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Mellow Gold

January 01, 1970

Mellow Gold is the third studio album by American musician Beck, released on March 1, 1994, by DGC Records. Critics noted the album's hybrid of various styles including rock, hip hop, folk, blues, psychedelia, and country,[3] as well as ironic, witty lyrics. Its decidedly anti-commercial attitude led to it becoming an unexpected commercial success, peaking at number thirteen in the United States and eventually being certified platinum. As of July 2008, Mellow Gold has sold over 1.2 million copies in the United States.[4]

Mellow Gold
Studio album by
Beck
ReleasedMarch 1, 1994
Recorded1992–1993
Genre
Length45:31 (with hidden track)
Label
Producer
Beck chronology
Stereopathetic Soulmanure
(1994) 		Mellow Gold
(1994) 		One Foot in the Grave
(1994)
Singles from Mellow Gold
  1. "Loser"
    Released: February 4, 1994
  2. "Pay No Mind (Snoozer)"
    Released: April 1994
  3. "Beercan"
    Released: 1994

Background edit

In a 1994 interview with Rolling Stone, Beck said of the album:

The whole concept of Mellow Gold is that it's like a satanic K-tel record that's been found in a trash dumpster, quite matter-of-factly. A few people have molested it and slept with it and half-swallowed it before spitting it out. Someone played poker with it, someone tried to smoke it. Then the record was taken to Morocco and covered with hummus and tabouli. Then it was flown back to a convention of water-skiers, who skied on it and played Frisbee with it. Then the record was put on the turntable, and the original K-Tel album had reached a whole new level. I was just taking that whole Freedom Rock feeling, you understand.[5]

According to the album's liner notes, Mellow Gold was recorded at Carl Stephenson and Rob Schnapf's houses, predominantly utilizing a four-track.[2]

Album cover edit

The robot on the cover of Mellow Gold was created by artist Eddie Lopez, who made a cameo in the music video for the hit song "Loser". The sculpture was named "Survivor from the Nuclear Bomb". The shot was originally taken in Lopez's garage space by Beck's friend as well as early collaborator Ross Harris. The last image was reshot in a studio where Harris was able to control the environment and also add visual effects to make the cover look more apocalyptic.[6]

Title edit

The album was originally going to be titled Cold Ass Fashion, sharing its name with an earlier song of Beck's. The final title used, Mellow Gold, was named after a potent strain of California marijuana.[6]

Reception edit

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).

AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote, "although his inspired sense of humor occasionally plays like he's a smirking, irony-addled hipster, his music is never kitschy, and his wordplay is constantly inspired." He also wrote, "It's a dizzying demonstration of musical skills, yet it's all tied together by a simple yet clever sense of songcraft and a truly original lyrical viewpoint, one that's basic yet as colorful as free verse."[3]

Guitar World magazine included Mellow Gold in their "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.[15]

Track listing edit

All tracks are written by Beck Hansen, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Loser"Hansen, Carl Stephenson3:55
2."Pay No Mind (Snoozer)" 3:15
3."Fuckin with My Head (Mountain Dew Rock)" 3:41
4."Whiskeyclone, Hotel City 1997" 3:28
5."Soul Suckin' Jerk"Hansen, Stephenson3:57
6."Truckdrivin Neighbors Downstairs (Yellow Sweat)" 2:55
7."Sweet Sunshine"Hansen, Stephenson4:14
8."Beercan"Hansen, Stephenson4:00
9."Steal My Body Home" 5:34
10."Nitemare Hippy Girl" 2:55
11."Mutherfuker" 2:04
12."Blackhole" (includes hidden track, "Analog Odyssey") 7:33
Total length:45:31

Samples credits edit

 
"Loser"
"Loser" by Beck
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Loser" edit

"Fuckin with My Head (Mountain Dew Rock)" edit

"Soul Suckin' Jerk" edit

"Sweet Sunshine" edit

"Beercan" edit

Personnel edit

  • Beck – vocals, acoustic guitar, slide guitar, electric guitar, bass, harmonica, synthesizers, percussion, 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 edit

  • DJ Smash – turntables

Charts edit

Certifications edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[27] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[28] Gold 100,000*
United States (RIAA)[29] Platinum 1,200,000[4]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References edit

  1. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (April 5, 1994). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  2. ^ a b thefourohfive.com. "Analog Odyssey: 20 Years of Beck's Mellow Gold". The 405. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Mellow Gold – Beck". AllMusic. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  4. ^ a b . Billboard. July 18, 2008. Archived from the original on August 1, 2008. Retrieved July 18, 2008.
  5. ^ Wild, David (April 21, 1994). "Interview: Beck". RollingStone.com. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  6. ^ a b "10 Things You Might Not Know About Beck's 'Mellow Gold'". Yahoo.com. February 28, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  7. ^ Smith, RJ. . Blender. Archived from the original on May 4, 2006. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  8. ^ Kot, Greg (March 17, 1994). "Beck's Breadth". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  9. ^ Aaron, Charles (March 25, 1994). "Mellow Gold". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
  10. ^ Gold, Jonathan (February 20, 1994). "Beck; 'Mellow Gold'; DGC". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  11. ^ Powell, Mike (May 3, 2020). "Beck: Mellow Gold". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  12. ^ Azerrad, Michael (May 7, 1994). "Mellow Gold". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  13. ^ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Beck". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 55–56. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  14. ^ Weisbard, Eric (1995). "Beck". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 35–36. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  15. ^ . GuitarWorld.com. July 14, 2014. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  16. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  17. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Beck – Mellow Gold" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  18. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Beck – Mellow Gold" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  19. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Beck – Mellow Gold" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  20. ^ "Charts.nz – Beck – Mellow Gold". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  21. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Beck – Mellow Gold". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  22. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Beck – Mellow Gold". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  23. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Beck – Mellow Gold". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  24. ^ "Beck | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  25. ^ "Beck Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  26. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  27. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Beck – Mellow Gold". Music Canada. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  28. ^ "British album certifications – Beck – Mellow Gold". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  29. ^ "American album certifications – Beck – Mellow Gold". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 18, 2019.

External links edit

  • 10 Years of Mellow Gold Documentary (retrospective documentary done for anniversary of the album)
  • Mellow Gold at MusicBrainz

January 01, 1970
mellow, gold, third, studio, album, american, musician, beck, released, march, 1994, records, critics, noted, album, hybrid, various, styles, including, rock, folk, blues, psychedelia, country, well, ironic, witty, lyrics, decidedly, anti, commercial, attitude. Mellow Gold is the third studio album by American musician Beck released on March 1 1994 by DGC Records Critics noted the album s hybrid of various styles including rock hip hop folk blues psychedelia and country 3 as well as ironic witty lyrics Its decidedly anti commercial attitude led to it becoming an unexpected commercial success peaking at number thirteen in the United States and eventually being certified platinum As of July 2008 Mellow Gold has sold over 1 2 million copies in the United States 4 Mellow GoldStudio album by BeckReleasedMarch 1 1994Recorded1992 1993GenreAlternative rock anti folk experimental rock 1 lo fi 2 Length45 31 with hidden track LabelDGC Bong LoadProducerBeck Hansen Tom Rothrock Rob Schnapf Carl StephensonBeck chronologyStereopathetic Soulmanure 1994 Mellow Gold 1994 One Foot in the Grave 1994 Singles from Mellow Gold Loser Released February 4 1994 Pay No Mind Snoozer Released April 1994 Beercan Released 1994 Contents 1 Background 2 Album cover 3 Title 4 Reception 5 Track listing 5 1 Samples credits 5 1 1 Loser 5 1 2 Fuckin with My Head Mountain Dew Rock 5 1 3 Soul Suckin Jerk 5 1 4 Sweet Sunshine 5 1 5 Beercan 6 Personnel 6 1 Additional personnel 7 Charts 7 1 Weekly charts 7 2 Year end charts 8 Certifications 9 References 10 External linksBackground editIn a 1994 interview with Rolling Stone Beck said of the album The whole concept of Mellow Gold is that it s like a satanic K tel record that s been found in a trash dumpster quite matter of factly A few people have molested it and slept with it and half swallowed it before spitting it out Someone played poker with it someone tried to smoke it Then the record was taken to Morocco and covered with hummus and tabouli Then it was flown back to a convention of water skiers who skied on it and played Frisbee with it Then the record was put on the turntable and the original K Tel album had reached a whole new level I was just taking that whole Freedom Rock feeling you understand 5 According to the album s liner notes Mellow Gold was recorded at Carl Stephenson and Rob Schnapf s houses predominantly utilizing a four track 2 Album cover editThe robot on the cover of Mellow Gold was created by artist Eddie Lopez who made a cameo in the music video for the hit song Loser The sculpture was named Survivor from the Nuclear Bomb The shot was originally taken in Lopez s garage space by Beck s friend as well as early collaborator Ross Harris The last image was reshot in a studio where Harris was able to control the environment and also add visual effects to make the cover look more apocalyptic 6 Title editThe album was originally going to be titled Cold Ass Fashion sharing its name with an earlier song of Beck s The final title used Mellow Gold was named after a potent strain of California marijuana 6 Reception editProfessional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllMusic nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 3 Blender nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 7 Chicago Tribune nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 8 Entertainment WeeklyB 9 Los Angeles Times nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 10 Pitchfork8 8 10 11 Rolling Stone nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 12 The Rolling Stone Album Guide nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 13 Spin Alternative Record Guide10 10 14 The Village VoiceA 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 AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote although his inspired sense of humor occasionally plays like he s a smirking irony addled hipster his music is never kitschy and his wordplay is constantly inspired He also wrote It s a dizzying demonstration of musical skills yet it s all tied together by a simple yet clever sense of songcraft and a truly original lyrical viewpoint one that s basic yet as colorful as free verse 3 Guitar World magazine included Mellow Gold in their Superunknown 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994 list 15 Track listing editAll tracks are written by Beck Hansen except where notedNo TitleWriter s Length1 Loser Hansen Carl Stephenson3 552 Pay No Mind Snoozer 3 153 Fuckin with My Head Mountain Dew Rock 3 414 Whiskeyclone Hotel City 1997 3 285 Soul Suckin Jerk Hansen Stephenson3 576 Truckdrivin Neighbors Downstairs Yellow Sweat 2 557 Sweet Sunshine Hansen Stephenson4 148 Beercan Hansen Stephenson4 009 Steal My Body Home 5 3410 Nitemare Hippy Girl 2 5511 Mutherfuker 2 0412 Blackhole includes hidden track Analog Odyssey 7 33Total length 45 31 Samples credits edit nbsp Loser source source track Loser by Beck Problems playing this file See media help Loser edit I Walk on Gilded Splinters by Johnny Jenkins Kill the Moonlight dialogue Fuckin with My Head Mountain Dew Rock edit Save the World by Southside Movement Soul Suckin Jerk edit The Big Beat by Billy Squier Cow by Melvins Sweet Sunshine edit Save the World by Southside Movement Beercan edit Hog Leg by Melvins Care Bears dialoguePersonnel editBeck vocals acoustic guitar slide guitar electric guitar bass harmonica synthesizers percussion 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 edit DJ Smash turntablesCharts editWeekly charts edit Chart 1994 Peakposition Australian Albums ARIA 16 53 Austrian Albums O3 Austria 17 25 Dutch Albums Album Top 100 18 81 German Albums Offizielle Top 100 19 41 New Zealand Albums RMNZ 20 23 Norwegian Albums VG lista 21 18 Swedish Albums Sverigetopplistan 22 15 Swiss Albums Schweizer Hitparade 23 33 UK Albums OCC 24 41 US Billboard 200 25 13 Year end charts edit Chart 1994 Position US Billboard 200 26 94Certifications editRegion Certification Certified units sales Canada Music Canada 27 Platinum 100 000 United Kingdom BPI 28 Gold 100 000 United States RIAA 29 Platinum 1 200 000 4 Sales figures based on certification alone Shipments figures based on certification alone References edit a b Christgau Robert April 5 1994 Consumer Guide The Village Voice Retrieved November 19 2015 a b thefourohfive com Analog Odyssey 20 Years of Beck s Mellow Gold The 405 Retrieved April 27 2019 a b c Erlewine Stephen Thomas Mellow Gold Beck AllMusic Retrieved June 15 2011 a b Ask Billboard Billboard July 18 2008 Archived from the original on August 1 2008 Retrieved July 18 2008 Wild David April 21 1994 Interview Beck RollingStone com Retrieved April 27 2019 a b 10 Things You Might Not Know About Beck s Mellow Gold Yahoo com February 28 2014 Retrieved April 27 2019 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 Powell Mike May 3 2020 Beck Mellow Gold Pitchfork Retrieved May 3 2020 Azerrad Michael May 7 1994 Mellow Gold Rolling Stone Retrieved November 19 2015 Sheffield Rob 2004 Beck In Brackett Nathan Hoard Christian eds The New Rolling Stone Album Guide 4th ed Simon amp Schuster pp 55 56 ISBN 0 7432 0169 8 Weisbard Eric 1995 Beck In Weisbard Eric Marks Craig eds Spin Alternative Record Guide Vintage Books pp 35 36 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 Dutchcharts nl Beck Mellow Gold in Dutch Hung Medien Retrieved February 12 2014 Offiziellecharts de Beck Mellow Gold in German GfK Entertainment Charts Retrieved May 3 2020 Charts nz Beck Mellow Gold Hung Medien Retrieved February 12 2014 Norwegiancharts com 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 Billboard Retrieved February 12 2014 Top Billboard 200 Albums Year End 1994 Billboard Retrieved October 10 2020 Canadian album certifications Beck Mellow Gold Music Canada Retrieved December 18 2019 British album certifications Beck Mellow Gold British Phonographic Industry Retrieved December 18 2019 American album certifications Beck Mellow Gold Recording Industry Association of America Retrieved December 18 2019 External links edit10 Years of Mellow Gold Documentary retrospective documentary done for anniversary of the album Mellow Gold at MusicBrainz Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mellow Gold amp oldid 1186103042, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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