Mellow Gold

Mellow Gold
Studio album by Beck
Released	March 1, 1994
Recorded	1993
Genre	Alternative rock, anti-folk, lo-fi, alternative country
Length	47:36
Label	DGC
Producer	Beck Hansen, Tom Rothrock, Rob Schnapf, Karl Stephenson
Beck chronology
Stereopathetic Soulmanure (1994) Mellow Gold (1994) One Foot in the Grave (1994)

Mellow Gold is the third studio album by American alternative rock musician Beck, as well as his major label debut. Mellow Gold was released on March 1, 1994 (see 1994 in music) on the strength of the surprise hit "Loser" (U.S. #10). Informed by the irreverent Gen X slacker and punk-influenced anti-folk styles of his earlier independent work, critics noted its hybrid of styles and ironic, witty lyrics. The decidedly anti-commercial attitude of Mellow Gold unexpectedly became a commercial success, and the album 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.

Mellow Gold reached #13 in the U.S., and #41 in the UK. As of July 2008, Mellow Gold has sold 1.2 million copies in the United States.^[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Robert Christgau	(A)[3]
RS Album Guide	[4]
Spin	[citation needed]
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

Track listing

All songs by Beck, except where noted.

1. "Loser" (Beck, Karl Stephenson) – 3:55
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" (Beck, Stephenson) – 3:57
6. "Truckdrivin Neighbors Downstairs (Yellow Sweat)" – 2:55
7. "Sweet Sunshine" (Beck, Stephenson) – 4:14
8. "Beercan" (Beck, Stephenson) – 4:00
9. "Steal My Body Home" – 5:34
10. "Nitemare Hippy Girl" – 2:55
11. "Mutherfuker" – 2:04
12. "Blackhole" – 7:33
    • Includes the hidden track "Analog Odyssey".

Samples

Loser

• "I Walk on Gilded Splinters" by Dr. John
• Kill the Moonlight dialogue

Sweet Sunshine

• "Save the World" by Southside Movement

Beercan

• "Hog Leg" by the Melvins
• Care Bears dialogue.

Personnel

• Beck – guitar, vocals, harmonica, producer
• Mike Boito – organ (track 8)
• Stephen Marcussen – mastering
• Tom Rothrock – producer, mixing
• Rob Schnapf – producer, mixing
• Karl Stephenson – producer
• 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

References

1. ^ "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. 
2. ^ Erlewine, Steven Thomas. Beck: Mellow Gold > Review at Allmusic. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
3. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Review: Mellow Gold". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=252. Retrieved 14 June 2011. 
4. ^ Brackett, Nathan (ed.); Hoard, Christian (ed.) (2004). The new Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). p. 55. 

External links

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