Mutations Beck

Throughout the publicity tour for 1998's Mutations, Beck, his publicists, and his label emphasized that this was not the proper follow-up to Odelay, the 1996 album that cemented Beck's status as a wild, post-post-punk visionary. He was still toiling away on that record, planning to drop it in 1999. By passing off the muted, haunting psychedelic folk-rock, blues, and Tropicalia of Mutations as a stopgap, Beck set expectations high for this Odelay follow-up, especially when word began circulating that Beth Orton, Kool Keith, Johnny Marr, and the Dust Brothers had all contributed to the album. Reportedly, over 40 tracks were recorded for the album, 11 of which (plus the inevitable hidden bonus track) were selected for Midnite Vultures.

In April 1988, Beck entered the studio in Los Angeles to record an album with producer Nigel Godrich. The album, Mutations, was originally intended to be released as a "parenthetical" album on indie label Bong Load Custom Recordings. Beck later decided to release it on DGC Records.

According to party line, neither Beck nor Geffen ever intended Mutations to be considered as the official follow-up to Odelay, his Grammy-winning breakthrough. It was more like One Foot in the Grave, designed to be an off-kilter, subdued collection of acoustic-based songs pitched halfway between psychedelic country blues and lo-fi folk. The presence of producer Nigel Godrich, the man who helmed Radiohead's acclaimed OK Computer, makes such claims dubious. Godrich is not a slick producer, but he's no Calvin Johnson, either, and Mutations has an appropriately clean, trippy feel.

With the success of Odelay to look at, Beck was now asked to do music for films. "Deadweight" is a song taken from the Odelay recording sessions, and would be a brief pit stop between the Odelay experience and the forthcoming Mutations.