| Odelay | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 18, 1996 (1996-06-18) | |||
| Recorded | 1994–95 | |||
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 54:06 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | ||||
| Beck chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Odelay | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
 Deluxe Edition artwork | ||||
Odelay is the fifthstudio album by American musicianBeck, released on June 18, 1996, byDGC Records. The album featured several successfulsingles, including "Where It's At", "Devils Haircut", and "The New Pollution", and peaked at number sixteen on theBillboard 200. As of July 2008, the album had sold 2.3 million copies in the United States, makingOdelay Beck's most successful album to date.[2] Since its release, the album has appeared in numerous publications' lists of the greatest of the 1990s and of all time.
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The sessions for what would becomeOdelay originally began as a subdued,acoustic affair. In 1994, Beck started to record tracks for his follow-up toMellow Gold withBong Load producersTom Rothrock andRob Schnapf. Only the tracks "Ramshackle", "Feather in Your Cap", and "Brother" from these sessions have been released, all of which are acoustic, sparse, and melancholic. He would eventually abandon work with Rothrock and Schnapf, opting to work with theDust Brothers instead. The Dust Brothers' production style waship-hop-focused yet more layered; their résumé included notable work withBeastie Boys,Tone Lōc andYoung MC.
The title is a phonetic English rendering of theMexicanslang interjection "órale", which translates roughly to "cool" or "ok"[citation needed]. The phrase "odelay" is repeated in the lyrics during theoutro of the song "Lord Only Knows". According toStephen Malkmus, the title is a pun onOh Delay, since the album took very long to record.[3] The album's cover is a photo of aKomondor, a rareHungarian breed of dog with a heavy, corded coat, jumping over a hurdle. The original photo was shot by canine photographer Joan Ludwig (1914–2004) for the July 1977 issue of theAmerican Kennel Club'sGazette.[4]
The promotional tour for the album began in May–June 1996, appearing in several record stores and radio stations in theU.S. Throughout the rest of the year followed numerous U.S. tours and European festival dates.
As the tour continued into 1997, Beck began playing larger venues in America. The tour unofficially ended on September 5th, 1997, with a taped band performance at "Sessions at West 54th" inNew York,[5] after over 150 shows from July '96 until September '97.[6]
It was on theOdelay tour that Beck earned a wide reputation as an energetic and impeccable performer, and his profile rose after multiple appearances onMTV,The Howard Stern Show,[7] the1997 Grammys,[8]Later... with Jools Holland[9] and more.
On January 29, 2008,Odelay – Deluxe Edition was released. The two-disc set contains the original album, plus 19 B-sides, remixes and previously unreleased songs.[10] The liner notes feature complete lyrics and artwork, as well as an essay fromThurston Moore and the transcript of 15 high school students interviewed byDave Eggers.[11]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [12] |
| Chicago Tribune | [13] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[14] |
| The Guardian |  [15] |
| Los Angeles Times | [16] |
| NME | 8/10[17] |
| Pitchfork | 9.8/10[18] |
| Rolling Stone | [19] |
| Smash Hits | [20] |
| Spin | 10/10[21] |
| The Village Voice | A−[22] |
Upon release,Odelay received almost unanimous critical acclaim. At the39th Annual Grammy Awards in 1997, it was nominated for theGrammy Award forAlbum of the Year and won forBest Alternative Music Album, as well asBest Male Rock Vocal Performance for "Where It's At".[23]Odelay was named Album of the Year inRolling Stone,[citation needed]The Village VoicePazz & Jop critics poll,[24] andNME's annual critics poll.[25]
In a retrospective review forAllMusic,Stephen Thomas Erlewine observed that, likeMellow Gold,Odelay incorporated elements from various genres, including "folk andcountry,grungygarage rock, stiff-bonedelectro, loucheexotica,old-school rap andnoise rock."[12]Rolling Stone'sRob Sheffield notedpunk rock,bossa nova,Latin soul andmainstream R&B as additional influences.[26]
In 1998,Q magazine readers votedOdelay the 51st greatest album of all time.[citation needed] It was voted as one of the top 10 pop albums of the 1990s by the music writers ofThe Associated Press.[27] It was ranked No. 16 inSpin's "100 Greatest Albums, 1985–2005".[28] The music websitePitchfork ranked it at No. 19 on their top 100 albums of the 1990s in 2003[29] and No. 93 in their updated Top 150 list in 2022.[30]Rolling Stone ranked the album No. 306 in their list ofthe 500 greatest albums of all time in 2009,[31] and later ranked it No. 424 in the 2023 edition,[32] as well as No. 9 on its 2019 list of the 100 best albums of the '90s.[33] Voters inChannel 4's 2005 "100 Greatest Albums" poll placed it at No. 73.[34]
In 2000,Odelay was ranked No. 54 inColin Larkin'sAll Time Top 1000 Albums.[35] It was also included in the book1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die in 2010.[36]
All tracks are written by Beck Hansen,John King and Michael Simpson, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Devils Haircut" | 3:14 | |
| 2. | "Hotwax" | 3:49 | |
| 3. | "Lord Only Knows" | Hansen | 4:14 |
| 4. | "The New Pollution" | 3:39 | |
| 5. | "Derelict" | 4:12 | |
| 6. | "Novacane" | 4:37 | |
| 7. | "Jack-Ass" | 4:11 | |
| 8. | "Where It's At" | 5:30 | |
| 9. | "Minus" | Hansen | 2:32 |
| 10. | "Sissyneck" | 3:52 | |
| 11. | "Readymade" | 2:37 | |
| 12. | "High 5 (Rock the Catskills)" | 4:10 | |
| 13. | "Ramshackle" | Hansen | 7:29 |
| Total length: | 54:06 | ||
Credits adapted from 2008 "Deluxe Edition" CD liner notes.[11]
Additional musicians
Technical
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[55] | Gold | 35,000^ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[56] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
| Japan (RIAJ)[57] | Platinum | 200,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[58] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[59] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[60] | 2× Platinum | 2,300,000[2] |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
