Mutations (Beck album)

Mutations
Studio album by Beck
Released	November 3, 1998
Recorded	March 19, 1998 – April 3, 1998
Genre	Alternative rock, alternative country
Length	49:17
Label	Geffen
Producer	Beck Hansen, Nigel Godrich
Beck chronology
Odelay (1996) Mutations (1998) Midnite Vultures (1999)

Mutations is the sixth studio album by American alternative rock artist Beck, released in 1998 on Geffen Records. Though less successful on the charts than the preceding Odelay, Mutations established Beck as an eclectic and innovative artist for his sample-free mixture of far-ranging musical genres, including tropicalia, bossa nova, country, and blues. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.^[1]

Background

Recording

Mutations was produced by Nigel Godrich, who was well-known at that point for his previous work with Radiohead. The album contains a number of Moog keyboards, acoustic guitars, and string arrangements.^[2] The production style was very different from that of his previous album Odelay, which was heavily influenced by hip-hop music and contained many samples. The lyrical content of Mutations is also much more somber and serious than that on Odelay, apparent in the songs "Nobody's Fault But My Own" and "Dead Melodies."

Title and packaging

The title Mutations may be a nod to an influential Brazilian band of the late 60s, Os Mutantes.^[3]

The record's front cover, a picture of Beck tangled in plastic wrap, was taken by music photographer Autumn de Wilde. Art direction was by abstract artist Robert M. Fisher.

The interior artwork features sculptures and drawings by artist Tim Hawkinson.

Release

Before beginning the recording sessions, Beck gained permission from the major label he was under contract with, Geffen, to release Mutations on the small indie label Bong Load Records. However, when Geffen executives heard the album, they reneged on their agreement and released the record. This led to a lawsuit filed by Beck against Geffen. As the record was in a markedly different style than the multi-platinum [Odelay], Geffen's marketing effort suggested that the album was not an "official" follow-up, but this was not given wide credence in the music press.

Singles were released for the songs "Tropicalia", "Cold Brains", and "Nobody's Fault But My Own". No promotional music videos were made for any of the singles. Beck appeared on Saturday Night Live in promotion of Mutations, performing "Tropicalia" and "Nobody's Fault But My Own."

Mutations peaked at #13 in the US, going gold, and achieved #24 in the UK and #23 in Australia. As of July 2008, Mutations has sold 586,000 copies in the United States.^[4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[5]
NME
Pitchfork Media	[6]
The A.V. Club	(positive)[7]
Robert Christgau	(A−)[8]
Rolling Stone

The album received mostly positive reviews, gaining four stars from Rolling Stone and a 9.0 from Pitchfork Media.^{[citation needed]} Allmusic deemed the record "one of the finest albums of the 1990s."^[9]

Track listing

All songs written by Beck Hansen.

1. "Cold Brains" – 3:41
2. "Nobody's Fault but My Own" – 5:02
3. "Lazy Flies" – 3:44
4. "Canceled Check" – 3:14
5. "We Live Again" – 3:05
6. "Tropicalia" – 3:20
7. "Dead Melodies" – 2:36
8. "Bottle of Blues" – 4:56
9. "O Maria" – 3:59
10. "Sing It Again" – 4:19
11. "Static" – 11:20
    • Includes hidden track "Diamond Bollocks" (which comes in at 5:18). In the UK, this song is allotted its own track number.

Bonus tracks

There are a variety of bonus tracks on non-U.S. pressings of the album. "Runners Dial Zero", "Halo of Gold", "Black Balloon", and "Electric Music and the Summer People" (a re-recording of an Odelay era B-side) each appear on select international versions.

Personnel

• Beck – guitar, harmonica, piano, glockenspiel, vocals, producer
• Elliot Caine – trumpet
• David Campbell – arranger, conductor, viola
• Larry Corbett – cello
• Warren Klein – sitar, tamboura
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• David Ralicke – flute, trombone
• Nigel Godrich – producer, mixing
• Smokey Hormel – guitar, percussion, background vocals, cuica
• Joey Waronker – percussion, drums, synthesizer drums
• Robert Fisher – art direction
• Justin Meldal-Johnsen – bass, percussion, background vocals
• Roger Manning – synthesizer, keyboards, harpsichord, background vocals
• John Sorenson – assistant engineer
• Charlie Gross – photography
• Autumn de Wilde – photography

External links

• Mutations at MusicBrainz

References

1. ^ http://www.rockonthenet.com/grammy/altperf.htm
2. ^ AllMusic credits entry for Mutations
3. ^ Rolling Stone article: "Tropicalia Legends Os Mutantes Reunite for U.S. Shows".
4. ^ "Ask Billboard". Billboard. 2008-07-18. Archived from the original on 2008-08-01. http://web.archive.org/web/20080801184958/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/ask_bb/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003829442. Retrieved 2008-07-18. 
5. ^ "Mutations - Beck". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r380288. 
6. ^ http://pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/15359/Beck_Mutations^{[dead link]}
7. ^ "Beck: Mutations". The A.V. Club. http://www.avclub.com/content/node/9339. 
8. ^ "CG: Artist 113". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=113. 
9. ^ AllMusic review for the track "Cold Brains"