What makes this album so interesting is that it is incredibly diverse. Covering a wide array of musical genres- though mainly rock and folk- it also features hip hop beats, rapped lyrics, voice distortion, an array of samples and lots of weird noises besides. No doubt this would immediately put many people off, while, equally, it would intrigue others. The main point to grasp, though, is that Beck is different.
Unfortunately, despite his admirably unique approach to music, something seems to get lost in the experimentation. Odelay opens very positively with 'Devils Haircut' and 'Hotwax' which show Beck's capacity for good songwriting and very clever lyrics. From there, however, the album seems more about pleasing himself than pleasing others. When listening to the songs, rather than being struck by the quality of the melodies, all that is really noticeable is that there are a lot of strange sounds occurring.
Still there are a couple of other good songs on this record. The first of these, 'Minus', is a sign of what might have been. All the expected noises are there, but they complement well the driving rhythm and explosive singing. This is easily the highlight of Odelay. Also enjoyable is the slower 'Ramshackle', one of the few docile moments on this work, and also of an undeniable high standard.
But overall, Odelay does not consistently meet such a standard. To be fair this is an album that lots and lots of people have raved about and called 'album of the year' (1996), not to mention 'album of the decade'. However if this review proves anything, it's that not everybody agrees.
RATING: 4.5/10
Go To Page: 1
