Odelay's Secret History

Beck tells the stories behind his newly reissued classic

GAVIN EDWARDSPosted Feb 21, 2008 3:00 PM

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"Deadweight" A lilting Dust Brothers collaboration found on the soundtrack to A Life Less Ordinary. Beck had originally intended to record a follow-up record with the Dust Brothers, but they didn't reconvene until 2005's Guero. "We did that one song during the three days I was home from the Odelay tour, and to me, it represents an album that was never made," Beck says. [Listen]

"Gold Chains" A previously unreleased track, featuring the chorus "I'm going back home with my gold chains swinging." "We went back and mixed that. It was never a serious album contender — we were just fucking around one day." [Listen]

"Lemonade" An overseas "New Pollution" B-side, this song alternates noisy thrash sections with gentle acoustic strumming. "On the Mellow Gold tour, I was in Minneapolis and we had a day off. We asked if there was a studio around and went in, and I think we recorded ten songs in seven hours," Beck says. "I think those tapes are lost." [Listen]

".000.000" This Sabbath-style freakout, originally a B-side to "Devils Haircut," was cut at the Beastie Boys' L.A. studio. "It had a big skate ramp in it," Beck recalls. He isn't sure how one would pronounce the song's title, and can't even decipher the words anymore. "There were definitely lyrics and they were very meaningful. I think." [Listen]

"Brother" Originally released as a "Jack-Ass" B-side, this beautiful, mournful acoustic ballad features lyrics such as "When I die, will you be my neighbor?" "Yeah, that was kind of a heavy one," acknowledges Beck. "I had a few people around that time who passed away, and one of them was really sudden. It was a friend of mine, he had just come out and visited me on tour." [Listen]

"Devil Got My Woman" A cover of the Skip James blues classic, released as a "Jack-Ass" B-side. "I was in Memphis playing a festival, opening for Bob Dylan, which was a huge thing for me at the time. We had gone to Sun Studios for lunch and asked if they had equipment set up, and they said yeah, so we came late that night and just stayed all night," Beck says. "These kids showed up and asked if they could play with me, this drummer and a bass player, and it turned out to be [legendary producer] Jim Dickinson's kids. At the end of the night, I did some country and blues covers, in honor of where we were." [Listen]

"Burro" This "Jack-Ass" B-side was a Spanish translation of the song, rerecorded with a mariachi band from an L.A. Mexican restaurant. "I tried to sing it straight, but I got carried away. I ended up sounding like Mario Lanza." [Listen]

[Expanded version of story from RS 1046, February 21, 2008]