Whilst digging through The Beatles back catalogue, I
unearthed a CD that I remember buying (for the confusing sum of £12.79) from an
MVC store (remember them?) back in the 1990’s. Beck’s “Odelay” was purchased
because I liked “Devils Haircut” I think, or maybe I was confused and thought “Loser”
was on it; I don’t remember. However, I do remember not taking a liking to the
album much and after playing it once or twice it went into storage for 16
years.
I decided to rip “Odelay” onto my hard drive and check it
out; I’m glad I did. Maybe I have fallen behind massively (yes, I know I have)
but this album sounds really fresh and contemporary to me. The majority of the
tracks are interesting in their arrangements but there is also a greater depth
to the song writing than the sampled loops and random noises might suggest. Tracks
such as “Jackass” and “Hotwax” are surprisingly catchy and stand up to repeated
listening. “The New Pollution” “Devils Haircut” were obvious stand out tracks /
singles which are complimented by the more experimental sounds of “Where it’s
at” and “Derelict”. Unfortunately Beck shifts into a poor pastiche of The Beastie
Boys on occasions (“Novocaine” especially), but when you consider the album is
produced by The Dust Brothers its no surprise. On the whole I’m really glad I
unearthed this CD and recommend you revisit it should you own it.
