| Midnite Vultures | ||||
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| Studio album by Beck | ||||
| Released | November 16, 1999 | |||
| Recorded | July 1998 – June 1999 at Soft Studios | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock Dance-pop Funk rock |
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| Length | 58:24 | |||
| Label | DGC | |||
| Producer | Beck Hansen, Tony Hoffer, Mickey Petralia, The Dust Brothers | |||
| Beck chronology | ||||
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| Music sample | ||||
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"Get Real Paid"
"Get Real Paid" by Beck
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
| The A.V. Club | (positive)[2] |
| E! Online | [3] |
| NME | [4] |
| Pitchfork Media | (8.5/10)[5] |
| Q | |
| Robert Christgau | [6] |
| Rolling Stone | [7] |
Midnite Vultures is the seventh (and fourth major-label) studio album by American alternative rock artist Beck, released in November 1999 by Geffen Records. Though similar to most of Beck's previous albums in its exploration of widely varying musical styles, Midnite Vultures didn't achieve the same blockbuster success as his breakthrough, Odelay, though it was still critically and commercially well-received.
Midnite Vultures reached #34 in the US, where it went gold, and also hit #19 in the UK. As of July 2008, Midnite Vultures has sold 743,000 copies in the United States.[8]
The album was praised by most critics; Rolling Stone, NME and Pitchfork Media gave it four-star reviews (8.5/10 on Pitchfork). It was awarded the status of 'Universal Acclaim' by MetaCritic with a score of 83/100, but in 2006 was named the 50th 'Worst Album Ever' by Q Magazine,[9] despite the fact that they gave the album four stars.
Midnite Vultures was nominated in 2001 for Album of the Year at the 43rd Grammy Awards.
Several songs were directly inspired by other songs: "Get Real Paid" features a spiraling sequencer motif reminiscent of Kraftwerk's "It's More Fun to Compute"; a synth breakdown in "Milk & Honey" echoes a similar riff in Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message"; "Beautiful Way" came about after listening to The Velvet Underground's "Countess from Hong Kong"; and "Debra" was inspired by both Prince's hit "Raspberry Beret" and the David Bowie song "Win."
Working titles for the album included Zatyricon (the name of a song released in 2000 as a B-side on the "Nicotine & Gravy" single and later included on the Beck EP) and I Can Smell the V.D. in the Club Tonight (a line from "Milk & Honey").[10]
The first 500,000 copies came in a digipak.
Contents |
All songs were written by Beck Hansen, except where noted.
Initial versions sold at Best Buy stores came with a bonus disc that contained three songs.
Although these were part of the original pressings, they came in a standard jewel case. The bonus disc was enclosed in a cardboard sleeve outside the jewel case.
The following songs were recorded during the Midnite Vultures sessions but did not make the album. Some appear on the limited edition EP Beck.
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