Odelay is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock artist Beck, originally released on June 18, 1996, by DGC Records.

After the mainstream success of "Loser", Odelay featured several hit singles, including "Where It's At", "Devils Haircut", and "The New Pollution". The album peaked at #16 on the Billboard 200 chart and eventually sold over 2 million copies in the United States. It was also Beck's first hit album in the United Kingdom, making #17; it has since gone platinum in the UK.

On January 29, 2008, Odelay was reissued as a two-disc package featuring a number of bonus tracks. As of July 2008, the album had sold 2.3 million copies in the United States.^[1] Since its release, the album has appeared in numerous publications' lists of the greatest records of the 1990s and of all time.

Background[link]

Musical style[link]

The sessions for what would become Odelay originally began as a subdued, acoustic affair. In 1994, Beck started to record tracks for his follow-up to Mellow Gold with Bong Load producers Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf. Hansen had recently experienced a number of personal tragedies (including the death of his grandfather, Al Hansen), and the tone of the songs as well as their production were considerably somber. Only a handful of tracks from these sessions have been released: "Ramshackle", "Feather in Your Cap", and "Brother". All three of these songs are acoustic, sparse, and melancholic, and have a haunting sound very different from the more upbeat, "party" style of Odelay. Beck would eventually return to this Downbeat style with his 1998 album, Mutations.

He would eventually abandon work with Rothrock and Schnapf, opting to work with the Dust Brothers instead. The Dust Brothers' production style was notably more upbeat and hip-hop-focused; their résumé included work with Beastie Boys and Tone Lōc.

Title and artwork[link]

The title is a phonetic English rendering of the Mexican slang interjection "órale." The phrase "odelay" is repeated in the lyrics during the outro of the song "Lord Only Knows". However, according to Stephen Malkmus, the title is actually a play of words on Oh Delay, since the album took very long to record.^[2]

The album's unusual cover is a real photo of a Komondor, a rare Hungarian breed of dog with thick matted hair. The image was chosen at the last minute after Beck failed to decide on an album cover. The image was presented to him by his girlfriend and was chosen almost out of desperation. The typeface was chosen by a record company worker.^{[citation needed]}

Reception[link]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Pitchfork Media (1996)	(9.8/10)[3]
Allmusic
Slant Magazine	[4]
Robert Christgau	[5]
RS Album Guide	A−[6]
Rolling Stone	[citation needed]

Odelay was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1997, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for "Where It's At'. It was ranked 16 in Spin's "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005". It was voted as the best album of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll, and also in the NME's annual critics poll. In 1998, Q magazine readers voted Odelay the 51st greatest album of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 305 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Voters in Channel 4's 2005 "100 Greatest Albums" poll placed it at number 73. The music website Pitchfork Media ranked it at #19 on their top 100 albums of the 1990s.

Track listing[link]

Original issue[link]

All songs written by Beck, John King and Michael Simpson, except where noted. All tracks produced by Beck Hansen and The Dust Brothers, except where noted.

1. "Devils Haircut" – 3:14
2. "Hotwax" – 3:49
3. "Lord Only Knows" (Beck 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" (Beck Hansen) – 2:32
   • Produced by Beck Hansen, Mario Caldato Jr. and Brian Paulson.
10. "Sissyneck" – 3:52
11. "Readymade" – 2:37
12. "High 5 (Rock the Catskills)" – 4:10
13. "Ramshackle" (Beck Hansen) – 7:29
    • Produced by Tom Rothrock and Tom Schnapf.
    • Includes a hidden track called "Computer Rock"
    • Some non-U.S. versions contain "Diskobox" and/or "Clock" as bonus tracks.

Deluxe Edition[link]

On January 29, 2008, Odelay - Deluxe Edition was released.^[7] The two-disc set contains the original album, plus 19 b-sides, remixes and previously unreleased songs. The liner notes feature complete lyrics and artwork as well as an essay from Thurston Moore and the transcript of 15 high school students interviewed by Dave Eggers. The cover art was deliberately edited to appear as if it was a personalised copy of the album, with stickers carelessly half-ripped off and various doodles on it (such as a face drawn on the dog and rainbows behind it) and including the phrase 'Property Of Michael' written on the back. The exclusion of Diskobox may have been done as a deliberate nod to the cover art having the 'strictly limited edition bonus track' sticker partly torn off.

"Diskobox", which appeared on the original UK and Japanese pressings of Odelay, was not included on the deluxe edition for unknown reasons. The Odelay sessions version of "Debra" (later re-recorded for Midnite Vultures) is also absent, despite initial statements to the contrary.

Some of the bonus tracks on the Deluxe Edition (specifically "Deadweight" and "Clock") appear to be from lossy (e.g. MP3) sources. Some of the tracks included have been altered beyond simple remastering.^[8] No official explanation for these changes has been given. Some of these alterations are listed below:

First CD:

1. - "Hotwax" has a more double tracked vocal during the verses
2. - "The New Pollution" has the same synthesized beeps from the original version, but played at a different pitch
3. - "Sissyneck" has a slightly extended 'breakdown' part at around 2:00

Bonus CD:

1. - "Thunderpeel" is folded down to mono from the regular stereo version
2. - "Electric Music And The Summer People" is an alternate mix
3. - "Erase the Sun" runs at a faster speed (the original release may be slowed down)
4. - "Trouble All My Days" is folded down to mono from the regular stereo version^[9]

Disc 1

1. "Devils Haircut" - 3:15
2. "Hotwax" - 3:49
3. "Lord Only Knows" - 4:15
4. "The New Pollution" - 3:39
5. "Derelict" - 4:13
6. "Novacane" - 4:37
7. "Jack-Ass" - 4:12
8. "Where It's At" - 5:30
9. "Minus" - 2:32
10. "Sissyneck" - 3:57
11. "Readymade" - 2:37
12. "High 5 (Rock the Catskills)" - 4:11
13. "Ramshackle" - 4:47
14. "Hidden Track (Computer Rock)" - 0:43
15. "Deadweight" - 6:12
16. "Inferno" (previously unreleased) - 7:03
17. "Gold Chains" (previously unreleased) - 4:59

Disc 2

1. "Where It's At" (U.N.K.L.E. remix) - 12:26
2. "Richard's Hairpiece" (remix by Aphex Twin) - 3:19
3. "American Wasteland" (remix by Mickey P.) - 2:42
4. "Clock" - 3:17
5. "Thunder Peel" - 2:40
   • Different version than the one on Stereopathetic Soulmanure.
6. "Electric Music and the Summer People" - 4:38
7. "Lemonade" - 2:21
8. "SA-5" - 1:53
9. "Feather in Your Cap" - 3:46
10. "Erase the Sun" - 2:56
    • Sped up from the originally released length of 3:16.
11. ".000.000" - 5:25
12. "Brother" - 4:47
13. "Devil Got My Woman" - 4:34
14. "Trouble All My Days" - 2:25
15. "Strange Invitation" - 4:06
16. "Burro" - 3:13

Sampled music[link]

"Devil's Haircut"

• "I Can Only Give You Everything" by the MC5 (Interpolated by Beck)
• "Out of Sight" by Them
• "Soul Drums" by Pretty Purdie.

"Hotwax"

• "Song for Aretha" by Pretty Purdie
• "Dookey Shoe" by Rasputin's Stash
• "Universal Rhythms" by Mandrill

"Lord Only Knows"

• "Lookout for Lucy" by Mike Millius
• "When It Comes" by Edgar Winter

"The New Pollution"

• "Venus" by Joe Thomas

"Novacane"

• "Get Up and Dance" by Freedom

• "I Just Want to Celebrate" by Rare Earth.

"Jack-Ass"

• "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" by Them

"Where It's At"

• "Sex for Teens (Where It's At)" by Dr. Stanley Z. Adams
• "Needle to the Groove" by Mantronix
• "I Don't Care If U Disrespect Me (Just So You Love Me)" by The Frogs
• "Military Scratch - Scratch Mix" by Grand Wizard Theodore
• "Get Out of My Life, Woman" by Lee Dorsey

"Sissyneck"

• "The Moog and Me" by Dick Hyman
• "A Part of Me" by Country Funk
• "Life" by Sly & The Family Stone

"Readymade"

• "Desafinado" by Laurindo Almeida and The Bossa Nova All Stars
• "Admit It" by Rory Gallagher

"High 5 (Rock the Catskills)"

• Symphony no. 8 "Unfinished" (first movement) by Franz Schubert
• "Mr. Cool" by Rasputin's Stash
• Part of the noise section of "Novacane" can be heard.
• "Inside-Looking Out" by Grand Funk Railroad

Personnel[link]

• Beck – organ, acoustic guitar, bass, harmonica, percussion, celeste, drums, electric guitar, keyboards, electric piano, vocals, clavinet, slide guitar, art direction, design, mixing, producer
• Mike Boito – organ, trumpet
• Mario Caldato, Jr. – producer, mixing
• Charlie Haden – bass
• Greg Leisz – pedal steel
• Bob Ludwig – mastering, photography
• Mike Millius – screams
• Brian Paulson – producer, mixing
• Tom Rothrock – producer, mixing
• Rob Schnapf – producer, mixing
• Joey Waronker – percussion, drums
• Dust Brothers – producer, mixing
• Robert Fisher – art direction, design
• Nitin Vadukul – photography
• Zarim Osborn – artwork, collage
• Al Hansen – artwork, collage
• Shauna O'Brien – coordination, production coordination
• Manuel Ocampo – artwork, paintings, collage
• David Brown – saxophone
• Ross Harris (The Enchanting Wizard of Rhythm)
• David Campbell - arranger
• Brian Hewitt (DJ Smash) - turntables

References[link]

External links[link]

• Odelay at MusicBrainz

v t e Beck Studio albums Golden Feelings A Western Harvest Field by Moonlight Stereopathetic Soulmanure Mellow Gold One Foot in the Grave Odelay Mutations Midnite Vultures Sea Change Guero The Information Modern Guilt Other albums Stray Blues Beck Hell Yes EP Guerolito Singles Album "Loser" "Pay No Mind (Snoozer)" "Beercan" "It's All in Your Mind" "Where It's At" "Devils Haircut" "The New Pollution" "Sissyneck" "Jack-Ass" "Tropicalia" "Cold Brains" "Nobody's Fault but My Own" "Sexx Laws" "Mixed Bizness" "Nicotine & Gravy" "Lost Cause" "Guess I'm Doing Fine" "E-Pro" "Girl" "Hell Yes" "Cellphone's Dead"* "Nausea" "Think I'm in Love" "Chemtrails" "Gamma Ray" "Youthless" Non-album "MTV Makes Me Want to Smoke Crack" "Steve Threw Up" "Deadweight" "Timebomb" Featured singles "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?" "Heaven Can Wait" See also Discography Awards and nominations "Bendin' in the Wind" Dust Brothers Nigel Godrich Danger Mouse Record Club Book:Beck

Michael Anthony J. Hector (born 19 July 1992) is an English footballer who plays for Reading. He plays as a centre back.

Early life[link]

Attended Langdon School, Newham.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

Having previously been on the books of Millwall, Hector joined Reading on scholarship terms at the start of the 2009–10 season after being spotted at Thurrock youth. He gained experience in the Reading Reserves before going out on loan to Havant & Waterlooville and Bracknell Town. In the summer of 2010, he signed his first professional contract with the Royals and was handed the nuber 35 shirt.^[2] Shortly after, he joined Oxford City on another loan deal, and before joining Dundalk as well as having a loan spell at Isthmian League Premier Division club Horsham.

Career statistics[link]

Notes

• Games shown here are for the 2011 Setanta Sports Cup
• Games shown here are for the 2011–12 Football League Trophy

References[link]

External links[link]

• Michael Hector on Playerhistory.com
• Michael Hector profile at the Reading website
• Michael Hector career stats at Soccerbase
• Michael Hector on Twitter