Beck brags here that he's "got two turntables and a microphone." He also has a sweeping aesthetic that sees no reason why musical allusions to hip-hop, the Beatles, James Brown, punk, Gram Parsons, cool jazz, and Dylan can't coexist in the same song. Throughout, he rap-sings with sincere irony--I bet he laughs at the sight of a jump-suited Elvis, then cries when the King starts to sing--and Odelay's rich collage of sound may very well prove a prediction of the future. If he ever finds the courage to can the loopy metaphors and just tell a story, he could take over the world. --David Cantwell

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

I am not an expert in this music, so I will leave the detailed, long-winded reviews to those that know what they are talking about. I like it!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Rightfully praised modern masterwork of distorted grooves
Comment: Long considered pioneering white-boy, fusion-funkster-extraordinaire Beck's masterpiece, Odelay may in fact be the greatest summation of this man's dirty pop, distinctly reeling in his dance, rock, funk and experimental sides in the most cohesive and accessible disc of his career to that date by far. Some selections might have grown a tad tiresome over the decade, lacking the truly scuzzy heart of another masterpiece of his, the previous lo-fi odyssey Mellow Gold, or the production wit of Midnight Vultures...but in the end captures this influential modern artist at his commercial and creative crossroad best.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Wait for Deluxe reissue
Comment: If you plan on buying this, be aware that there is a deluxe edition coming out January 29, 2008. This will have the original album plus 2 tracks on the first cd. the second cd will have b-sides and remixes. It will probably cost around 25-30 bucks.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: (4.5 stars) "That was a good drum break..."
Comment: Beck's second album is often called his masterpiece, and I'm not arguing much. Like last time out, he often succeeds in bridging the gap between rap and everything else, most notably rap, surf-rock and techno on the amazing yet stupid "Devils Haircut" (with lyrics that mock death-metal), and rap, jazz, and soul on the brilliant, sample-laced hit single "Where It's At", which to many is Beck's shot at artistic credibility. But it's every bit "goofy novelty" as "Loser". Let us not forget that a lot of samples on the song are from an obscure sex-ed record. Yeah, that's mature. Thankfully, I can't praise the song enough: the samples are amazingly integrated into the song, the organ is beautiful, and every time I hear the song, I pick up on something I previously missed. Plus who can forget that chorus? "I got two turntables and a microphone!" He also pumps out a couple very solid alt-rockers, like the nerdy "Hotwax" and "New Pollution", which ends in an unforgettable sax loop. And just to prove his eclectism, he throws in some odd material like the Eastern drone "Derelict" and the impossible-to-classify, overbearing "Novocain", which has turntables, buzzing guitars, hip-hop drums, R&B horns, bass, electric piano, and vocals all going at more-or-less the same time. To me, that's where the album caves in - it's like he was trying to show us just how much noise he could pack into four-and-a-half minutes. This is redeemed by the ironically beautiful (or should I say ironic beauty?) of "J*cka**", a very lovely song with a title that suggests just the opposite. Confused? So am I. But there are times when I think only Beck knows what he's intending. It contains a deadly accurate Dylan harmonica interpretation, provided by Them (it's a sample of Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" - again, seamlessly incorporated!). Continuing on my "Beck-does-everything!" thread, "Minus" is a solid bit of sludgy hard rock, and the humorous "Sissyneck" is entertaining country-funk. Yes, that's right, country-funk. And "High 5 (Rock the Catskills)" is the closest thing to pure rap I've ever heard Beck do. Well, up until that weird classical loop that he throws in just for the sake of throwing it in. And then turns around and delivers heavy guitars. Okay, forget what I said about pure hip-hop. It's a super song, though - that spoken part at 2:40, after those weird samples, is funny, all right. And unexpected. I'm unsure what I think of "Ramshackle", though: it's pretty and well-written, but it's kinda boring and has a kinda crappy hidden track - just a minute of Beck strangling his guitar. Thanks, man! But the songwriting here is exceptional; it's eclectic; and it's packed with all kinds of weird surprises. And Beck's a capable multi-instrumentalist, adding guitars (lead, rhythm, and slide), bass, drums, a wide variety of keyboards, and vocals. "Novocain" is horrible, but most the rest is stellar.

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

The album starts with a great guitar part and trademark repetitive-yet-catchy chorus in "Devil's Haircut". The next track, "Hotwax" has an odd mix of country guitar and electronic scratching. "The New Pollution" is a nice song with some eccentric noises and a smooth sax part sprinkled in. "Novacane" tricks you into thinking it's going to be mellow before busting into the cooler, hard center of the song. "Where It's At" is the single everyone knows, a pretty enjoyable rap-heavy song. "Minus" is probably the fastest-paced song, and a pretty good one. "High 5 (Rock the Catskills)" is one of the stranger tracks, and fairly wandering. "Ramshackle" is another acoustic, slower song to cap off the album in fine form. There isn't that much about Odelay that's truly amazing, but it's a completely solid and enjoyable record the whole way through.

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