Odelay

In my opinion this is one of Beck's best albums. Though that is hard to say because they are all so different. Beck is a true artist.

Really 3 and a half stars, but I round up. Unfortunately religion has crept into his work making the lyrics more pretentious and less insightful, despite the solid songwriting that defines the CD the songs many times fail to grab you. "Where It's At" was the first single and I don't need another song written about the most overdone topic in rock, while others applaud it for some reason. "The New Pollution" was the second single and to me this is formula at its most obvious. I am glad I own this CD though. I love many of the experimental sounds added and "Devil's Haircut" is worth the price of admission by itself. You can listen to this CD straight through, but it just doesn't match Mellow Gold or even Guero for it's abbility to draw you in. Recommended for diehard Beck fans.

Odelay is one of those albums that leaves you smiling and thinking all at once. There are all kinds of genres crossed in this album. You'll hear funk, rap, bossa nova(he quotes Antonia Carlos Jobim briefly) and rock. The most interesting part of this album is not only the lesser known songs but that it still sounds fresh today almost ten years after it's release(June 18, 1996). There is something for everyone one this album which makes it a popular hit at parties. I'm new to Beck and Alternative Rock and I think I'll buy his Mellow Gold album next.

Though the album is very uneven with a lot of ok songs, as a whole "Odelay" is a great album. There are three Lo-Fi classics here - "Devil's Haircut", "Hotwax (which wasn't a hit), and "Where It's At". Not only does this make it accessible for non-Beck fans, but it makes the album that much more worth buying. Very creative with a lot of soul put into it. Its historical influence adds a lot of value to it and helps make it worth buying. Although "Guero" and "Mutations" are more satisfying as a whole (they contain no filler), "Odelay" is still a great record. Three factors give it a 5-star rating - the 3 classic songs, its creativity and its historical influence. Recommended!

Highlights include:
"Devil's Haircut"
"Hotwax"
"Lord Only Knows"
"The New Pollution"
"Novacane"
"Where It's At"
"Minus" (to an extent)
"Readymade" (sort of)

After hearing and reading the critical ravings from the four corners of the earth praising this album, I desperately wanted to like it. I listened...and listened...and I just can't hear what a large majority of listeners seem to hear. This sounds like cleverly constructed collages of noise instead of actual songs. Perhaps the aural equivalent of carelessly flung blobs of paint on a tilted canvass and then passed off as abstract art. This evidently appeals to quite a few folks out there. As for me, I find the whole thing rather unfortunate.