Odelay
Odelay is the second official studio album and fifth overall by American alternative rock artist Beck, originally released on June 18, 1996, by DGC Records.
Odelay featured several sucessful singles, including "Where It's At", "Devils Haircut", and "The New Pollution". The album peaked at #16 on the Billboard 200 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, making Odelay the most successful record from Beck to date. Since its release, the album has appeared in numerous publications' lists of the greatest records of the 1990s and of all time.
Background
Musical style
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. He would eventually abandon work with Rothrock and Schnapf, opting to work with the Dust Brothers instead. The Dust Brothers' production style was also hip-hop-focused yet more layered; their résumé included notable work with Beastie Boys, Tone Lōc and Young MC.
