Review 1 of 1

jootoo writes:

4of 5 Stars

This album is number one on the list of great albums you never knew existed released by really popular groups. Most bands that get their break on the third album or so have their early albums claimed or reclaimed by professed fans and are bought to find the origins of the great music America has just discovered. Not so with Beck. No one's ever heard this CD and that's a real shame. This is pre-everything that we associate with him and his great music. There's no production, no manipulation, just a mediocre guitar player with a great voice and fantastic, haunting songs. The angst and verve that have made him famous aren't here, which is something of a shame, but the songs are gorgeous. The folksy opening track "He's a Mighty Good Leader" alone is worth the 7.99 that any store that even has the CD charges is worth it alone, but the rest of the songs are just as good, taking Beck's witty, insightful, random, and bizarre methodology of turning observations into music for people that feel disconnected from the world and themselves. It may not have the agnst of Mellow Gold or the sheer tenacity and joy of the later albums, but this first album really shows just how acute and poignant Beck can be.

Feb 8, 2006 14:39:57