Reviews (page 6 of 10)
Like a lot of The melodies, but I'ddescribe most of the tracks as boring. I also don't like the vocals at all. Mostly just forgettable email alternative to me.
Different but fairly juvenile. Like Catcher in the Rye, what I would have fallen in love with if younger is just irritating.
Today I found out the piano in Susan’s house is sampled for Pez and 360’s Festival song interesting. The first half of this album is better than the second half
Nothing really notable except for the one song that was in Shrek.
More music I have zero opinion on except Pez stole Susan's house for Festival Song but that's all right, but then again I feel like these guys didn't write it either.
Was kinda like a lesser Beck. Wasn’t bad but nothing too much stood out Except for the surprise shrek song
I got a lot to say about this album *First two tracks sounded fantastic, pulled me in right off the bat, really high hopes for the rest of it *Third kinda falls apart a bit and by track four it feels like I’m listening to a song with no context. It sounded like all the instruments had a purpose but slowly it faded to the point where they were just making sounds for the hell of it. * Sporadically you see flash’s in the pan but nothing like the first two tracks until you get to your lucky day in hell, the penultimate song. The instruments have found their role again and the song has a nice motion of the ocean and is a nice segue to manchild. *Tonally this track nails it in terms of concluding the journey that is this album. The samples of the conversations and the slow progression of the song push all the right buttons in my brain to at least give me a somewhat happy, if not melancholic ending to the session. You’d think writing out my life story would result in a good rating but, at the end of the day, half of the songs, really, were kinda shit.
LOVED this album.
How do you make such downbeat music so uplifting? Utter genius 5.0
A generous 3, why is this on the list?
Mostly boring. Didn't care for the vocals much at all. I've heard mich worse. I guess it's a 2.
-not bad but not too many of the songs really stood out to me. I like the cool effects (samplings? idk?) though, and Guest List is a very very beautiful song. I wouldn’t really define any of the songs as “bad” though so that’s a win -Favorites are Beautiful Freak, Guest List, and Your Lucky Day In Hell
Totally forgettable for me.
Good mid 1990s stuff. Nothing groundbreaking. But still fun. Opening song is great. 3.75
The album art kind of creeps me out
This is a very intriguing album. It feels like it wants to be a serious grunge album but the band just doesn't have the chops for it. This doesn't make the album bad, but puts it in a unique place. The sound is accessible, interesting, and compelling despite the lack of strong lyrics. Still, it have a great vibe.
Surprisingly good album holy smokes
Estuvo lindo de escuchar
It was pretty nice, with soft and rough songs. It was nice to listen to as an album
Rating: 8/10 Honest lyrics with catchy instrumentals. Amazing when it works and okay when it does not. Best songs: Novocaine For The Soul, Susan's House.
The at time trite high school notebook scribble lyrics prevent this from being a 4
Pretty good listen this.
Tim: "That guy's a bucket of cheer." Other than the depression, the music is pretty standard '90s indie rock, not bad but not great.
I wasn't sure what to expect with this album, another artist I've never heard of but I loved it! Will definitely listen again & check out other albums.
Olipa hidas levy, siitä en pitänyt. Tunnelmasta kyllä. Ei liian grunge, mutta atmosfääri on sitä. Tylsä kokonaisuus kuitenkin ja vähän masentava.
Tämä kuulostaa tavalliselta duunipäivältä. Osaisikohan artisti suositella hyvää efektipedaalia?
Proper good, very evocative of the time period and it has that song from Shrek on it. We enjoyed it a lot.
Beautiful and freaky
Really interesting indie band that I'm probably never going to come back to
Strange stuff.
Huh, I didn't expect to see Eels on here. I'm not too familiar with them, but they seem pretty niche. 'Manchild' holds a special place in my heart. This grungy, edgy stuff is my bread and butter.
It's very meaningful for a certain type of person of a certain age. And maybe other kinds of people can like it, too.
"Novocaine For The Soul" is a classic banger. The rest is good enough too. That cover is creepy as fuck though.
Indie emo band, it was ok. I thought I'd like it more since I was enjoying the more garage rock vibe, but it just didn't click with me. My favorites are Novacoaine for the Soul, Mental, and Your Lucky Day in Hell.
this was a weird album - at times it reminded me a bit of nirvana but other tracks were just meh 2.5 rounded up
Y'know, I'd just like to pull up two terms from one of the reviews of this album I read on this website: "Flaming Lips vibes" and "baroque-grunge." That about sums this album's appeal to me. It's the dreamty, contended sigh of melancholy, sometimes wrapped purely in the instrumentation of angst, and other times mixed in with more unique spices. Which, reading that back, sounds like a really pretentious way to put it, but that's the best way I can think of to describe it. Plus, of course—it has a song in SHREK. Nostalgia for that alone already garunteed this thing points, so it's nice to hear that the rest of it holds up as well.
As someone who only knew Susan's House from the track list, this is some pretty damn stellar alternative rock. 4.5 bumped to 5.
I’m at a 4. I need a hug. It’s just a sad album, you know? Right from the rip, “Novocaine for the Soul” is an obvious drug addiction parallel, and the album never really gets happier from there – the big peak of positivity is probably “My Beloved Monster,” and that might just be because it was used in Shrek. Seriously, the back half of this album is just a rough dose of suburban reality that never really brightens itself up. It’s a bold fucking choice, and it’s one I really deeply respect; this is a somewhat thought-provoking album for 1996. Taking this shit head on without really pulling any punches as to the nature of social anxiety and a desire to feel like one belongs stands out in the sort of commercialized rock and pop that was starting to come back into vogue around this time. I don’t think I can give it a 5; there’s a few tracks that hit really well lyrically and vocally, but are supplemented by instrumentals that don’t do too much to stick out, even when they get their little solo moments. Those types of tracks are really prevalent around the middle of the album, and they do make the experience slow down just a little bit too much, but this is still a really strong album. It can read as a bit generic and a little too angsty and moody in that teenage sort of way, but I think it’s possibly more relatable now in 2024 than it was in 1996 as far as the social dynamics go. It’s a very good 4, and it could be a 5 for people who really fucking relate to some of the subject matter here. It could also be a 2 for people who don’t relate to it at all and want to hear this guy shut up about his poor shitty life. For my tastes, I just liked it a lot, and I thought the storytelling and tone of the album was really well done. And now, I will go get that hug.
Remettons-nous dans le contexte, nous sommes en 1996. L'Angleterre, arrogante et fière, se paluche sur la Britpop, une resucée plus ou moins inspirée de sa propre histoire. L'Amérique, elle, digère encore la gueule de bois post-Nirvana, entretenant la flamme d'un rock alternatif qui commence sérieusement à sentir le réchauffé. Le Top 50, n'en parlons même pas, c'est un champ de ruines. Et puis, au milieu de ce paysage un peu morne, un objet musical non identifié atterrit, sans faire de bruit, mais en laissant une trace indélébile pour ceux qui ont eu la chance de le voir passer. Cet objet, c'est "Beautiful Freak", le premier album d'un groupe nommé Eels. Eels, c'était avant tout un homme : Mark Oliver Everett, ou "E". Un type au parcours déjà cabossé, un songwriter de génie qui bricolait des chansons dans son coin depuis des années. Et le voilà qui devient la toute première signature d'un label qui sort de nulle part mais qui fait jaser : Dreamworks Records, le monstre monté par Steven Spielberg, David Geffen et Jeffrey Katzenberg. L'ironie est totale, le label des futurs blockbusters hollywoodiens signe en premier un des disques les plus intimistes, bizarres et profondément anti-spectaculaires de la décennie. Car "Beautiful Freak" est une anomalie, une merveilleuse anomalie. C'est un album qui sonne comme s'il avait été enregistré dans une chambre d'ado sur un 4-pistes asthmatique, mais avec la science mélodique d'un Brian Wilson sous anxiolytiques. C'est une symphonie de bric et de broc, une fusion miraculeuse où les samples de hip-hop crades et le bidouillage sonore le plus inventif viennent se frotter à des guitares saturées à la limite du larsen et à la complainte mélancolique d'un piano Wurlitzer. À une époque où il fallait choisir son camp – le rock, le hip-hop, l'electro – Eels envoyait tout valser et créait son propre langage. Un son unique, reconnaissable entre mille, fait de boucles hypnotiques, de mélodies pop imparables et d'une production faussement naïve qui cachait une sophistication de tous les instants. Mais réduire ce disque à une simple prouesse technique serait passer à côté de l'essentiel. Car "Beautiful Freak" n'est pas qu'un son, c'est un univers. Un monde peuplé de personnages attachants, de "beaux monstres", d'inadaptés magnifiques qui tentent de survivre dans la grisaille d'un quotidien suburbain. C'est un disque sur la solitude ("Flower"), sur la difficulté de communiquer ("My Beloved Monster"), sur les névroses d'un voisinage observé à travers une fenêtre ("Susan's House"). L'ambiance est souvent sombre, dépressive, torturée. La voix de "E", fragile, éraillée, est celle d'un homme qui semble porter toute la misère du monde sur ses épaules. Et pourtant, ce n'est jamais un disque plombant. Chaque chanson, même la plus triste, est traversée par une lueur d'humanité, une tendresse infinie pour ses personnages. Il y a un humour noir, un sens de l'absurde et une autodérision qui sauvent l'ensemble du pathos. "Novocaine for the Soul", le tube improbable qui les a fait connaître, est l'exemple parfait : un rythme hip-hop lourd, un sample vocal inquiétant, et ce refrain désespéré qui devient un hymne pour tous ceux qui se sentent décalés. C'est un disque qui vous dit : "T'es bizarre, t'es paumé, t'es un peu à la masse ? Bienvenue au club. On est tous des beautiful freaks." Cet album est une pierre angulaire de mes années 90. Je l'ai usé jusqu'à la corde, je l'ai conseillé, je l'ai presque imposé à quiconque passait la porte du magasin de disques. C'est un de ces albums-refuges, un de ces disques-amis qui vous comprennent sans que vous ayez besoin de parler. Une perfection, un 5/5, sans la moindre hésitation. Ce qui m'amène à la question qui tue : POURQUOI ? Pourquoi un groupe capable d'une telle réussite, d'un tel équilibre entre innovation et émotion, reste-t-il encore aujourd'hui une référence pour une poignée de connaisseurs plutôt qu'un pilier de la culture populaire ? Et j'ai ma petite théorie, peut-être que Dreamworks, avec ses gros sabots hollywoodiens, n'a jamais su quoi faire de ce bijou fragile. Peut-être que l'album était trop subtil, trop intelligent pour une époque qui commençait à réclamer du bruit et de la fureur simpliste. Peut-être que la tristesse de "E" était trop réelle, trop palpable, pas assez "cool" ou "grunge" pour être vendue comme un produit. Eels n'a jamais été un groupe "sexy". Il a toujours été un groupe sincère. Et la sincérité, mes amis, ça ne fait pas toujours vendre des millions. Mais au fond, qu'est-ce qu'on en a à foutre ? Le succès de masse aurait peut-être dilué leur propos, les aurait forcés à se répéter. En restant ce trésor caché, Eels a conservé son intégrité, sa pureté. "Beautiful Freak" n'appartient pas à tout le monde. Il appartient à ceux qui ont pris le temps de l'écouter, de le comprendre, de se reconnaître dans ses fissures et ses fêlures. C'est une petite merveille, un classique absolu. L'un de mes disques préférés des années 90. Et si vous passez à côté, c'est que vous n'avez rien compris.
V good
Too weird
I liked this album a lot more than I thought I would. I was only familiar with novocaine for the soul before.
This is just a rock album that is good at what it does. Nothing bad about it, but also nothing truly amazing. 3/5
Cool
First listen. Decent.
Eels has some good songs, I like quite a few of there songs. However, I find them to be tiring for a whole album. Eels for me is great for a song here and there but it’s too samey when you listen to an hours worth.
not particularly inticing, okay.
Been awhile since I listened all the way through. Still solid.
Sounds like Ben Folds.
Solid album all the way through.
Beautiful Freak starts very Cake-y. Slow spoken word stuff didn’t work for me. But the album slowly gets going. Rags to Rags gets it’s going and by Not Ready Yet we are fully there. This album is a grower 7.5/10
Something about this makes me feel uncomfortable. Quirky men who insist on writing songs either about the pitfalls of capitalism or their boners with no lyrical prowess in-between certainly aren’t who I’m listening to in my free time. And Beautiful Freak definitely has that feel, although I think/hope that it’s a bit self-aware, and that Everett knows his focus areas are a bit problematic, like Ghost World or Scott Pilgrim, although maybe not even like Pinkerton. Still, even if it’s satirical with a good ol’ dose of that David Foster Wallace sense of spectrum-driven irony, it’s still focused on these topics, this aesthetic, this type of pre-internet incel vibe. I’m not particularly interested in that, not only as a listener (because duh), but I’m also not interested in it intellectually, because even if you’re being tongue-in-cheek, then like, what the fuck are you trying to say? Am I supposed to find this funny, or insightful, or deep? Because I don’t. So there’s that. But on a purely sonic level, the outsider aesthetics and nerd-core alt-rock genre mashups are really grating to my ears. Like, I get that there’s an appeal and an art to throwing the kitchen sink into a record, but I wouldn’t call the execution on Beautiful Freak artful by any stretch of the word. The soft-loud dynamics were done better by the college rock radio staples that came before Eels, the studio frills are done better by both bedroom artists and ‘60s psychedelic rock bands, and without those elements, you have some pretty bland post-grunge alt-rock that feels like it could’ve been made by any 22 year old man in 1995. It’s serviceable, and maybe almost decent, but it also feels like Eels is purposely writing against what “sounds good.” And that’s annoying. Even at its best moments, it’s far from enjoyable, because in my opinion, passable should be the baseline of a fucking song, and none of these songs are what I would call passable compositions. There’s very few well-composed moments on this album, let alone songs. In fact, Everett can’t seem to last an entire 3.5 minutes without adding in something to make his music soooo quirky and soooo random and sooo original. But it just sounds stupid, like he can’t actually write a fucking song. I tried so hard to find something to enjoy about this album – and I mean a moment, like a chorus or a bridge, not even a fucking song! And while I found a couple (the hook on “Your Lucky Day In Hell,” the chorus of “Susan’s House,” the ukulele-drum machine combo on “Flower”), none of them equate to a full blown song that’s worth my time. So there’s that. I don’t know to describe it, but there’s a smugness to this album that feels like I’m being looked down upon by the artist. Like, if I’m not smart enough for enjoying the eccentricities, then I’m obviously just being a prude and cunt (hard “c” on that one) for finding some of the vibes gross and inappropriately revealing. But I get it, I know exactly what’s happening. A man can put his strange and anti-social worldview on full display in his music and the world will describe it as “raw.” I don’t believe it’s raw. I find it unsettling, and annoying, and downright painful. Like Fiona Apple doing coke with Quentin Tarantino. The more I focused on what little potential I found suggested in a few fine fleetingly moments, the more its aesthetic choices and general vibe gave me the ick. That’s it. This album just gives me the ick. It’s music for a very specific type of man, a man no woman in your life trusts. And maybe that’s an unfair/invalid way to critique music, but it’s the gut feeling that bubbles up in my throat as I listen to this. It’s purposefully pathetic and mentally ill, but it’s not like it’s trying to heal, or be better, or even say anything. It’s just an insecure man blabbing about his insecurities, and just because he’s a man, he anticipates and even expects praise, regardless if those insecurities reveal a toxic, uncomfortable truth about the type of man he truly is. Maybe if the sonic palette was at the very least enjoyable (and maybe if I had come across this album pre-transition as a 15 year old, a la Pinkerton), I would be forgiving if still critical because at least the music would be good. But the music itself isn’t even worth my fucking time! So there’s that. This record is gross. Men are gross, and I don’t respect them. Yuck.
'Beautiful Freak' took me by surprise. I expected some introspective modern indie rock, which is definitely is on the surface. I didn't quite expect the uneasiness of this album though. It almost manages to reach the style of The Flaming Lips but stops but a little short of proper art rock. The music sounds introverted and kind of alien but also inescapable. It's a shame I didn't know about it when I was younger because I probably would have loved it. Despite having never heard it before, Eels have still managed to take me back in time to the late 90s and a period of subdued angst that just wanted everything to sound different from everything I had heard before.
This was a really mediocre album. Nothing particularly profound or revolutionary was present. Sounded like a derivative and boring version of better music that was coming out at the same time.
Those eyes on the cover say early Photoshop and the music says mid-to-late 1990s which all aligns. The singing has a little Cracker throatiness to it that I can appreciate. Some of the tracks are more of their time than others but overall the album is a solid slice of "alternative" pop / rock.
To be completely honest, I am terrified of eels. Not the band, of course, but the actual creatures. They're weird and slimy and their teeth are particularly intimidating. I think it all stems from when I played New Super Mario Bros. as a kid; there was a level that had a giant eel chasing you through a difficult water level, and it chomped you up if it caught you. Anyways, the dread and incomprehensible, slightly pathological fear of eels has absolutely nothing to do with this fantastic album. It's very cohesive and luckily has nothing to do with eels. There are themes of existential dread, which is much more up my alley. I need to check out more eels. The band I mean.
Stunning truthful and beautiful
Takes you across to a strange melancholy
I'm rating this a 3, but at the same time, I want to hear more by the band. Really good music, but it can get too mellow.
Primo pensiero è stato un 2 ma ci sono abbastanza canzoni interessanti da salvarlo, nel complesso però forse è poco memorabile. Nel mio cuore hanno punti bonus perché hanno fatto canzoni per le colonne sonore di Shrek
Though one can find some enjoyable tunes on the record, I would argue that better albums were released and/or recorded in this period. Not worth more than second listen, I m giving this 2 stars
Freakishly good
Feels like a product of it's time, but solid album overall.
I'm not really feeling this one. It's not that it's bad, but the choice of melodies is kind of annoying and cheesy to me. 2.5
Yeah that was a really pleasant song, all 12 of it.
Just blah 90s sound
I liked this a lot. I knew Novocaine for the Soul but nothing else. I thought they were British. I've heard a few things about E and he sounds a really interesting guy
Hard to get through an Eels album. It's both the hygienic post alternative sound and the lyrics, as well as the weak samples. Sputter Out I've heard so many times it doesn't have any gas left in the tank. This album is one you want to like, but the elements of the raspy vocals and the off-putting beats with those post alt guitars don't mesh well.
Some of these tracks were played incessantly when this came out. I think Nick Harcourt was the pusher of this album, but then a track appeared on the Shrek soundtrack and it seemed like it was everywhere. Admittedly, I bought this and listened to it until I couldn't stand it any longer, which was maybe a couple of days. That cover, with the girl and the bulging eyes was a big fad around that time. The Black Hole Sun video using the same effect. But the songs like Going over to Susan's House was utter cheese and written in a style that even Andy Samberg would pick up on and parody the style in SNL videos with Justin Timberlake. It was all such crap. So, listening to this again yesterday was more of the same. However I did do some digging on the voice behind The Eels' Mark Oliver Everett or 'E' as he goes by and discovered he's one of my favorite characters, albeit a small one in one of the best shows on Netflix "Love" where he plays a newly married hipster with a nagging wife and the struggles of transitioning from an indy musician to family life. This album gets an extra star for that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJheqb6zlHU
“Novocaine for the Soul” is familiar, and while it’s not great, I like the slight trip hop feel injected into a rock song. That continues on “Susan’s House,” but it fades away after that in favor of some pretty tame and forgettable mid-90s alt rock.
Even though I enjoyed hearing this album, I’m not going to remember it after today. Amongst the grungier, harder popular alternative sounds of the 1990s (Nirvana, Pear Jam, and Green Day for example) Eels came along with an interesting, lighter, unique sound. I can understand how the mid 90s backdrop helped this album standout, but I feel like it doesn’t stand up.
Nice album
2.8 Ok album. Some of the songs felt unfinished.
It was a decent album overall. Nothing to write home about though.
Interesting album, strange album. Might listen to it again, might not.
I never really took into account how deeply the Shrek soundtrack has warped my mind, almost snapped my neck when I heard that guitar breakdown. The rest of the album was solid too
not bad 4 stars
no i understand why I never heard of eels
Possibly about the most average record I’ve ever heard
Really enjoyed it. Great album, great lyrics.
A beautiful freak of an album.
Noteworthy songs - 808080808 Magical Dream - Kinda catchy synth, but the rest is bland. Ancodia - Good background noise. Cobra Bora - Actually kind of cool, reminds me of Bomberman Hero. Pacific 202 - N64 vibes, but melody isn't great. Donkey Doctor - Nothing too special, weird ending. 808080808 - Really cool beginning. A little slow in the middle but stays interesting enough. Sunrise - Nothing remarkable. The Fat Shadow - Eerie. Very short.
Some interesting ideas. Didn’t ultimately stick with me.
Sounds like melancholic, emo-grunge. Not my type
New to me. I’d withdrawn from like around 1996. Enjoyed enough I queued up the sophomore album.
schöne Retro/Grunge/Rock/Retro 1990er Stücke
listen to a few songs. don’t know how i feel about it. might give it another chance idk
Nice enough, got a bit bored but ok
2 stars
Loved this entire thing. One of my favorite new albums I've gotten on the list in a while. Rating: 4.7
This album is a lot more than Novocaine For The Soul. It speaks directly to my inner angst-filled teenager. The low point for me is that the last song, Manchild, is literally Everybody Hurts (REM) which I thought was a bit lazy. Hard to choose a fave track, but Guest List hits home. Rating: 4
It wasn’t bad and it wasn’t great. It was fine.
Haven’t listened to this for years , sounds of the time , but still a good album with just a few tracks holding it back .
Has not aged well. Nobody has to hear this before they die.
Love this album.
This was enjoyable, but not stellar. Found some of the songs a bit boring ...but great sound & vocals throughout. And what about Dobby's cousin on the artwork?
Beautiful Freak is a sweet album. It’s melodically comforting and the lyrics are genius. There’s a bit of a mom rock vibe but sometimes that’s nice.
It was....alright I suppose.
Cet album de Eels réside dans l'ADN auditif de ma génération. J'entrais au collège. Je me souviens de Novocaine for the soul à la radio, de mon père achetant le single puis l'album, du poste qui le diffusait dans le salon pendant que je faisais mes devoirs... Je prends toujours plaisir à écouter Beautiful Freak, il est ancré dans son époque, à l'intersection des styles musicaux emblématiques des 90's. Ce n'est peut-être pas le meilleur de Eels parmi les (nombreux) albums qui suivront, d'où ma note. Mais il n'en demeure pas moins un des albums "d'adultes" parmi les plus marquants du haut de mes 11 ans !
One of my favourite albums from the 1990's 10/10
Better than I expected.
This is like the American version of Elvis Costello. Not spectacular, but it's good. Very popular with the 90s alt rock scene. Favorite song: Novocaine for the soul.
So much darker than I remember. Even better than I remember.
Really liked this album
I love 90s music and have listened to this whole album in the past. I forgot about them and was glad to take that trip down memory lane.
The first track Novocaine for the soul took me back to the mid-90s. But, the rest of the album was boring.
Loved the vibe and happy to hear early Eels since my only exposure was the song Fresh Blood
Just good music
in my opinion, this album is so much stronger on the second half. from 'My Beloved Monster' (shout out Shrek love scene montage) on, i actually really enjoyed this. the slowed down, more melodic tracks. i think this is a solid 3. good tracks, but would have to be in a certain mood to come back to.
There is a certain sub-sect of people my age who treat the dude from Eels like he's one of the great underrecognized musical geniuses of our time. I'm very proud to call none of them my close, personal friend.
Fun listen, it’s got a shrek song on it lol so that bumps it up a star
It‘s okay…but nothing incredible
Soft confessionals and gentle music make this album ultimately listenable. Nothing stands out as particularly special or weak.
loved it!
Interesnate debut; toques originales. Lástima que no se hayan superado posteriormente.
I remember being fascinated by this album cover when I was a little girl looking through my dad’s music collection. Enjoyed but not a top album for me.
Gave this a few listens - I knew Novocaine for the Soul and recognised a couple of other tracks but otherwise was coming to this album fresh. It's certainly a grower (and from a high starting point as I enjoyed it on first listen). Good stuff, classic 90s indie rock
Love this album. Never heard of them before this list. Standouts: Nonvaccine for the Soul, Susan's House, Beautiful Freak, Your Lucky Day in Hell, Flower, Manchild,
#im14andthisisdeep
Das Cover sagt: Nein! Reinhören ist trotzdem Pflicht. Und siehe da: Was zu hören ist, gefällt, teilweise zumindest.
Beautiful freak album!
“Beautiful Freak” is the debut studio album by Eels, an 90s indie-sounding alternative rock group. This album is pretty mild. Interestingly, this is the second album produced by Dreamwork records.
OK 90s music with freaky eyes
solidly good rocking album. 4 stars.
I’ve seen this cover for as long as I can remember, but for whatever reason, it’s one of those albums I never thought about listening to. Now that I am listening to it, I can’t believe I always passed it up, because back in the late 90s, I would have fallen in love with this album, especially considering everything else I was listening to back then.
I've absolutely adored this album since shortly after it's release. E does a fantastic job of contrasting the bleak with the beautiful, producing a record that is melancholy yet strangely optimistic in it's own way. It really is a fantastic listen.
góðir sprettir. gaman að þessu. 3,5.
Good
I like Eels songs individually usually, but I always lose interest trying to listen to a whole album. Same thing here; first few tracks hold my attention but I was quickly wanting to move on to something else. So I don't think I'd revisit this as a whole often, but in bits and pieces it's pretty good.
Eh. It was fine. I've heard it before, and it still doesn't do a lot for me. I don't care much for his singing, and his lyrics are weird. Some of the compositions are cool though. 2.75/5
I have a friend who traveled to Germany just for an Eels show, but I’ve never listened to them before. Sorry Steven, but they’re just alright. I love good 90s alt, and it’s decent stuff, but not world-traveling good. C
Good decompressing music.
Track 4- beautiful Couldn't get behind this one at all. Sadly forgot about it immediately after listening
Some okay. Some not so much.
A strong and fun 90s alt rock album even if nothing too much stands out from its contemporaries. The Flaming Lips influence is pretty strong, and there are elements of Beck as well - both of whom are great and it doesn’t quite reach their heights
4/5
After the first song I barely realized it was on
a quanto pare contiene una canzone di Shrek. fun fact. per il resto, un bell'album anni '90, che non sono proprio il mio decennio preferito. però carino.
Che dire? Una sorpresa
Primo pensiero è stato un 2 ma ci sono abbastanza canzoni interessanti da salvarlo, nel complesso però forse è poco memorabile. Nel mio cuore hanno punti bonus perché hanno fatto canzoni per le colonne sonore di Shrek
Had briefly glimpsed this album cover before in a "greatest psychedelic album" poll and I was very excited to listen and this really pulled through. Through some good headphones, this album is super immersive and enjoyable to listen to, right up my alley, with just enough variety in songwriting to keep it interesting
Eels debut puts catchy rock/pop with often despairing sweary lyrics and it does a bit of that Pixies loud quiet thing. Good stuff.
Reminded me of old dEUS. Less whimsical and crazier than the direct follow up to this one. Really solid album all around.
Ok but not wild about it.
This is a wonderful album. It’s definitely a little “different,” but it’s amazing. Novocain for the Soul was a massive hit that most people will remember. The lyrics are tremendous - thought provoking and, in places, heartbreaking. E is amazing at seeing people and writing from the heart. 4 solid stars.
Ive only really heard a handful of Eels songs. But this album was pretty solid. Reminded me a bit of Sparklehorse
Hated the album cover, loved the album itself. I've not generally enjoyed 90's rock, but this was a really good blend of surfish rock with a slight hint of grunge that resonated really well for me. Also, big shoutout to Shrek.
This album wasn't for me. It'd be fine as background music because it's not bad or anything, but I find nothing about it interesting, thought-provoking, or emotionally stimulating. A pure analogy for “meh.”
This one is a solid 3.5. If I'd heard it when it came out it would probably be an easy 4, but hearing it for the first time in 2024 makes me lean closer to a 3. Really solid 90's pop rock and an enjoyable if unremarkable listen.
It was nice to visit an old friend. But I remember why I moved on. It is fine, but repetitive.
Really enjoyed this album, perfect mix of quirky with alternative, easy to listen in a variety of settings. ‘Beautiful Monster’ I recognized from Shrek but I probably had heard some of this when it released. Vocals were somewhat one-dimensional but some cool effects helped. 4.25/5
A better headphone listen than a car listen, so I definitely enjoyed it more on my second listen. The writing is strong, it’s got some heaviness, it’s emotional and clever. My hangup with Beautiful Freak is with the vocals, the delivery is a bit too talky at times. I found Susan’s House to be particularly annoying. There are some strong tracks and the delivery can work at times, I thought Flower was a good song. Kinda reminded me of Beck in the sense that it’s both good and annoying. Ah I don’t know I’m giving a cowardly 3.5 stars
I surprised myself here. This record is pretty great. Alt-rock nearly at its finest, with little bits of influence from jazz, funk, and classical (among others). Reminiscent of Radiohead's debut album, Pablo Honey, though I would argue Beautiful Freak is generally better and more consistent. Lots of electrical SFX, synths, and sharp/sudden editing, all of which I really enjoyed (though I understand people who don't). That editing is especially apparent in the stop-start-filled opening track, Novocaine For The Soul, which is coincidentally also my favourite song on here. My main criticism is that the vocalist doesn't have much variety – but even so, it's still a more convincing voice than half the albums on this list, so I can't complain too much. 4/5 Key tracks: Novocaine For The Soul, Flower, Mental, Spunky, Manchild
I never listened to this album because the cover gives me the heebie jeebies. Which is a shame because the music is solid 3 maybe even a 4.
Very good. I'm not a fan of self-pitying lyrics, but they worked here. Good vibe
strange
Never heard of the Eels but I truly loved listening to this album. Listened to it quite passively but felt a deep level of intrigue all through. Would love to pay closer attention next listen to really follow the story
I'm freaked Meh
4 for vibes but second half was definitely weaker
This was also fine. A bit of a run of mediocre albums this week
a personal favorite
If you're only in it for powerful lead vocals, energetic songs, beautiful harmonies and big lead guitars. This isn't the album for you. But if you want some well crafted/written indie alternative music, then don't skip this record. E's vocals are considerably limited, but his lyrics and song craft are downright masterful. The bands only radio single "Novocain For The Soul" kicks off the album with some creative and uplifting yet depressing lyrics like "life is good, and I feel great, cause mother said I was a great mistake". "Susan's House" is a spoken word track over a simple drum groove that should not be skipped. And everyone who grew up in the 90's will remember "My Beloved Monster" from the OG Shrek soundtrack. Personally, 5 stars, no notes
Simply not appealing to me! Found it from time to time boring. 1/5
Not the best album from the 90s to get five stars from me, but it is the most album from the 90s to get five stars from me.
Novocaine For The Soul Susan's House My Beloved Monster
Day107 - seems like a big debut song from the debut album hurt the band overall. gen-x can’t help but be pulled to this music after getting raised like we were
good start, strong ending. soggy middle though, bit same-y, mopey and has a bit suburban-kid-who-just learned-that-bad-things-exist-doing-grunge smell (especially on that Susan song). I like 90s rock though so the self-similarity doesn't bother me that much. the Shrek song was unexpected but great and might've given it the few emotional attachment points to bump this up to a 4.
Geht so .... Interessant aber nicht sehr abwechslungsreich
I remember listening to this album a few weeks after it came out. My friend Thomas Lutzeier lent it to me. I remember liking it more than I'd imagined I would based on the singles I'd heard. Alas, I no longer like it more than I thought I would. It's ok.
Yeah, it’s pretty 90s. Not sure how this flew under my radar. It falls in line with most of the other stuff I was listening to at the time.
A mediocre alternative rock album that felt like it was just trying to be different. Also the worst album cover I've ever seen
The cover is creepy, but once I got past that I enjoyed the album. Interesting vibes, and the strained vocals reminded me of the Elliot Smith album we got earlier.
Feel like this was trying very hard to be quirky, wasn’t terrible but it just felt a bit off, 6/10
Pretty good! 7.5/10
7/10 - There were some good songs. Some of it was too edgy for me but others were good. Susan's house was weird
Lowkey really good, really liked the guitar
This seems like something I’d normally enjoy. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood, but really not a huge fan of this 4/10
Wow I camt believe I had never listened to this album. Its very cool amd experimental that forst song is pure gold and got me into a full groove to listen to the complete album. Its indie experimental rock and I love the voice distortions on the songs amd the sudden unexpected pauses amd just crazy stuff going on all the time. A surprise song every song I really was lind of clueless of what to expect after the first song but was intrigued and needed to know the progression. One of the nest albums I didnt had a clue about that Ive “discovered” here. Know the band amd know a few songs but have never ever listened to an album of them and they have 15 albums which is very very impressive.
Nice. I enjoyed the style.
Enjoyably melodic, indie-pop-rock, worth listening to a few times.
Starts off promising with refreshing but typical 90s indie/alt-rock, but then fades into this mediocrity and settles for it. Nothing bad, but it kind of just washes over you.
Not listened yet
Well, this really was some background-listening worthy alternative rock. There really isn’t much to write home about, other than that I am not averse to any of the tracks, and would most definitely warm to most on re-listen. With the exception of Susan’s House and perhaps Mental, these are some bang-average alt-rock tunes.
favourite: novocaine for the soul least favourite: not ready yet, guest list wahhhhhhhhhhh wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh this is one of the whiniest albums I have ever heard. complaining from start to finish for 43 minutes and 52 seconds susan's house is one of the worst offenders, trying to be deep without really saying anything at all the instrumentals are pretty good though, save me from completely writing it off + the cover sucks ass mayb 4-5/10
Besides maybe a few highlights, this is a serviceable 90s alt-rock album with some rather flat ballads and lyrical content (e.g. Beautiful Freak). The most noteworthy things I can say about this record is that it has a song that was used in the Shrek film and the cover for this might be one of the worst things I've ever seen. Also starting your album with the lyric "Life is hard, and so am I" is crazy
Quite enjoyed this. This kind of music somewhat passed me by in the 90’s but there is something nostalgic about it.
Not for me I would say. Clearly doing its thing, just bored me to tears.
‘Novocaine For The Soul’ and ‘Susan’s House’ got a lot of radio airplay locally in my hood during the mid-90s, and it’s nice to hear these songs again. Of the rest of the tracks ‘Mental’ is a standout as is ‘Guest List’ and ‘Your Lucky Day In Hell’. Q Magazine (apparently) described this album as a mix of the following (and I quote) “Beck’s Odelay rhythms, The Beatles songwriting maturity, Sparklehorse’s simple production and Brian Wilson’s visionary editing arrangements” It’s none of these, but its solid, sturdy, whiny alt-rock from the mid-90s that still goes OK today.
I recognized the first track, and I kind of liked the second. This was a mellow and somewhat different listen, but after the first two nothing else stood out to me.
A pretty enjoyable listen. More so on the front end than the back where I thought the album was a little tired. Overuse of sampling and occasional F-bomb drops I think make this venture slightly into pretentious land, but that was probably a sign of the 90s time.
Hell yes, I love this album. My 90’s bias is probably showing, but I just think this album captures that post-grunge 90’s alt-rock sound so well. I think this is probably under appreciated, there’s a lot of clever choices from progressions to instrumentation.
Life is hard. And so am I. Takes some balls to start a song like that and then jump right into the chorus. That was really the only song I recognized from these guys and felt like there was a reason for that.
I’ve always enjoyed Novocaine for the Soul but never really gave the album a chance. I liked it quite a bit! Is it on par with some other albums at this rating? Prob not. Did it give me tasty 90’s vibes? Indeed. And for that reason, 4*. 3.5/4
"Life is hard, and so am I" LMAOOO immediate add to my liked songs. Bro IDK what it is but I love this album
#1 sehr bekannt. Kann man anhören.
I found this by turns, Dull, irritating and condescending (he saw a 17 yr old pushing a pram and thought it must be her sister, Really? That great poignant sadness moved you deeply? Come visit a UK council estate sometime bud, or really anywhere else in the world). Still, I guess that is his experience and he's entitled to voice his feelings. Just because there are worse things under the sun, doesn't mean that I need to invalidate his experience I guess. Shame on me for shame shaming. Also strangely depressing, the music wasn't particularly sad or evocative of deep emotion, it's just, I felt kind of down listening to it. Would not recommend, although, it's all well and good. For someone else this was obviously a world changing album, I hope it is for you, fine reader. If not, you can just listen to that one song that got all the radio play for years on end and call it good.
Meh.
Twisted Semisonic! I dig it!
I loved it.
Awesome record from start to finish and I liked it very much
Took me a few attempts to get my way thru. Fairly approachable but a bit underwhelming. Some of the 90s era rock came off as dated
My Beloved Monster is still lovely, and the high point of this album for me. I like his voice, but the overall mood is pretty bleak. (I think I remember it was about his sister’s suicide.) A difficult listen.
"My Beloved Monster" is a classic, but I thought the rest of the album was just OK.
Weird
I’ve only ever heard novocaine for the soul and if you ask me about this album in a week and a half I will probably say that I only remember novocaine for the soul. The rest was decent 90s alt but really nothing to write home about.
Incredible album. PLUS a sneaky shrek song thrown in.
I don't understand why this album is on the list. Replace it with a jazz masterpiece! What about world music? Too much angsty indie/alternative on this list. 1 star for the somewhat decent track Not Ready Yet.
# 187 : Not too bad, its was easy enough to listen to, obviously a debut album, it has that Shrek song on it, which probably got it in this list in the first place, somewhat of a surprise though. I liked Rags To Rags the most.
I like My Beloved Monster, I kind of like Guest List
I should like this, it sounds so 90's. Unfortunately its the worst parts of the era with horrible vocals.
Ei huono mutta tylsä
Great Album
B Novocaine For The Soul 4 Susan's House 3 Rags To Rags 3 Beautiful Freak 3 Not Ready Yet 3 My Beloved Monster 4 Flower 3 Guest List 3 Mental 4 Spunky 3 Your Lucky Day In Hell 4 Manchild 3 This was good. Much better than expected.
Было интересно, но не зацепило с первого раза. Может стоит дать второй шанс в другой раз. Лучше, чем Оазис для меня. 3,5
The 3 songs I knew are crackers but the rest left m a bit cold tbh. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood
Wasn't feeling it. Terrible album cover.
Today's album is like 90's alternative rock/indie rock. Not bad at all. They did have that song My Beloved Monster that was featured on Shrek. Favourite songs: Rags to Rags, Mental, Novocaine for the Soul, Guest List, Not Ready Yet, Susan's House, My Beloved Monster Least favourite songs: Beautiful Freak 4/5
The mixing/mastering needs some work (channel tracking is noticeably off on more than one track). This is one of those mid to late 90s albums that began to shape indie rock into the genre we know today. The string background accompaniment on Novocaine for the Soul adds so much depth and nuance to the track. I prefer this album to Eels' more contemporary albums (particularly the last two). Your Lucky Day in Hell does remind me of the cult classic and highly underrated movie it appears in, Dead Man On Campus. All of that said, to me this one is just so-so.
Love the sound. Would prefer a less pretentious set of lyrics
I’m not sure how I stumbled onto the Eels but I did and I’m thankful. I don’t know where to classify the Eels and I don’t know what most of their songs are supposed to be about but I dig it. I wouldn’t give them 5 stars for any album or song but I don’t think they could ever fail. This album keeps you moving and could be the soundtrack for any low key event you may be a part of. Choice cut: Manchild
Easy - This „freak“ gets freaky 5 stars.
Kinda weird but not bad
Pretty cool alt/indie rock. Not the best album of its era but an enjoyable listen.
at first i was like "ugh this is so annoying" but then i was like, "i wish more men should process their feelings, like this" this band being in shrek, shrek 2 AND shrek 3 ANDDDD the grinch movie with Jim Carey is iconic favorites: novacaine for the soul, your lucky day in hell
I liked. Way ahead of its time as far as indie/emo rock is concerned.
It was not what I was expecting from the cover, but it was a pleasant surprise. It's not really a big fave, but nothing heinous either. I liked the music a lot more than I liked the lyrics.
Well would you look at that, another generic sounding nothing special album from the 90s. The sad thing is, is that this is actually one of the best albums I've got so far from this decade. Which is really annoying because it reinforces this idea that my dad and people of his generation have that the 90s is the decade that music stopped being good, and after the year 1989 it was all downhill. Which I know is obviously not the case, but the selection of 90s albums I have received so far isn't helping me prove that point. I definitely can't point to anything specific to call bad in this album, but it is very generic. As far as 90s indie pop rock goes, this is actually a decent album, and even though I accuse it of being generic, it still has a charm to it that makes me like it more than I feel like I should. I can't give this album more than a 3 because it's so generic, but it's a generic 90s album in the same way that In Rainbows is a generic Radiohead album. Very typical of that sound and style, but it's a good sound and style to begin with, so generic is still pretty good.
I continually forget how underrated the Eels are. Really solid album from front to back. 4/5
Lol, the Shrek band. Pretty decent; don't know if I'd say I loved any of it, but far from disliked. Top tracks: Beautiful Freak, Guest List, Your Lucky Day in Hell
90s blah.
Surprised that I liked it. Much more mellow than I expected.
Overall -it’s giving weezer RHCP crossover -I don’t really have any notes or comments cause I don’t think there is anything noteworthy -they have such a familiar sound I would of sworn I’d heard them -I’m torn between 2 or 3, to me it’s one of those albums you forget is playing when listening
This guy is the final boss of the 90s angsty grunge era. It's not my favorite genre in the world, but it does feel like this album has set the standard for all other albums for this era from both a musical and a lyrical perspective. You might not like it, but this is what peak indie performance looks like.
Eh. Kind of boring.
I was skeptical that this would be another mediocre alternative album. Well, this is isn't. There is this grungy sound, but combined with such interesting, partly surprising instrumentation, that this album stands out. "Susan's House" was the one with the most impression on me, followed by "Flower" and "Guest List".
Reminds me of the cure, or Radiohead. Actually enjoyed listening to this album.
Went in with low expectations based purely on the cover art.. but it’s actually a really nice mix of grunge and pop. Also love My Beloved Monster from Shrek - never knew who sang it. I’ll revisit this for sure.
Some kind of alternative I guess. Interesting at times, I like this.
When I started the album I didn't know what to expect. When I first heard the singer start I thought I was going to have problems with the album. I'm glad that I was wrong. This album is beautiful. The combination of the singers rough voice with the varying intensity of instruments works incredibly. My Beloved Monster was probably my top song, quick side tangent but I thought the singer sounded familiar and then I realized it was because this song was in the movie Shrek. Back to the review, definitely a worth while album to check out and one I plan to come back to. These are the kinds of albums that make this thing feel extra worthwhile since I never would have known to pursue this one if not for this.
Didn't expect to like it as much as I did. I'll need to listen to it a few more times to fully flesh out my opinion, but as of first listen it's going into my rotation. Weird and pretty.
Pretty good. Never heard of them before. Indie alt easy listening.
Wasn't familiar, but I really like it.
Was a little weird at first but got better.
I wouldn’t have liked this album back in the 1990s either. Too much manly angst.
This was much better than I expected but still feels generic to me. The theremin was a fun touch, but not stellar by any means. They know how to spin a good track but it doesn't really feel any better than the sum of it's parts. I agree this is a good album, but not sure why it's one of the 1001 albums I need to hear. Best tracks: Susan's House, My Beloved Monster, Novocaine for the Soul
Just not my thing.
Musically nice and slow and melodic and at times ethereal countered with creepy lyrics and singing that varies from almost falsetto to strained/smoky. "My Beloved Monster" reminds me of Shrek movie but it's still a great tune. "Susan's House" (along with Atmosphere's "Yesterday") samples Gladys Knight and The Pips piano intro.
4.3 - Great album, seen them live and prefer this more than later stuff I think
I liked this more than I thought I would. It felt pure 90s and v nostalgic. Susan's House was a fave, toe tapping.
I like the dynamics on the first two tracks, songs segue from section to section elegantly. It’s kinda downhill from there for me though. Fave Tracks: Novocaine for the Soul, Susan’s House, Your Lucky Day in Hell 2.9/5
I liked guest list. Not sure why this was influential… maybe the social commentary? Spunky is very depressing. Too depressing for me to ever go out of my way to listen to again.
some nice jams on this record. overall a solid rock album
3.5
Takes me back to high school girlfriends
There was a time when I really got into The Eels - not when they released this album but a few years later, early 2000s, so I know this album very well. To be slightly hipster again, although this has the most famous songs on it, their second album "Electo-Shock Blues" is amazing, though very sad and all about death and loss. I like their third album too. After that, I decided I'd gotten all the Eels I needed and just tend to vaguely keep an ear out for their new stuff. But I like every song on this album and, though I guess you have to be in a certain mood, I love it.
Reminds me very much of Uni days, great album though not the cheeriest of subjects.
Like Jesus and his lawyers are coming back
This album was okay, nothing too spectacular. Just a standard alternative rock album from the mid-90s. I am not familiar with the Eels, but I do like the lead singers voice. I highly recommend listening to this album, even if you are not a fan of alt-rock. Favorite Song(s): "Novocaine For The Soul", "Rags To Rags", "My Beloved Monster", "Your Lucky Day In Hell"
Listen to this and it's entirety while painting a wall white in the middle of a high traffic public hallway. It was a very relaxing experience.
This was not what I expected. Having never heard of the Eels, an alt band that was around when I was into the scene made me double take at this suggestion. Turns out, it's a good record and I'll add it to my que. 4/5.
This album I've never listened to before!
Never heard of these guys before. It’s a definite vibe - I came in and out of enjoying it, even within one song. The riff in Susan’s House was sampled by Atmosphere (Yesterday). Never realized that was a sample until now. Ah, and that song from Shrek “My Beloved Monster” sort of stood out as a different style. The more I listened to the album, the more I appreciated it. Quite a variety of different styles in the end. Definitely enjoyable overall.
I came in expecting to hate it, especially after real bad vibes from the cover art. I mean come on. I get the name of your album is beautiful freak but u don’t have to creep me the fuck out. But alas, it actually turned out much better than i expected, especially in the second half of the album. I guess albums, like ogres, can sometimes be like an onion.
Susan’s House and the Shrek song alone bring it up to a 2 stars for me. Otherwise, it isn’t musically compelling enough to carry the humor and isn’t funny enough to carry the music. Too presumptuous and relying on the fact that the listener “gets it” as their making their way through the album. Just kidding, the Susan’s House piano is from Gladys Knight. It’s a 1 star from me dog.
I have a huge soft spot for 90s Alternative Rock and I can’t believe I hadn’t come across this album before. This one is great for background music with its mellow vibes that can be played from beginning to end (maybe skip Susan’s House every now and then if you don’t want to be a buzzkill). There also seems to be some influence from Beck and artists like him. Definitely something I’ll be coming back to and a discography I'm excited to explore.
Sad/melancholy lyrics with an upbeat chorus is a winning formula for me. This album made me feel like world is shit, but I guess I'll keep on doing my thing. Standout songs: Novacaine for the soul Susan's house Rags to rags My beloved monster (THE SONG FROM SHREK!!) This is an interesting band to be signed to DreamWorks label. I guess it makes sense. DreamWorks isn't going to have a safe pop band to play in their Disney family friendly fairy tale. They're going to have an ugly sad ogre of a band that you eventually fall in love with by the end.
Novocaine For The Soul is great, but they're one hit wonders for a reason. Not into the rest.
Shrek!
Don’t have much else to say about this one other that upon recognizing the first track I was positive this was also the band who plays ‘Pepper’ Of course that is the incomparable Butthole Surfers
Not my cup of ter
Muy indie noventero. Además, como me gusta bastante la portada, le pongo un 5.
Ja, ganz interessant. Zwei Sterne.
This was...strange. I didn't hate it, but it made me uncomfortable.
Very appropriate title. Beautiful. Freaky. But overall pretty good.
I remember eels! Brought me back to my high school days lol.
Some really good songs, some ok songs. A lot of the songs seem very one note. I've always liked Novocaine for the soul and the Shrek song.
SHREK SONG IN THIS RASIED THE WHOLE ALBUM A STAR (my beloved monster)
I know a lot of Eels songs and had some of their later albums on cd, but this one is a first for me, although I know some of the songs here. It's a snowy slow Tuesday and this feels like it's going to be just right. Okay, Eels are one of those bands - I'm into this, I like every song.
Reminds me of Our Lady Peace, good listen!
I hate this album cover, and I've made fun of it before. I do like the music I've heard from The Eels (though I don't remember much) so this should be interesting. WOW these are some 90s lyrics. Which I'm here for. This first track is pretty fun and creative. Glad to see a Shrek song made it on the list on the off chance Smashmouth isn't on here. This feels like such a distillation of 90s music. The sound, lyrics, themes, attitude, and of course the album cover. I'm into, but not as much as I maybe would expect to be? We'll see. Just finished Mental. Fun album, but don't know if I'll go back to it soon. Maybe the art made a bad impression and maybe I've listened to too many 90s albums, but it seems like the most 1996 album I've ever heard and that's both a good and a bad thing.
Slightly pretentious lyrics. Decent pop album. Nothing really stands out. It’s just there and fine.
Singers vocal delivery is fucking bad
This is unrelated and I swear this did not affect my rating of this album at all but I just have to say — what a terrible album cover. As for the music itself — I found it to be uninspired, generic, the lyricism being predictable and even cringy at times. It’s worth noting that I discovered one of the songs off this album appeared on the Shrek soundtrack. That makes a lot of sense to me, for some reason.
Didn't hear the significance of this album. Recognized one song and the others sounded very much like a typical band from the era.
"Beautiful Freak" is the debut album by Los Angeles rock band Eels. Alternative rock is the genre. I'll agree there. Eels are "E" - Mark Oliver Everett (vocals, guitar, piano), Jonathan Hayes "Butch" Norton (drums, backing vocals) and Tommy Walter (bass, backing vocals). Commercially, the album did really well in the UK reaching #5 (#114 in the US). Critically, it had mixed reviews. The album leads off with their hit "Novocaine for the Soul." Bells, a beat and orchestral strings. Lush and layered with the guitars. Sampling Fats Domino. He needs novocaine before he sputters out. Catchy song. That catchiness continues in "Susan's House." This slows things down. Piano led. A song about his girlfriend's house. "Rags to Rags" gets the rock out. Guitar led. Always love the soft-loud-soft. E moved to LA poor and, well, pretty must stayed poor. "Beautiful Freak" is slower and piano-led melody with strings. This has a real sad/melancholy feel. Another song about E's girlfriend. A banjo begins "My Beloved Monster" which changes to a guitar-led melody. We get the soft-loud-soft again. I'm reminded of the Flaming Lips. It's a moving song maybe about his schizophrenic sister who ended her life. "Your Lucky Day in Hell" goes even darker. Ominous and darks guitar and keys. Underlying synths with a slow beat. E's trying to be optimistic but he can't. This album really grew on me after a few listens. The songs alternate between softer (piano-led) and harder (guitar-led). I even thought they ventured into shoegaze land. Nice arrangements. The overall tone is sad/ melancholy, sometimes quirky but nonetheless compelling. E's voice is perfect (smokey, deep) for his lyrics and reminds me of Jeff Tweedy. And his lyrics can be dark. I think most people would like this especially the singles.
Pretty meh album. Lyrics were dumb at best and super creepy at worst. There are some vaguely interesting instrumentals but they're very few and far between. Very dated, self-indulgent 90's junk.
I probably like this album more than you do. It picks up a bit on side B after some twists and turns.
Brilliant! Susans House - I think we used to listen to it in the distant past - a great album.
Pleasantly surprised by an album I wasn’t familiar with. No song in particular jumped out as a favorite if add to a playlist or something but together it was a cohesive enjoyable listening experience. I could see myself coming back to this album
I will not let the reviews sway me before finishing going forward to form my own opinion. The lack of info on the wikipedia summary is always concerning, just don't know what I'm getting into. I recognize Novocaine for the soul? Alternative 90s, with that recognizable drum pattern (Susan's house). It's ok, if a little out there, but enjoying it, 3* for first half. Second half was meh, 2*. Lots of 2-3* lately...
A typical 90s alt rock band that borrows from other players on the scene, from grunge, Britpop, power pop, and electronica. The synths often feel a bit forced and often repetitive. Quite a lot of good ideas, and only one song takes it too far. It's a pretty decent record but nothing I'd feel proud to share with others beyond 3 tracks. Novocaine for the Soul 4/5: catchy typical 90s power pop with raunchy grunge-like vocals and Beatlesesque melodies and back vocals Susan's House 4/5: electronic rock using house-like beats and synths, also catchy and pleasant; a bit cheesy but I honestly like the bridge and piano closer Rags to Rags 3/5: grungey merging Beatlesesque jangle pop with distortion; reminds me of Stone Temple Pilots Beautiful Freak 2/5: a boring piano ballad, but has a nice dreamy, pleasant atmosphere; the instrumental ending was my favorite part Not Ready Yet 3/5: slacker indie rock with a simple beats and a quiet guitar section; includes a grunge chorus; it's a bit long and doesn't get interesting until the last third My Beloved Monster 3/5: features a taste of country in the chorus and some psychedelic effects with all the weird noises; it's creative and wacky but messy; at first I wondered how this inaccessible song could be the 2nd most popular song, until I noticed it was featured in Shrek Flower 2/5: another country-infused alt rock piece, featuring overused angel-choir samples; pretty forgettable Guest List 2/5: chill mix between alt country and power pop, but pretty forgettable Mental 3/5: grungey, very Nirvana-like with some distortion and electronic effects Splunky 1/5: another lame ballad with slightly notable yet repetitive synths Your Lucky Day in Hell 4/5: another favorite, memorable and catchy with varied sections; honestly would've been a stronger closer, especially with that extended ending Manchild 2/5: pretty forgettable and lame but at least an appropriate closer Average 2.75, which I weigh down for the purpose of this list. Bonus points to creativity to give each song some identity. Strong openers and appropriate closers, but some changes could be done to the track order, and the middle section was incredibly weak.
The whole album/musical style has a warm sense of familiarity to it. Will definitely check outmore of their albums.
When I was 17 my high school crush loved this shit, and not even blind teenage puppy love could force me to like this - no matter how hard I tried! "Life is hard and so am I" .... girl please
Quite fun
Love, still one of my favourites
There are some definite highs on this album. My Beloved Monster is a great track, and has some good nostalgia factor from Shrek. But much of the album was just pretty average. It wasn't bad, but not something I'm planning to return to.
I had a few of friends who liked Eels back in the in 90’s, but it never really worked for me. Listening now, it kind of reminds me of Beck, which I didn’t pick up on back then, but it still doesn’t really work for me. An indifferent 3 stars.
I've seen the album cover a bunch of times, and it always creeps me out (big eyes and all). The quirkiness of the band makes up for the cover, I guess. Some of it feels a little forced, like they were doing quirky to sound quirky and not to be naturally quirky, like XTC. I wonder if that's who they were shooting for, particularly with songs like "Lucky Day In Hell." The vocalist grew on me, although his falsetto I could do without (like in "Manchild"). I dug it, ultimately. WOuld like to hear some of their other stuff. Favorite songs: "Rags To Rags," "Lucky Day In Hell."
I guess if the 1,001 list is trying to capture the transition of 90's rock from grunge to more straight-ahead alternative rock (or back to pre-grunge indie rock like REM and the Replacements), this album fits and the timing in 1996 is right. But this album is average at best. Eels also sound like so many other bands of that era, either in vocals and/or softer rock tempos (the Toadies, Marcy Playground, Vertical Horizon, Tonic, The Verve Pipe, Fastball). I'm not convinced that these guys blazed the trail for others and like most of these other bands, these guys had one or two hits, not necessarily on the same album (go check out Eels Mr. E's Beautiful Blues from their 2000 album or Souljacker Part I from their 2001 album). Other than Novocaine for the Soul, which is solid, I don't know a single song off this album and don't think there's anything else overly memorable. If you don't like 90's rock, there's probably nothing here for you.
Released a few years after Beck broke out, *Beautiful Freak* is very much of its time--and this *not* in a very good way. Why go for a *partial copy* of Mr. Hansen's mix of self-deprecatory folk, tongue-in-cheek indie rock, groovy hip-hop-inspired rhythms and melancholic ballads, when the original version is so convincing on its own? I felt this in 1996--remember, this was the first full-length release of Steven Spielberg and David Geffen' brand new joint label *Dreamworks*, and the promotion for this band--that almost no one had heard of before--was so huge for such an "indie" act that it was hard to avoid it at the time. Yet, as I said, I didn't take the bait back then. And I don't take it either today, even though I really tried hard to keep an open mind as I went back to this debut album... So why don't you take that bait, you might ask me? Well, for starters, the "dated" aspect of *Beautiful Freak*'s production is not to be underestimated here, even if it's not the only issue I have with this record (more on that later). To be more specific on that aspect, I'd say those outdated aspects are mostly striking in the first third of the LP, maybe because of the involvement of Michael Simpson, one half of the production duo The Dust Brothers, who produced... Beck's *Odelay*. Professional work here, I guess... Yet what felt fresh in the Beck album feels very much like a formulaic approach for the Eels debut. Opener *Novocaine For the Soul* sure is a perfect earworm, as "dated" as it sounds, there's no arguing about that! But after that, the album is very much a mixed bag--with a couple of great songs here and there (*Your Lucky Day In Hell*, *Flower*), and in between, either fillers almost feeling like interludes (example: the title-track) and/or more of the same formula (example: "Rag To Rags"), whose results are rarely memorable in those other cases. Plus there's quite a large share of hackneyed, awkward lyrics in this record!--lyrics about feeling... awkward (exemple: " Mental"). Quite awkward indeed. And very often, not even awkward in an "endearing" sense, to be honest. Not going to discuss *My Beloved Monster* for very long, by the way. If that clumsy indie-rock track had not been featured in *Shrek* (a movie produced by... *Dreamworks* Studios!), you can bet your boots no one would give a rat's ass about such a weird little tune today! So the dated soundscapes are not the only element to be blamed here. Compare "E" with Beck, once again: through his songwriting chops and his natural versatilty, Beck did manage to transcend nineties aesthetics so as to turn them into something that could often feel "timeless", fun and, also, emotionally relevant, quite often. As for "E", well... It's not that Mark Everett lacks such talents (he can write amazing songs as well). It's just that he has less spades of those enviable skills in him, and therefore often comes short of truly stellar moments for full-length releases. In other words, I'm not saying Everett shouldn't be a songwriter and a musician. He deserves the job 100%. But we're talking about "essential albums" here, are we not? Which leads me to me the *overall* issue I have with Mark Everett's music as I went back to three or four more albums of his today, just to see what I might have been missing out after all these years. Turns out I didn't miss that much in terms of *albums* (individual songs are a different story). The problems plaguing *Beautiful Freak* as a whole indeed seem to be everywhere in Eels's discography: the disjointed aesthetics rarely gel into a convincing track sequence, a large share of self-indulgence is to be found in the writing (both the music and the lyrics), and the LPs have problematic "dynamics" overall. You have a lot of decent arrangements and forays nto different music styles that are interesting on paper. But they very rarely cohere into a stimulating statement. The only exception I *could* make is *Electro-Shock Blues*, a album about grief and mourning, where--given its heavy subject matter--such "disjointed aesthetics" become assets. Especially at the end where a string of shattering-yet-life-affirming ballads create one rare effective sequence of songs that is truly affecting. This context also explains how the topsy-turvy sequencing in the first half of the record makes sense this time around, because the album is really about someone trying to reconstruct his soul after not one but *two* tragedies. One can only commend Everett for his bravery as he dealt with those heavy losses in his family. And, for me at least, that bravery and honesty paid off on an artistic level here, no doubt. Podiums and rankings about "essential albums" are unimportant compared to all that. Yet apart from that album (and maybe a string of great singles in the very middle of *Daisies Of The Galaxy*--namely, "I Like Birds", "Flyswatter", and "It's A Motherfucker"), I guess I can only appreciate Mark Everett's talents as a writer of individual songs, and not as someone who crafts great albums. Which, really, is nothing shameful. After all, there are not so many songwriters who wrote more than 10 absolutely great songs in this world (at least that you've heard of). And Mark Everett is one of them for sure. Buying Eels' compilation "Meet the EELS" right now to remind me of that later... I give *Beautiful Freak* a 2/5 grade for the purposes of this list of "essential albums". Which translates to a 7/10 grade for more general purposes (5+2). Next, please. Number of albums left to review: 335 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 299 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 161 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 214 (including this one, many others are more essential to me).