, dislike in others
Feels like that teenage rebellion phase you look back on and cringe at - different just for the sake to be different but not very good
Solid.
Not for me.
Very frustrating album. Almost feels *too* sloppy, even though the offbeat swing is very intentional. Some very bizarre production choices and effects use as well that almost always make the songs significantly more unpleasant to listen to. Some decent hidden hlgems but a lot to skip over. Top tracks: Hotwax, Ramshackle
Not a big fan
Die Mischung aus Lo-Fi-Ästhetik, Sample-Collagen und Sprechgesang verliert schnell an Reiz – zu oft verheddert sich das Album in monotonen Beats und einer raplastigen Struktur, die wenig Raum für musikalische Vielfalt lässt. Zu monoton und zu stark auf Rap-Elemente fokussiert. Die Tracks ähneln sich zu sehr, wodurch das Album schnell an Spannung verliert.
não me pegou, mas tem umas que não são ruins (tb não são boas)
This makes me feel uneasy not in a good way. Pass.
Ok. Went a bit weird toward the end.
Shit except for devils haircut and I knew that already
There’s like 3 good songs here and the rest is super experimental and maybe hit in the 90s but def not for me today.
Some undeniably great grooves, but not really for me. Album felt a lot longer than it is. Fav tracks: Devils Haircut. Saved a song: N RYM: N
I once found myself trapped in a conversation with a guy who wouldn’t stop raving about how Beck was the true genius of ’90s alt-rock. I nodded along and didn’t push back—mostly because I hadn’t really listened to Beck at the time. Now that I’ve actually heard this album, I’m starting to think he might’ve been completely full of it.
eh, its okay
au risque d'heurter certaines sensibilités, j'ai vraiment eu du mal à finir d'écouter l'album (High 5 était presque la goutte de trop). je pense qu'il faut se remettre dans le contexte de la fin des années 90 pour apprécier la nouveauté de la proposition, mais personnellement rien qui se démarque pour moi dans cet album de rock alternatif/expérimental, peut-être car je manque de contexte historique. petite mention pour Where it's at que je trouve très intéressante du point de vue instrumental. 1.8 étoiles.
Lots of noise without saying anything. I just don't get it.
I like this so far (through hotwax)! Ok it got weird at Novacane.
Some great instrumentals but the vocals, man. So bad.
Meh
Not my favorite artist. But during the listen I realized why. His voice and lyrics are just not for me. Doesn’t resonate with me. That being said, this album has some surprise jams. I enjoyed roughly 4 songs. I’ll give it a 1.7
One of the albums where I ask myself why somebody thinks it is important to listen to. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there, which like the album. But that can't be a reason. The worst pop music is listened to by a huge amount of people. So what makes it so important? That would actually be interesting. Why is it considered so important?
I just don't get Beck. It's oddly 90s without any of the good parts. Had to stop listening to Novacane due to all distortion. It's like a weird mix of 808 hip hop beats and noise. Not my jam.
Beck is boring. That's all I gotta say. Favorite Tracks: Devils Haircut, Novacane Rating: 2/5
Where it’s at is pure nostalgia. 13 year old me watching Much Music in the basement. Nothing else really popped for me. Wasn’t interested enough to buy this then, not interested enough to play it again now.
Wanted to like this but couldn't get behind it.
ramshackle
OK, so, 1001 Albums Generator? You've been cooking so far. I feared the day that came where I had to question your culinary skills. Monday, September 22nd. Mark it. I've heard of Beck; I very recently learned he was, at least at one point, a Scientologist in the same breath. I know people enjoy Beck, I read the album is super critically-acclaimed, I love the album art, that's a 10/10, but apparently some music producer told him a couple months before it came out not to release it. I'm that guy! Driving home, I worried about giving a critically-acclaimed album my first 2. Then I started worrying if it should be a 1! Also, these are my reviews, I set the rules. This is the first review I wrote on a computer just to get this all out. I'm sure you can tell, future me. I liked "Devils Haircut," felt like what I thought Beck was going to be, very avant-garde singer-songwriter – I even added that to the ol' library. "New Pollution" I rolled with, sort of a trance-like Gorillaz-esque vibe (Apple Music breakdown mentioned how it sort of predicted that kinda music, I get it). "Jack-Ass" feels like a real song, "Derelict" and "Ramshackle" are aight. I even roll with Computer Rock, I get that one, I'm in on the bit! "Lord Only Knows" was especially bad if we count sounding good as a positive quality of music and "Novacane" was one of the worst songs I've ever heard in my entire natural born life, to be honest, just noise. It was at that point that I considered the 1. Everything else, I might just not get, but it sounded like shit to me. I'm listening to the groove on "Where It's At" towards the end and thinking, I dunno, did I go too far? And now it's turning into auditory assault as I'm writing that out. Beck is now the benchmark for a 2.
2- Stars (4/15)
Not my thing
Coulnd't get through it. Reminded me of Shrek
Bad rap/folk mix Sissyneck is the inly listenable song
Not my cup of tea
I think I’m supposed to love this, but nah…
This is the second Beck album I've had on this list and again I feel like I'm missing something. I normally like stuff like this but Beck just doesn't do it for me for some reason
mixed emotions on this! listened while erging so didnt give it my full attention but i liked some bits. fee like the instrumentals and production were interesting, liked the drums. will relisten bc i feel i didnt give it a fair try
I've heard people say it's one of his better albums. I've heard its awful. The truth is its something else entirely! It's completely mid!! 5/10
The production is good, it's a novel album and plays around a lot with samples and instrumentation. It also just happens to be boring as fuck. I can appreciate the craftsmanship that went into it and clearly there was some fun and creative collaboration between Beck and the Dust Brothers. There's a lot of ideas and sounds that are explored in this, it hops from genre to genre and frankly all it does is make me wish it would just stick to one. If you were generous you would describe this as eclectic. This is my second Beck album in this project, I cannot remember the first one. I didn't particularly enjoy this one and I am not looking forward to the next one. It's really just not my thing. Highlights: High 5 (Rock the Catskills)
Nice to see you again Beck… (My first repeat artist) This album started out strong with its experimental instrumentals and good vocals that resulted in good vibes, but after “Where It’s At”, the album’s standout track (and big hit), the whole thing fell apart I was ready for it to be over even with a few tracks left and although I gave all of them a listen (which I do for every song on every album because it would be wrong not to), none of them stuck with me After writing this out, I’ve decided to go with 2 stars (due to the lack of standout tracks) although 2.5 is what I would actually give it if I could Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: Where It’s At
The usage of sampling is creative, especially with how many obscure sources Beck pulls from. Yet he seems to be concerned with being superficially cool and clever over anything else, resulting in an at times interesting, but otherwise unmemorable listen.
I don’t get it. Beck is trying something different but it doesn’t settle into a distinct, cohesive style. The lack of cohesion is almost the style, a sort of experimental slacker rock, which is not for me.
This album is all over the place in a way I don’t particularly like, it’s doing loads of different things i don’t really like 🙃
Two songs in and I'm waiting for the end. Jesus, this is boring yet also annoying - not a great combo. Only upside is that Beck makes me think of Futurama = one bonus star. Five songs in and I'm waiting to the sweet release of death.
Не понятно. Некоторые песни вроде ничего, но большинство явно не в моём вкусе (те, что с элементами рэпа и слишком перемудрёные). 4,5 из 10.
Sådär, lite svårlyssnad och stolpig. Häftigt album men det blev svårt att ta sig igenom hela imo
So boring, next please.
patika Jack-Ass un Sissyneck uzrunā tikai dažas dziesmas, bet tāpat forša mūzika!
Not my jam but I can't put my finger on why. It feels like not my type of lazy. Standout track: Hotwax
It’s ok. Definitely a product of its time. A bit corny with the slide guitar and record scratches. Beck makes very safe, hard to dislike music. It’s also hard to love.
A lot of the songs sounded the same.
Han er musikalsk, men lidt for meget country til mig. Og lidt for langt. Så det endte med at trække ned. Det kan godt være et album, der ville give noget ved flere gennemlytninger, men det bliver ikke nu.
I was really scrabbling around for reasons to not give this a one - I am having a very hard time. If this had caught me on a grumpier day it would've gotten one. Stop rapping you're shit.
Crunchy in a bad way. All the laziness of post grunge with all the sound tuning of nu metal. Unfortunate.
Fine, kind of boring. 2/5
Gonna be honest, I just don’t think that I understand Beck. The first two tracks I was into, but then the rest of the album just feels so disjointed. Don’t think Beck is ever gonna be my jam.
Well you can derelict my balls - Hansel Not an enjoyable listen.
Kinda knew what I was getting into with this album, and Beck in general. I really enjoy Devils Haircut and Where It’s At, but this particular genre experiment from Beck isn’t my favorite of his. The length and the musical choices made on Novacane and the end of the album are definitely something. I don’t think three songs I like on this album can bring it up to a three.
My expectations for Beck albums are always too high. I'm disappointed every time I listen to one. My exposure to Beck is "Loser" and the Scott Pilgrim vs the World soundtrack. These albums are less that, and more random. I don't know how to explain it, but I was disappointed.
Eh. Two beck albums this early on?
I thoroughly disliked pretty much all of this album Best Song: Where its at Rating: 4.0/10 Stars: 2/5
The walkie-talkie style of sound really put me off. I struggled with even finding the tune within most of the messy songs. The lyrics are very repetitive as well. And don’t even get me started on that last “song”.
I liked a couple of the songs however most of the sounds did not sit well with me.
I really only know Loser by Beck and I think that's still true. I think this album may need to be listened to quite a bit to really open up if it ever really will for me. It's quite weird and unusual but not in a immidiately cool or fun way Standouts Devils Haircut 2/5
mid
It was just ok
I didn’t enjoy this as much as Guero but I liked the last song.
Not my cup of tea.
počne okej i postane sranje, rendom zvukovi pogotovo maloumni. rep dijelovi posebice krindž. eh
If you weren’t into punk, metal, indierock or synth in the 90s, you probably drank herbal tea and listened to this. You cared about music. But only this little.
Holy shit is this a long ass album, they're just okay songs
35/100 hat mir garnicht gefallen und die lieder hören sich gleich an, aber im schlechten sinne
4/10 Favorite: Devils Haircut
Too much squealing in the background.
Some fun beats but not really a cohesive album. At times low effort and uninteresting to straight up annoying.
Bland
One day a guy walked into WFNX in Boston with a white label 12-inch and dropped it off. That guy was Beck and the track was Loser, and for months I had folks looking to buy it at the record store. I remember the first one I brought over to Jeff Beck and he looked puzzled. Having to say "no" every day for months kinda soured me on Beck. This was probably the first time I heard this start to finish since it was released, if ever.
I like a song and a half on here - the rest, not much.
I always wanted to like Beck. I thought it was the cool music that cool me should be listening to. Nope. There are too many random beeps and bells to make it sound deep. It is music that, if you say, 'I don't like it', someone will inevitably reply, 'You just don't get it.' I just got a whole album, thanks. 2 stars instead of 1 because there are one or two good tunes here, but they've been connected together by irritating collections of sounds.
If you're in the mood for Beck it is a good album.
Hadn't heard track 2 before, it was ok. 1,3 are sleepy Pretty easy to see how the songs that made the radio got there. Everything else is pretty sleepy.
i've always been aware of Beck but never actively listened to his music. ofc Futurama and my friends that had this on their iPod, but i became cognizant of his actual songs way after the fact. its surprising how early he started and how skilled this album is for 1996. I don't care too much for Devil's Haircut, but its a good start for a record. hard to pin down what to call his approach: chill rock, modern folk, subtle hip-hop? that's prob what makes it unique. one thing is certain, its a prime example of the temperature of music in the 90's. as a fan of Cake, this fits right in. its unmistakable how in love with music Beck is playing on this record. nothing epic but its still impactful. any fan of music going back 3 decades from its release is represented here. styles are all over the place and move fluidly. ngl, its 2/5 for me based on my familiarity but also that i don't hate this record at all. def a show that would be amazing. a great example of subculture rock approaches hitting the mainstream. Novacane is fun. no song resembles the preceding or following. Where It's At is for sure a standout single that still gets played today. Minus speaks to me the most with a garage punk crunch to it. High 5 is great too, again making it hard to describe this album as anything other than "1990's." the end track feels like a glitch which is funny. from start to finish its an up and down, highs and lows record. i can appreciate all the influences and genres that have gone into making this work. experimentation was the name of the 90's game.
In het 2e nummer nu, en opzich best lekker. Alleen soms komen er van die rare hoge klanken doorheen die erg afleidend zijn. Hoop niet dat dat doorzet in elk nummer. Verder heel erg Gorillaz vibes, best leuk. In Derelict worden ze in ene arabisch.. Heel interessant. Album gaat echt alle kanten op, wat dat betreft wel echt heel tof. Maar daardoor ook genoeg die je wat minder gaat vinden. Toch echt zonde dat het lijkt alsof er in elk nummer wel een deel zit waarin ze echt full experimental gaan. Hierdoor gaat mijn irritatie gehalte toch wel flink omhoog. Algehele conclusie na disc1, want ik ga disc 2 overslaan. Excuses. Elk nummer denk ik poah best leuk. Maar in elk nummer hebben ze ook een deel waarin het volledig wordt verkracht. Zonde want dit had echt de potentie om een 4 te zijn, maar wordt hierdoor een 2. FAV: Jack-Ass
Musically all over the place - Alternative Rock / Alternative Hip-Hop / Experimental Rock / Folk Rock / Neo-Ppsychedelia! The old saying "Jack of all trades - master of none" applies to this pretentious and boring album.
alr
I totally get why this is on the 1001, but I think this style is hard for me personally to listen to. Then Ramshackle comes on and I love it.
not rly for me
Okay, first, this album is too long. Next, I do not think the genre blending works well here. To the extent he is incorporating what seems like rap (maybe it's just talk singing), it sounds poorly developed and childish. The incorporation of distortions that other musicians (White Stripes) sometimes pull off is not pulled off here. Uh, High 5 kinda pulls it off, but it honestly the whole album feels disjointed. The album starts okay. Devil's Haircut is a serviceable opening track. But each subsequent song drags on an album with no broader vision. I'm thinking 2.5, but I'll round down, because that's how I feel.
Found this very boring and at points irritating. Not bad enough for a 1 but only scraping a 2
It's a nice album.
pretty weird album, i guess i just don't really vibe with it
Do I like Beck? Sure, and a lot— he has some great songs and his shows are incredible. Do I like this album? Not really. The kookiness and novelty, which I do like, is there but the songs don’t really hit me.
Lite whack o kul att lyssna på ibland, men inte min smak o överlag rätt ointressant.
🎧stfu beck
I find Beck’s vocal delivery to be generally very unpleasant, and the mixing and textures on this are a little busy and frantic. The instrumentation itself is pretty decent, with some classic guitar work. Standout tracks is: The New Pollution
Eh Beck more like boring Two turntables and a microphone
I don't like Beck. it exemplifies 90s California rock along with Red Hot Chili Peppers. Where It's At is the standout
i didn't like this and that's MY prerogative
It’s got 2 good songs
Never been a huge fan of Beck, know a couple of his songs but a bit meh for me
Habe schon so viel mal in Beck rein gehört aber es hat mich nie gepackt, auch dieses Mal nicht.
Progressive I guess. One song made it to the playlist. 2 stars
Some of this shit is hurting my ears and head bruh devils haircuts was alright The new pollution was a vibe where its at sounds like butt ass high 5 was fun the album was certainly a adventure
I don’t think I get the vision here. The lyrics are obscure and almost every song sounds the same. My favorite tracks: Devils Haircut, The New Pollution and Derelict. The saxophone that was audible a few times was good. But the rest of this record… an interpolation of Swan Lake? Beeps noises? Distorted voices? What is going on?
Not really my vibe off first listen. Favorite track is devil’s haircut.
I don’t know what to think about this album. It was certainly an interesting combination of genres and influences, but at times I felt like the sounds were distorted or weird just for the sake of it and it was very all over the place. But, I must give him this, he’s a very unique artist - this album sounded like it came from a completely different person than the last one I listened to.
A few good songs plus robot noises.
I've never listened to this Beck album and it sounds like the kind of early Beck I don't like much. (31 known/64 new)
I've never been able to get into Beck. For somebody that genre hops so frequently you'd think there'd be at least one song that speaks to me but you'd be wrong.
Like, kinda vibey, but I'm not in the mood right now
I don't get Beck. Or, I take that back; I do get Beck, but I don't understand his appeal. His whole thing, with my two-album sample size, seems to be laid-back, flat, "cool-guy" vocals over passable blues-tinted '90s alt-rock production. Now that cool-guy, "I don't want to be here" vocal style is what makes these 50 minutes practically unbearable for me. Like god, these melodies are so lifeless, and even when the vocals "ramp up" in intensity, like on, say 'Minus', they still sound so washed-out when propped up against the production here. I think more than anything, I don't see any situation where I can enjoy these vocals or this aesthetic. I guess it sort of feels like a summer day, but one where I'm like sweating profusely and waiting at a bus station at noon type thing - basically annoyed out of my mind. I guess maybe if you're stoned, I can see this type of thing hitting, but I'm not stoned. Maybe my least favorite song was also the most popular, 'Where It's At' - I guess the verses are smooth enough, but those interludes and the refrain are unbearable and take me out of the groove established during those okay verses. I'm not going to be too harsh on this record, I sorta liked the song 'Novacaine' because Beck tends to show infinitely more character when he's doing his cheesy white boy rap thing, which is at least charming with a few genuinely solid bars. This song, 'Novacaine' has a cool hip-hop, Rick Rubin production feel to it. 'Jack-Ass' went in another more enjoyable instrumental direction and probably has my favorite Beck singing on here. Hey, I geuss Beck is unique...I'll give him that, I haven't heard someone be so bold in just how fucking laid-back their style is. Like this man overdoes it, and he knows it. So I guess he comes out the winner for making me sit through 50+ minutes of this.
Strange mix of rock, rap, and electronic music, but not bad. Some pretty fun songs every now and then but also a lot of boring songs, or songs where too much is going on. An experimental feel, that once again was strange, unique, and different, but as many other feel, this album is all over the place. Definitely some songs on here that I will listen to again, but for the most part I am okay with only listening to most songs once.
Never resonated with me on its original release and still doesn’t.
I don't think I've ever really understood the appeal of Beck, and listening to this didn't change my mind.
Very experimental but not catchy. Too crazy.
Yeah, fine. Devils haircut was good enough to want to get permanently, but nothing else jumped out. I see what Beck is and I understand the niche he's filling, I just don't need much of it I think. 2.5/5 stars.
Sometimes this was okay, sometimes it was a flashback to probably a car advert, and other times I wondered why it sounded like a low-tier Beastie Boys album. All over the place, and I'm not sure it's in a good way
No me gusta mucho la banda, pero del álbum conozco 2 canciones
Throw a massive pile of diarrhea on the wall and see what sticks: The album. Most of it won't stick of course, this is pretty terrible, but at least it was unique for it's time.
Skateboarding backing tracks
I feel uncool, but I just don't understand the psychedelic experimentation in rock. I feel like I'm in an old timey sci fi movie, and it's just not my vibe.
2.5
Listening to this today reminded me of the reasons why I gave Odelay away years ago. I don’t like the fizzy guitar sound, neither the way Beck sings nor the occasional noise. I had bought the record based on the hype at the time, and I still don’t get what everyone’s raving about. At times I realize that fusing rock and hip hop maybe appealing, but that’s an abstract thought; I’m just not feeling anything when playing Odelay except a slight resistance and annoyance. I tried again and felt confirmed in my rejection.
Some good songs but alot of bad songs too
Meh… this one is not really for me. I can definitely appreciate the attempt to merge sampling and aspects of hip hop with rock aesthetics. But much like many other attempts from rock artists to add drum loops and an occasional rap verse to their guitar-based music, it never quite reaches the emotional heights of either rock or hip hop. What I will give Beck though is he does not sanitize his approach to rock. It’s noisy, loud and unpolished in a way that most later rap-rock attempts do not seem to capture, which seemed to lean more into the rap part most of the time. And from that perspective, it does make this record more interesting. I don’t find this particular execution of this idea to be one that draws me in sonically. It’s certainly not bad, and I can confidently say it’s more interesting and a better execution than nu-metal/rap-rock acts that try something similar. Generally, I think hip hop adjacent artists are better at incorporating rock into their music than vice versa (see JPEGMAFIA - I Lay Down My Life For You or Jean Dawson - Pixel Bath). And trip-hop artists like Portishead and Massive Attack approach sampling in non-rap in an ultimately much more satisfying way.
Immediately familiar - sounds like the soundtrack to a 90s film. I kinda find this album a very generic sound though so nothing really stands of it or inspires me particularly.