Odelay & Mutations

It was Odelay that really put Beck on the map. The platinum album pushed his earlier sound-pastiche experiments further, earned album-of-the-year nods from publications including Rolling Stone, Spin, and The Village Voice, and won Beck two Grammys: Best Alternative Music Performance for the album, and Best Rock Male Vocal Performance for Where It’s At. Beck toured for two full years with a full band, DJ, and horn section and earned a reputation as an impressive live performer.

Beck’s next album, Mutations, offered considerably quieter, stripped-down fare, reminiscent of the folksy One Foot in the Grave. Intended for release on the indie label Bongload, which had released the 12-inch of Loser, it was released on DGC instead. With the pop-culture-meets-soul Midnite Vultures, Beck returned to his sonic-collage making. The album, which he produced himself (except for two tracks he coproduced with the Dust Brothers, who also coproduced Odelay), featured Stax/Volt horns on Sexx Laws and the falsetto soul workout Debra, which was written during the Odelay sessions and had become a live staple. Both albums garnered critical praise (with Vultures earning two Grammy nominations), went gold.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide