We revisit Beck's major label debut Mellow Gold, was it a warm-up for the multi-platinum Odelay, or is Loser the only worthwhile nugget?
While Beck was known in the underground anti-folk scene of the early 90s, it's his major label debut Mellow Gold and the single "Loser" that both put him on the mainstream map and tapped into the cultural "slacker" zeitgeist of the 90s (a term he rejected, BTW). Revisiting his breakthrough reminds us what a weird and unpredictable place "alternative" music could be, as Beck taps equally into the New York hip hop and deconstructed blues scene via the Beastie Boys and Jon Spencer, while dabbling into West Coast twisted folk and psychedelia of Captain Beefheart and Moby Grape, all mashed together on in a stew of beat poetry and cut-and-paste lyrics. Unlike Odelay and later releases, the decidedly anti- approach of some of the material gave us pause about whether it was really a cohesive record, or a collage of hit and miss experiments.
We haven't reviewed this record yet. However, you can compell us to grab our shovels and dig it out. Request a review and we'll devote a full episode to discussing this album. Heck we might even invite you on as a guest. Support the show and help rock fans discover a lost album of the 90's.
Patreon: $2.50 a month
Support us for the year (12 consecutive months), and you’ll be rewarded with an album review for 2017 that you can join us to talk about.
Visit PatreonPayPal Donation: $30.00
This is the fastest option to get your recommendation on the show. Make a donation and put the artist and album title in the payment comments. We’ll follow up with any questions and let you know the episode release date.
Donate
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
