Details
Track Listing
1. He's a Mighty Good Leader
2. Sleeping Bag
3. I Get Lonesome
4. Burnt Orange Peel
5. Cyanide Breath Mint
6. See Water
7. Ziplock Bag
8. Hollow Log
9. Forcefield
10. Fourteen Rivers Fourteen Floods
11. Asshole
12. I've Seen the Land Beyond
13. Outcome
14. Girl Dreams
15. Painted Eyelids
16. Atmospheric Conditions
Album Notes
Personnel: Beck (vocals, guitar, bass, drums); Calvin Johnson, Sam Jayne (vocals); Chris Ballew (guitar, bass); James Bertram (bass); Scott Plouf (drums); Mario Prietto (bongos).
Recorded at Dub Narcotic, Olympia, Washington in October 1993 and January 1994.
This collection of performances by musical chameleon Beck Hansen came out hard on the heels of the mega-success of MELLOW GOLD, as the MTV world was promoting him as the alternative rock poster boy of the anthemic "Loser." The unsuspecting listener picking up ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE will be disarmed (to say the least) by its content--the album is a collection of folksy, bluesy recordings of the sparest lo-fi variety.
Although there are some Sebadoh-style punky screamers such as "Burnt Orange Peels" in the mix, Beck mostly spends most of his time on ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE creating beautiful shoegazer-folk moments such as "Cyanide Breath Mint," which transcends its slacker title with an alluring drone and beautifully dark lyrics. "Hollow Log" is your basic pretty, fireside folk song done right, while "I Get Lonesome" has Beck and K Records supremo Calvin Johnson duetting on a simple, mournful tune. While those weaned on Beck's higher-gloss MTV-ready output may not fully appreciate ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE, it's the first true example of his versatility, not to mention a subtly beautiful record.
Industry Reviews
...a naked-strum treat of Dylanesque tripwire lyricism and post-punk field-holler pop.
...He's always seductively lazy, spinning out throwaway songs with a disarming casualness yet managing to insinuate a subversive musical deconstruction into everything...
Alternative Press (11/01/1994)
...ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE distills the songwriter's essence in 16 phenomenal tracks drawing from the traditional country-blues and gospel that inspired the Pussy Galore fan to pick up an acoustic guitar in the first place...
Option (09/01/1994)
...presents our hero as an earnest young student of vernacular American music... - Rating: B+
Entertainment Weekly (08/05/1994)
7 (out of 10) - ...as a demonstration of what can be done with a battered acoustic guitar, three chords and a beautifully tired, twisted reading of the truth, it has few peers.
NME (12/09/1995)
Recommended - ...Beck, after all, is the first '70s brat to further the folkie tradition (an acoustic guitar and deferred dream) by acknowledging hip hop as the most compelling `80s-`90s voice of the pissed and dissed...
Spin (10/01/1994)
7 (out of 10) - ...as a demonstration of what can be done with a battered acoustic guitar, three chords and a beautifully tired, twisted reading of the truth, it has few peers. Entertainment Weekly (8/5/94, p.52) - ...presents our hero as an earnest young student of vernacular American music... - Rating: B+
[I]t's his personal take on Americana....This is Beck, rustic...
4 stars out of 5 -- [I]ts crudely recorded ballads and occasional bursts of gnarly distortion are clear precursors to the beats-based folk-hop of 'Loser.'
4 stars out of 5 -- Contrasting with MELLOW GOLD's hip-hop folk, OFITG pulled up Beck's traditional folk and blues roots....Just like the Delta bluesmen, Beck sees decay around every corner...
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