Customer Reviews

One Foot in the Grave (Aniv) [Vinyl]

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

People, people, people... A word of caution: this is a mostly ACOUSTIC record. It doesn't have the hip dance beats and sample-heavy tracks like "Odelay." It is also VERY lo-fi and sounds like it was recorded in a bathroom. However, this is a masterpiece. It may seem a little weird and unaccessable after the first few listens, but when it clicks, be prepared to be blown away. The songs have genuine emotion and are extremely well-written. I have yet to find a more honest song than "Girl Dreams" in my life that sums up the feelings of rejection without resorting to "f you" and the sorts... If you liked "Mutations," you should enjoy this album. Listen to the sound samples on amazon for chrissakes, then decide if it is something you might enjoy. "One foot in the grave" is one of my favorites, and the only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is because everything on amazon gets 5 stars. I feel that this imho is not on the level of the best records of all time, but a worthy addition to the collection of anyone who loves music.

While all of the preppy kids were jamming to "Loser," Beck released two more CD's almost simultaneously with MELLOW GOLD. One was STEREOPATHETIC SOUL MANURE (see reviews), the other was this compilation of folk tracks, mis-titled, ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE. Excluding "Burnt Orange Peel," this is a CD full of songs right out of a Southern Baptist hymnal. The music, almost entirely acoustic, is tradtitional as can be, and the lyrics are stellar. The warped thing is how Beck weaves his modern day dimentia into these neoclassical hymns ("There's blood on the futon...there's a kid drinking fire."), and how he projects his own dismal outlook on our preppy society ("I got a funny feeling they got plastic in the afterlife"), yet, the songs still will fool your grandmother. Quite a few of the tunes consist of Beck, by himself, with an acoustic guitar, and no digital effects or overdubs. Songs like "Hollow Log" are crafted so beautifully, as though they could be played on ANY instrument and still sound good. By no means were these guys just screwing around in the studio...there are too many gems on this CD, and too much talent (fellow Texan Chris Ballew of "The Pres. of the USA" accompanies on many of the tunes). This CD can turn any hard rocker into an avid folk listener...the songs are too genuine to ignore. TRY THIS--listen to this CD in an old pick-up truck with no AC driving through Oklahoma, Kansas or Nebraska, and tell me the Spirit doesn't move you...

Months ago I was talking up this album to a few peeps who missed it in its first run. One Foot in The Grave by Beck is one of those rare gems of an album that always remains under the radar. I picked up this album on the cheap years ago on LP and expected just another odd ball collection of Beck basement tapes. What I got was a timeless classic of an album, easily in a class of its own compared to the rest of Becks unique and varied catalouge and probably one of my top five favorite albums either from the nineties or amomgst the folk blues giants of old. Brilliant lo fi blues and folk, this is his talent in its rawest and purest form, free from the synth, broken game boy, drum machine vibes that swarm all of his other titles (even the other folk albums like Sea Change or Mutations cant match the atmosphere on this bit).

One Foot has been out of print for some time, leaving it only for the memories of us kids who were fortunate enough to find it accidently sometime in our high school haze... now its back. Twice as stuffed and just as good. The original sixteen tracks have been expanded to thirty-two, and the bonus cuts are just as rewarding as the originals, including a few coffee shop cut takes of songs that would be found on later albums. Its ccol to see that Beck still has this style in him. While I've always enjoyed the frenetic space race beats, and manic feel of the production on other Beck materials this album manages to bring all that feel to the table with nothing but soft twangs, sideways harmony, and bizarre yet poignant commentary of the world as he see it. It never finds itself ever disjointed like his other underground discs, song for song its a flawless portrait. I say this one still remains his all time best. Get it now while its still visible.

This will PROBABLY not be embraced by the Beck fans who love "Loser","Lost Cause" and "Devil's Haircut". It's far from the genre-stitching alt-rock that's made him a household name. Here, Mr. Hansen does a bare-bones album that's mostly him and an acoustic or slide guitar performing songs that sound like they've been pulled out of a Coen brothers movie (albeit with dramatically switched lyrics)...traditional folk and blues sounds although only a couple are covers.

HIGHLIGHTS:

"He's a Mighty Good Leader" is a cover of an old Skip James blues number ("Jesus is a Mighty Good Leader") with a verse removed. Maybe Beck was afraid of offending his fans of other religions? "Cyanide Breath Mint" is a veiled dig at the record industry ("They got people to meet/Shaking hands with themselves/Looking out for themselves")"Hollow Log" uses plenty of traditional blues imagery ('get yourself a pistol','stay up all night gettin' drunk') though it's not a real 12 bar, per se. It's more of a "bluesy" folk song that's very nicely done. "***hole" is probably the closest to his latter day material Beck gets in that it's more produced (shaker,tambourine, a vocal that might be doubletracked, vocal "ooh"s) along with a great lyric about being dominated emotionally in a relationship.("She dangles carrots, makes you feel embarrassed/To be the fool you know you are")"I've Seen the Land Beyond" is faux gospel that sounds like something Woody Guthrie might have written. "Fourteen Rivers, Fourteen Floods" has been described on several Beck sites as a Mississippi John Hurt cover, but I can't seem to find a song by that title or with similar lyrics. Perhaps it's his STYLE but a Beck original? Nice slow Delta style blues with ringing slide guitar and Beck stomping his foot to accompany it. "Girl Dreams" is loosely based on the old Carter Family song "Lovers Lane" and is a great evocation of desire unfulfilled (I first met you down on Lover's Lane/The birds were insane, flapping all about/Softly you would sing, swinging in your swing/It wasn't night, it wasn't day/You're just the girl of my dreams/But it seems my dreams never come true")

VALLEYS:

"Ziplock Bag" features a heavily distorted Beck vocal colliding with atonal slide guitar. Its sole purpose seems to be to annoy household pets. There's a thin line between 'raw and loose' and then there's 'just plain sloppy' music.."See Water" crosses that line to my ears. "Burnt Orange Peel" just sounds to me like a tossed off song, but fans of hardcore might enjoy it. It's an anomaly here in that it's amped up distorted punk...throwing off the album's flow.

BOTTOM LINE:

Fans of traditional blues and folk that aren't too "purist" to give this a listen might be surprised to find some gems. More open-minded Beck fans could enjoy this, too, but it's definitely a departure from anything he does on MELLOW GOLD and later albums. I wasn't sure if I'd like this but was pleasantly surprised.

I've probably listened to this album more than any other album in my collection (and given the number in my collection, that's impressive)--Why do I like it so much? This is the album that came out of Beck's younger days when he was homeless and wandering the streets of LA--this speaks of concrete jungles, aimless drifting and minimum wage jobs--it's about the simple, universal things in life--its written in Beck's semi-nonsensical way, but I feel it is really the most emotionally direct album that he's made--every album since this one has had emotional tones, sure, and have even been about personal things (notably Sea Change)--but the production and sound of his later albums are the production and sound of a musician who's made it--attends fancy parties, works with big names, is called a genius by the critic community--One Foot in the Grave was made by a kid in his 20's, been homeless, drifting--doesn't think the album is ever gonna be heard by anyone--doesn't care--just making music to get it out of himself--to let out all those tumultuous feelings that barrage him day after day in a world that doesn't care unless you're somebody--he wasn't a somebody when this was made--he was just a lonesome guy straggling through the polluted streets of LA, wondering if anyone cared, following his muse on a path that he didn't see the end of

Enough can't be said about the amazingly cheap sound this CD has. When I bought it the only Beck I had heard was Odelay, Mutations and Midnite Vultures and was more or less shocked at the quality of recording. It was recorded (probably on a 4-track) in a basement and sounds like it. That being said, this is a great album full of all the great, heartfelt, weird lyrics and creative instrumentation that marks Beck as a musical genius. Any Beck fan should have this CD if for nothing more than background to his later greater works. If you're not a Beck fan, you'd be better advised to grab a more "made for mainstream" album with curbed edges like Odelay or Midnite Vultures for an introductory album.

1 Foot is a record w/ a lot of soul that should appeal to a lot of people & not be pigeonholed as 'merely an indie record' not worthy of promotion. Largely acoustic except for the more electrified stomp of Burnt Orange Peel ["I got work to do" 1 minute, "I got time on my hands" the next] & the squeal of Ziplock bag. Sleeping Bag, Painted Eyelids & Girl of My Dreams are all as charming as any other song ever written. Cyanide Breathmint is an especially beautiful view of life, "when they want you to cry leap into the sky, when they suck yr mind, like a pigeon you'll fly, I know I know it's the positive people running from their times looking for some feeling" seemingly unrelated to the title. A couple of the tunes here, the opener & I've seen the Land Beyond are actually traditional folky tunes which sit well w/ Bek's originals. The title track is of course not here but a highlight of the more chaotic but equally worthy Stereopathetic Soul Manure. I recommend both albums & Mellow Gold & if you can find it the It's All in yr mind single from these same sessions. Other players here include Calvin Johnson, Sam Jayne & Chris Ballew. swingin' in yr swing...

Although this album doesn't have the imediate gratification of Beck's two major label albums. It's probably my favorite of lhis stuff. It has a certain feel to it (dare I say ambiance), and his lyrics leave you wondering what the song is about. If you haven't heard anything by beck, I would probably have to recomend that you check out "odelay" or "mellow gold"first, because they are more immediately accessable. However in the long run this cd is more rewarding. If you like this cd try to find Beck's record (that is if you have a record player) "a western harvest field by moonlight" it's got some great stuff on it.

I am a huge Beck fan and a fan of the Olympia, WA music scene, so for me this is a must-own album. Of course I've owned it since its initial release, so really I was buying this for the new tracks. They are great and fit well with the rest of the album, which I always felt was too short anyway.

4 and a half stars. If you are familiar with this CD you know all about its stripped down charms and humor. Sparse arrangements and Becks voice coupled with just a guitar and a little percussion. Its is amazing how even in its barest form Becks lyrics remain funny and interesting.

This edition comes as a cardboard digipak with a great inside gatefold of additonal pictures. I loved the original so I was glad that was not changed. Of the bonus tracks Teenage Wastebasket is hilarious, there is Feather in your cap in a different version than on Stray Blues and the Odelay Deluxe. And you also get a 'demo' of Its all in your mind which wound up in a different form on Sea Change. Here in its rawest form it is still affecting. Plus a 'studio' version of One Foot In the Grave which is different than the 'live' on stage version that can be found on Stereopathetic Soulmanure. Overall the bonus tracks expand the variety of the songs from the original CD without changing all of its low-fi charm.