Mellow Gold

Mellow Gold
Studio album by Beck
Released March 1, 1994
Recorded 1992–1993
Genre
Length 47:36
Label DGC
Producer
Beck chronology
Stereopathetic Soulmanure
(1994)Stereopathetic Soulmanure1994		 Mellow Gold
(1994)		 One Foot in the Grave
(1994)One Foot in the Grave1994
Singles from Mellow Gold
  1. "Loser"
    Released: February 4, 1994
  2. "Pay No Mind (Snoozer)"
    Released: April 1994
  3. "Beercan"
    Released: 1994

Mellow Gold is the official debut studio album, third album overall, and major label debut by American alternative rock musician Beck. Mellow Gold was released on March 1, 1994, following the surprise success of the song "Loser". Critics noted the album's hybrid of various styles including rock, hip hop, folk, blues, psychedelia, and country,[3] and ironic, witty lyrics. The decidedly anti-commercial attitude of Mellow Gold became an unexpected commercial success and 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. Regardless, Wal-Mart carried the explicit version of the album, though the move is believed to have been an unintentional oversight.

Mellow Gold reached #13 in the United States and #41 in the United Kingdom. As of July 2008, Mellow Gold has sold 1.2 million copies in the US.[4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Blender[5]
Chicago Tribune[6]
Entertainment WeeklyB[7]
Los Angeles Times[8]
NME6/10[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[11]
Spin Alternative Record Guide10/10[12]
The Village VoiceA[1]

Mellow Gold received general acclaim from music critics. AllMusic and Rolling Stone gave it five out of five stars (the latter originally giving it only three and a half.)

Guitar World magazine ranked Mellow Gold at number four in the "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.[13]

Track listing

All tracks written by Beck, except where noted.

Original track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Loser" (Hansen, Carl 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" (Hansen, Stephenson)3:57
6."Truckdrivin Neighbors Downstairs (Yellow Sweat)"2:55
7."Sweet Sunshine" (Hansen, Stephenson)4:14
8."Beercan" (Hansen, Stephenson)4:00
9."Steal My Body Home"5:34
10."Nitemare Hippy Girl"2:55
11."Mutherfuker"2:04
12."Blackhole"5:17
Hidden Tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Analog Odyssey"1:44

Samples credits

"Loser"

"Fuckin with My Head (Mountain Dew Rock)"

"Soul Suckin' Jerk"

  • "The Big Beat" by Billy Squier

"Sweet Sunshine"

"Beercan"

Personnel

  • Beck – vocals, acoustic guitar, slide guitar, electric guitar, bass, harmonica, synthesizers, percussion, producer
  • Mike Boito – organ (track 8)
  • Stephen Marcussen – mastering
  • Tom Rothrock – producer, mixing
  • Rob Schnapf – producer, mixing
  • Carl Stephenson – producer, beats, sampling, sitar (track 1)
  • 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

Charts

Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[14] 53
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15] 25
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[16] 18
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[17] 81
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 41
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[19] 23
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[16] 18
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 15
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 33
UK Albums (OCC)[22] 41
US Billboard 200[23] 13

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[24] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[25] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (April 5, 1994). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  2. ↑ https://www.thefourohfive.com/music/article/beck-analog-odyssey-139
  3. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Mellow Gold – Beck". AllMusic. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Ask Billboard". Billboard. 2008-07-18. Archived from the original on 2008-08-01. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  5. ↑ Smith, RJ. "Beck: Mellow Gold". Blender. Archived from the original on May 4, 2006. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  6. ↑ Kot, Greg (March 17, 1994). "Beck's Breadth". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  7. ↑ Aaron, Charles (March 25, 1994). "Mellow Gold". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
  8. ↑ Gold, Jonathan (February 20, 1994). "Beck; 'Mellow Gold'; DGC". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  9. ↑ Barker, Emily (January 29, 2014). "25 Seminal Albums From 1994 – And What NME Said At The Time". NME. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  10. ↑ Azerrad, Michael (May 7, 1994). "Mellow Gold". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  11. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Beck". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. pp. 55–56. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  12. ↑ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  13. ↑ "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994". GuitarWorld.com. July 14, 2014. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  14. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  15. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Beck – Mellow Gold" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  16. 1 2 "Norwegiancharts.com – Beck – Mellow Gold". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Beck – Mellow Gold" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Beck – Mellow Gold". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Beck – Mellow Gold". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Beck – Mellow Gold". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Beck – Mellow Gold". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Beck | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  23. ↑ "Beck Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  24. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Beck – Mellow Gold". Music Canada.
  25. ↑ "American album certifications – Beck – Mellow Gold". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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