Beck's preoccupation with death on Mutations didn't make the record dark so much as strangely familiar, in that Hank Williams sort of way.. Some of the melodies were so basic, they felt like they were jacked from old country music from the 50's and 60's. But instead, that was just Beck working his genius so effortlessly. Every Beck album is its own experience, and the cohesive flow of the 11 songs on Mutations are surely unlike anything else in his catalog.
After Track 11 ("Static") fades out, the album still has 8 or 9 minutes remaining... And that means it's bonus track time. After years of hearing the jokey throwaways bands like Tool and Green Day had been tagging onto their albums, it wasn't merely refreshing to hear the epic prog-rock brilliance of "Diamond Bollocks." Rather, it was like a revelation, due in no small part to the assistance of Nigel Godrich... Like those rare "Sixth Sense" type movies that force us into an eventual 2nd viewing from a different perspective. Upon repeated listens, "Diamond Bollocks" is clearly the same band who was performing on Mutations' previous 11 songs, and not a leftover from the Odelay sessions. And what's even stranger, as a bonus track, it actually closes the album perfectly.. "Looking back on some dead world..."
Monday, August 30, 2010
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Its way rad when you write the text yourself with your awesome insight. I mean, the wiki-blurbs are cool, too but you're cooler.
ReplyDeletethats very nice of you. :)
ReplyDeleteunfortunately time is of the essence and we're trying to get to our #1 before pitchfork =8