Mellow Gold, released in 1994 through Bong Load Records (in conjunction with DGC Records in the US and Geffen Records abroad), is considered to be Beck's official debut album note .
A record filled with tales of bad jobs, obnoxious neighbors, and strange women, it acts as the beginning of the Genre-Busting style Beck is most known for. The album (and its lead single "Loser") also marked a turning point in Beck's life, where he went from an obscure life of living in a shed to becoming a successful and well-known musician.
Tracklist:
- "Loser" (3:55)
- "Pay No Mind (Snoozer)" (3:15)
- "Fukin with My Head (Mountain Dew Rock)" (3:41)
- "Whiskeyclone, Hotel City 1997" (3:28)
- "Soul Suckin' Jerk" (3:57)
- "Truckdrivin Neighbors Downstairs (Yellow Sweat)" (2:55)
- "Sweet Sunshine" (4:14)
- "Beercan" (4:00)
- "Steal My Body Home" (5:34)
- "Nitemare Hippy Girl" (2:55)
- "Mutherfuker" (2:04)
- "Blackhole" (5:17) note
Personnel:
- Beck: vocals, most instruments, synthesizers, and production
- Carl Stephenson: production, sampling, and sitar (for "Loser")
- David Harte: drums (for "Pay No Mind (Snoozer)", "Nitemare Hippy Girl", and "Mutherfuker")
- Mike Boito: organ (for "Beercan")
- Petra Haden: violin (for "Blackhole")
- Rob Zabrecky: bass (for "Blackhole")
- Mike O'Connor: drums
Soul Suckin' Tropes:
- 20 Minutes into the Future: "Whiskeyclone, Hotel City 1997", released in 1994.
- Bad Job, Worse Uniform: The narrator of "Soul Suckin' Jerk" mentions wearing a "puke green uniform". He hates it so much he sets it on fire.
- Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: From "Beercan":
- Cluster F-Bomb:
- "Mutherfuker" and "Fukin with My Head (Mountain Dew Rock)", unsurprisingly.
- "Truckdrivin Neighbors Downstairs (Yellow Sweat)", particularly the intro where we
hear a recording of Beck's neighbors having an argument.
- Either/Or Title: "Pay No Mind (Snoozer)", "Fukin with My Head (Mountain Dew Rock)", and "Truckdrivin Neighbors Downstairs (Yellow Sweat)".
- Gratuitous Spanish: The chorus of "Loser". "Soy uno perdedor"...
- Gratuitous German: At the end of the same song, Beck lets loose "Oh, sprechen Sie Deutschnote , baby?"
- Hidden Track: "Analog Odyssey".
- Indecipherable Lyrics: The vocals to "Sweet Sunshine" are so distorted that decades later many fansites still have different interpretations of the lyrics.
- Last Note Nightmare: "Analog Odyssey" is this in spades as Beck is apparently torturing a synthesizer to end the album.
- Miniscule Rocking: "Analog Odyssey" (1:44).
- Mood Whiplash: The calm "Blackhole" is followed by a period of silence, then suddenly there's "Analog Odyssey".
- Non-Appearing Title: "Whiskeyclone, Hotel City 1997" and "Beercan".
- Not What It Looks Like: After running away from his former workplace and burning his uniform, the protagonist of "Soul Suckin' Jerk" winds up wandering aimlessly downtown in only his underwear. Eventually, a prostitute shares her fur coat with him, and he takes a nap. Police officers arrest them as the protagonist tries to explain that he was "only trying to get warm".
- One-Word Title: "Loser", Beercan", "Mutherfuker", and "Blackhole".
- Piss-Take Rap: "Loser", according to Word of God.
- Portmantitle: "Beercan", "Mutherfuker", and "Blackhole".
- Protest Song: According to Beck, "Pay No Mind (Snoozer)" is this for an era where there's nothing to protest against.
- Rouge Angles of Satin: The titles of "Fukin with My Head", "Nitemare Hippy Girl", and "Mutherfuker".
- Sampling: While nowhere near the level of Odelay, it's used in at least a few songs on this album:
- The main hook for "Loser" is a looped recording of Beck messing around with one lick on his guitar. The drum beat is from "I Walk On Gilded Splinters" by Johnny Jenkins.
- "Beercan" samples a Care Bears album and a snippet of noise from "Hog Leg" by the Melvins.
- "Soul Suckin' Jerk" samples "The Big Beat" by Billy Squier.
- "Fuckin' With My Head" and "Sweet Sunshine" both sample "Save the World" by Southside Movement.
- Word Salad Lyrics: Present in nearly every song, as expected from a Beck release.
