Mellow Gold
Mellow Gold | ||||
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Studio album by Beck | ||||
Released | March 1, 1994 | |||
Recorded | 1993 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 47:36 | |||
Label | DGC | |||
Producer | ||||
Beck chronology | ||||
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Singles from Mellow Gold | ||||
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Mellow Gold is the official debut studio album, third album overall, and major label debut by American alternative rock musician Beck. Mellow Gold was released on March 1, 1994, following the surprise success of "Loser". Critics noted the album's hybrid of various styles including rock, hip hop, folk, psychedelia, and country,[2] and ironic, witty lyrics. The decidedly anti-commercial attitude of Mellow Gold became an unexpected commercial success and went platinum.
In an effort to get the album into stores such as Wal-Mart and Kmart, which do not stock albums with a "parental advisory sticker", a clean version of the album was released. Nonetheless, Wal-Mart carried the explicit version of the album, though the move is believed to have been an unintentional oversight.
Mellow Gold reached #13 in the United States and #41 in the United Kingdom. As of July 2008, Mellow Gold has sold 1.2 million copies in the US.[3]
Reception
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Blender | [4] |
Chicago Tribune | [5] |
Entertainment Weekly | B[6] |
Los Angeles Times | [7] |
NME | 6/10[8] |
Rolling Stone | [9] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [10] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 10/10[11] |
The Village Voice | A[1] |
Mellow Gold received general acclaim from music critics. AllMusic and Rolling Stone gave it five out of five stars (the latter originally giving it only three and a half.)
Guitar World magazine ranked Mellow Gold at number four in the "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.[12]
Track listing
All tracks written by Beck, except where noted.
Original track listing | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "Loser" (Hansen, Carl Stephenson) | 3:55 |
2. | "Pay No Mind (Snoozer)" | 3:15 |
3. | "Fukin with My Head (Mountain Dew Rock)" | 3:41 |
4. | "Whiskeyclone, Hotel City 1997" | 3:28 |
5. | "Soul Suckin' Jerk" (Hansen, Carl Stephenson) | 3:57 |
6. | "Truckdrivin Neighbors Downstairs (Yellow Sweat)" | 2:55 |
7. | "Sweet Sunshine" (Hansen, Carl Stephenson) | 4:14 |
8. | "Beercan" (Hansen, Carl Stephenson) | 4:00 |
9. | "Steal My Body Home" | 5:34 |
10. | "Nitemare Hippy Girl" | 2:55 |
11. | "Mutherfuker" | 2:04 |
12. | "Blackhole" | 5:17 |
Hidden Tracks | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
13. | "Analog Odyssey" | 1:44 |
Samples credits
"Loser"
"Loser" by Beck | |
Problems playing this file? See media help. |
"Loser"
- "I Walk on Gilded Splinters" by Johnny Jenkins
- Kill the Moonlight dialogue
"Fuckin' with My Head (Mountain Dew Rock)"
- "Save the World" by Southside Movement
"Soul Suckin' Jerk"
- "The Big Beat" by Billy Squier
"Sweet Sunshine"
- "Save the World" by Southside Movement
"Beercan"
- "Hog Leg" by the Melvins
- Care Bears dialogue
Personnel
- Beck – vocals, guitars, bass, harmonica, percussion, synthesizers, music box, producer
- Mike Boito – organ (track 8)
- Stephen Marcussen – mastering
- Tom Rothrock – producer, mixing
- Rob Schnapf – producer, mixing
- Carl Stephenson – producer, beats, sampling, sitar (track 1)
- Petra Haden – violin (track 12)
- David Harte – drums (tracks 2, 10, 11)
- Rob Zabrecky – bass (track 12)
- Robert Fisher – art direction, design
- Ross Harris – photography
- Mike O'Connor – drums
Additional personnel
- DJ Smash – turntables
Charts
Chart (1994) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] | 53 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14] | 25 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[15] | 18 |
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[16] | 81 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] | 41 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[18] | 23 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[15] | 18 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[19] | 15 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] | 33 |
UK Albums (OCC)[21] | 41 |
US Billboard 200[22] | 13 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/Sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada)[23] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[24] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
*sales figures based on certification alone |
References
- 1 2 Christgau, Robert (April 5, 1994). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
- 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Mellow Gold – Beck". AllMusic. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
- ↑ "Ask Billboard". Billboard. 2008-07-18. Archived from the original on 2008-08-01. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
- ↑ Smith, RJ. "Beck: Mellow Gold". Blender. Archived from the original on May 4, 2006. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
- ↑ Kot, Greg (March 17, 1994). "Beck's Breadth". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
- ↑ Aaron, Charles (March 25, 1994). "Mellow Gold". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
- ↑ Gold, Jonathan (February 20, 1994). "Beck; 'Mellow Gold'; DGC". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
- ↑ Barker, Emily (January 29, 2014). "25 Seminal Albums From 1994 – And What NME Said At The Time". NME. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
- ↑ Azerrad, Michael (May 7, 1994). "Mellow Gold". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
- ↑ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Beck". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. pp. 55–56. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ↑ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ↑ "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994". GuitarWorld.com. July 14, 2014. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
- ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Beck – Mellow Gold" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
- 1 2 "Norwegiancharts.com – Beck – Mellow Gold". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Beck – Mellow Gold" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
- ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Beck – Mellow Gold". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Beck – Mellow Gold". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
- ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Beck – Mellow Gold". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Beck – Mellow Gold". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
- ↑ "Beck | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved February 12, 2014.
- ↑ "Beck – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Beck. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
- ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Beck – Mellow Gold". Music Canada.
- ↑ "American album certifications – Beck – Mellow Gold". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
External links
- 10 Years of Mellow Gold Documentary (retrospective documentary done for anniversary of the album)
- Mellow Gold at MusicBrainz