Considering the fact that this book was only written in '99, this biography only covers about a quarter of Beck's career. It catches him in a stage of development, when he hasn't fully grown into himself as an artist. Of course, no artist is ever done developing, but this is at a particularly early point in his life as a recording artist. It catches him before, during, and after his first big hit. in 1994, he released Loser, an anthem of low self-esteem that caught on fire after it was played on rotation on a small college radio station in California. After selling millions of the album the song appeared on and touring to support it, pressure was on for a new album, one that could successfully measure up to the genre-mashing madness of his first album. So, he disappears for two years, working with the Hip-hop producing-masters, the Dust Brothers, on the recording of his followup album. In 1996, he finally released Odelay, an album that so many critics list as one of the best albums, ever. Combining hip-hop, country, funk, electronic, and just about every other genre Beck could find and absorb, Odelay changed the way that a lot of people viewed genres. With Odelay, Beck showed that even though genres have their differences, it's all just music. After releasing Odelay and touring extensive touring around the world, Beck took another two years to recharge his creativity, writing songs and thinking his way through how he was going to handle his next album, Midnite Vultures, which was not yet released by the time that the book was published. All in all, this biography details the formative years and beginning of the career of a great musician, who has since continued to release great music. Go Beck.
Next up: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas!
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