Beck Hansen has put out some damn fine albums over the years. But he never managed to catch weird-colored lightning in a crazily shaped bottle the way he did in 1996 when he released Odelay. Everything just came together with a satisfying click for that one. With its heavy use of samples and surrealist sensibilities, it at once felt extremely of the moment and utterly its own thing. So now, in this moment of its two-decade anniversary, it makes perfect sense that a specialty outfit like Vinyl Me, Please would choose re-release it as a special edition disc.
“Odelay will forever exist as the album that took Beck from a slightly off-kilter, indie kid with no guarantees of success to a rock star and one of the most important artists of the past 20 years,” Vinyl Me, Please’s Head Of Music Cameron Schaefer said in a statement. “Those albums don’t come around often, so when they do we analyze, discuss, and listen to them again and again. And ultimately, at Vinyl Me, Please, we celebrate them. We’re thrilled to be releasing this special-edition 20th Anniversary pressing of Beck’s Odelay and trust it will find a welcome place on the turntables of members around the world who value albums like this as much as we do.”
The 14-track record will be pressed on 180 gram bourbon-colored vinyl with black marbling, and be delivered with several pieces of fancy-schmancy art, including a 12”x12” original print by Scott Hill, Design Director of The Original Champions of Design. Take a look at the unboxing video if that’s your kink.
And, just to remind you of how important this album is, try—just try—to conceive of a world without this music video.