But after hearing Mutations, Geffen pulled rank and insisted on releasing the album, marketing it as a detour for hardcore Beck fans while he stayed hard at work on the “real” follow-up to Odelay.

Why are ruminations on why guilt is both comforting and self-defeating any more or less valid than riffing on pop culture over the sickest drum break you can afford to sample? Hence, I definitely think this should be in your Beck collection and if you're more of a fan of Mellow Gold than his newer stuff you will definitely not be disappointed.Before beginning the recording sessions, Beck gained permission from the major label he was under contract with, Geffen, to release Mutations on the small indie label Bong Load Records.

However, when Geffen executives heard the album, they reneged on their agreement and released the record. No videos were made for the album, and aside from appearing on Saturday Night Live, Beck did little to promote it, but such was his stature at the time that the album eventually went platinum and won Best Alternative Music Album Grammy. Full disclosure, I have mixed feelings about the SHM-CD format, primarily that it seems nothing more than a cash grab, but this HDCD encoded edition is surprising in how good it sounds.

O Maria” might revolve around an oddly moving couplet that signifies the need to grow up already (“Everybody knows/ the circus is closed”) but it glides by on a ’60s melody that feels cloned from Donovan.

In fact, one of the nifty tricks of Mutations is how it sounds simple upon the first listen, then reveals more psychedelic layers upon each play. Mutations would prove that Beck could do sincerity, or at least Sincerity, just fine thank you very much, and the woozy, operatic country rock he summons here in many ways feels like a blueprint that Mike Mogis and Conor Oberst would follow with Bright Eyes, where the slowly unraveling ballad “Static,” tucked all the way at the end of the album, feels like Beck’s big budget answer to the delicate balladry Cat Power and Elliott Smith were getting up to, declaring “it’s a perfect day to lock yourself inside” as the guitar solo shrugs and the keyboard lines evaporates. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. genre this would fall into , maybe blues , folk perhaps some of it , I normally find genres a bit confusing perhaps Beck has one all his own, although his albums all seem different you can tell he's put a lot of work into this.

Why should we think that writing songs about being horny and wanting to dance are any less valid than songs about watching your relationship fall apart? But listening to Mutations today, I think what the album tells us is that even when he’s trying to be serious, Beck is still a playful guy.

Really surprised at this lp , reissues seldom sound this good , if this lp is missing from your collection its worth having , if your 1st pressing is a little scratched and worn then this is one of those rare occasions where a reissue doesn't mean loss of quality. Spectre sonore respecté et pas ou peu de craquements audibles, plus qu'à espérer un repressage de ce niveau pour "Midnite Vultures".

I've recently set my phone to shuffle the entire Beck collection and while "Mutations" is not my favorite Beck album all the songs fit in seamlessly with the overall experience.