Mutations | 
 enlarge | Artist: Beck
Label: Geffen Records
Category: Music
List Price: $13.98
Buy Used: $1.40
You Save: $12.58 (90%)
New (47) Used (70) Collectible (7) from $1.40
Rating:  243 reviews
Sales Rank: 6581
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 25309
UPC: 720642530924
EAN: 7206425309244
ASIN: B00000DHYK
Release Date: November 3, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: surface scratches, front artwork has the face cut out.
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| Tracks:
| • | Cold Brains | | • | Nobody's Fault But My Own | | • | Lazy Flies | | • | Canceled Check | | • | We Live Again | | • | Tropicalia | | • | Dead Melodies | | • | Bottle of Blues | | • | O Maria | | • | Sing It Again | | • | Static/Diamond Bollocks (hidden track) |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com's Best of 1998
It's unfortunate how much attention has been paid to how this album was recorded--quickly, without the same level of studio fuss that marked Beck's breakthrough album, Odelay. That's a shame because our favorite chameleon has pulled the neatest trick of all: he's dropped the lyrical schtick that sometimes marred his sonic wizardy, leaving listeners to wonder if he even believed in the music he was playing. That's not an issue here. At times, he sounds like Ray Davies updated for the '90s, stripping himself bare with lovely, simple songs that linger long after they've supposedly ended. Beck may have made his initial mark with "Loser," a clever but insincere admission of inferiority; he's more likely to be remembered for the similar but more heartfelt confession of "Nobody's Fault But My Own." --Keith Moerer
Amazon.com essential recording
On his 1996 breakthrough album Odelay, Beck Hansen surprised a sleepy music community by blending funk, rock, rap, alternative, and electronica in ways that were both startlingly innovative and irresistibly catchy. Mutations is equally attention-grabbing but not in the gangbusters-pimp-rock-meets-indie-geek style you might expect. Reflective and plaintive, the album reveals Beck's more sentimental side with an eclectic collection of acoustic-based songs that will sound familiar to anyone who cherishes his indie-rock effort One Foot in the Grave. And don't think just because Beck's gone soft, he's gotten boring. From one song to the next, the chameleonic guru strums pensively, shimmies to a bossa nova rhythm, swirls on a psychedelic cloud, plucks Baroque strains from a harpsichord, and weeps countrified tears into a rusty tin bucket. On Mutations, Beck proves that an undistorted guitar and a bit of creativity can easily sound as exciting as two turntables and a microphone. --Jon Wiederhorn
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| Customer Reviews: Read 238 more reviews...
 Mutations September 25, 2008
Bjorn Viberg (European Union)
Mutations is an odd recording with a strange fellow, i.e., Beck. Bech Hansen is a one of a kind artist and I am not sure what category of music he does play. Since I can not make up my mind I put him in the experimental category. I love the book-let. It is quirky, odd and just like his music it does not make much sense. His lyrics are hard to grasp and he seems to happy to sing in riddles. I love how he made the decision to include the instruments and lyrics. This gives the listener a chance to see both the instruments used and to read the lyrics. Do not get me wrong, I like this recording alot, but it sure is a strange one!
 One of the most under rated albums of all time... July 20, 2008
Relaxed (Scottsdale, Az USA)
What can I say about this album. I got it right when it came out and have been listining to it for the last 12 years, never being sick of it. This is quite simply a masterpiece that seems to have slipped through the cracks a little bit. The story telling is unimaginably rich and always takes me on a journey that hurts when it ends.The layers of sound are so complex and beautiful. Wow. Get this album, smoke a fatty and enjoy...
Sublime bliss July 10, 2008
David Thierry (Chicago, IL United States)
I erroneously called Mutations the follow up to Sea Change but it's the other way around. Mostly melancholy till he rocks out in the second half of Static which has that annoying eternal silent pause. Despite that complaint we have many of my favorite Beck songs here, Nobody's Fault but my own, Lazy Flies, Tropicalia, Dead Melodies and yes, Static. Terrific lyrics, deeply felt and amazing melodies. Is someone else creating on this level? Beck sings terribly well too. Just listen.
Best Beck album ever...'nuff said. February 22, 2008
Michael A. Foster (Seattle, WA USA)
Beck channels almost every "cool" style of music on this album, from groovy psychedelia to mellow Brazilian tropicalia. No single really, just put the whole CD on and mellow out. It's all good and much more accessible than similar efforts by JellyFish or Ween (masters of immitation). And it still has that Beck signature weird/coolness. You really ought to own this. Beck is a musical genius, and worthy of supporting (meaning buy don't share/download this).
Reminds me of new-age Syd Barrett material December 18, 2007
Sal Nudo (Champaign, Illinois)
Years ago I heard Beck perform the dreamily concocted, beautifully sung "Nobody's Fault But My Own" on Saturday Night Live. Played onstage, I recall the song sounded even more harrowing and drawn out than I later thought it was on disc, but in any case, I remember really loving its intensely resigned and tuneful sound and vowed to check out the CD "Mutations" later on. Well, it's much later on and I can relate that "Mutations" is definitely worth owning. Funny enough, "Nobody's Fault" is definitely one of the more serious-sounding, somewhat anguished songs on this CD; the rest are mostly breezy gems that would be right at home on a windswept beach with a cool beverage in hand. In fact, much of this album reminds me of what Syd Barrett might be writing and singing if he were a young working artist today.
Even on his low-key songs, Beck is always so brilliant at adding in cool harmonica, keyboard, slide guitar and all sorts of unique instruments that the rest of us have never heard of. Though he's a whiz at inserting hip-hop beats and a slew of electronic trickery on his albums, this one is refreshingly stripped down. The poppy "Lazy Flies" reminds me of a Syd Barrett tune -- right down to the slight British accent Beck employs in the vocals -- but better and more focused. The lazy country twang of "Canceled Check" reminds me a bit of the song "San Tropez" on Pink Floyd's Meddle (a post-Barrett record), while "Tropicalia," as its name would imply, is a feel-good summer song that anybody could enjoy.
There is also a retro, fairy tale-esque sound to this CD on such songs as "We Live Again" and "Dead Melodies," which, to me, are reminiscent of Floyd's The Piper at the Gates of Dawn-era material. Gentle acoustics, elegant harpsichord, a touch of country, close vocals and an overall easy-flowing vibe -- "Mutations" modestly has it all. Weirdly, this CD made me want to reach back to past Syd Barrett/Pink Floyd compositions, while simultaneously attracting me to Beck's succeeding work. Like Barrett, Beck is a wildly experimental musician who's ahead of his time. By being less musically splashy than is the case on most of his other CDs, "Mutations" is itself quite an experimental creation by Beck.
Note: some pretty cool and loose rock `n' roll ends this album after "Static" as a hidden track.
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