So why is Beck’s Stereopathetic Soulmanure on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
There are so many strange and surprising things about Stereopathetic Soulmanure, one of which is that it was released on February 22nd, 1994, just one week before Mellow Gold dropped*. The latter of course includes “Loser,” the song that rocketed Beck onto MTV and mainstream rock radio.
* I find it to also be wild that the astonishingly good One Foot in the Grave album was released just four months later, on June 27th, 1994.
Stereopathetic Soulmanure itself is a super eclectic album, even by Beck standards. Wikipedia states that it’s “a lo-fi recording of largely anti-commercial nature,” and also notes:
The album shows a strong folk influence, consisting of home recordings, studio recordings, live performances, field recordings, sound collages, and abstract noise experiments.
And that only partially describes the album, really.
It’s important to note that a healthy chunk of the album is folk and country music that’s completely irony free, and it’s outstanding. In fact, it includes some of my all-time favorite country recordings, including the sublime “Rowboat” and “Modesto.”
And then “The Spirit Moves Me” is in similar territory but might be considered boozy alt country. Either way, it’s great.
These songs, along with the folky “Crystal Clear (Beer),” the busker vibes of “No Money No Honey,” the hilarious “Today Has Been a Fucked Up Day,” and the gorgeous “Puttin’ It Down” create many moments of beauty and calm throughout the album.
“Satan Gave Me A Taco” bumps things up a notch into weirder folk rock territory (check out the banjo stylings!), with the most important thing here being that there’s an absolutely hilarious and oddball tale told in this one.
There are a bunch of other tracks on Stereopathetic Soulmanure that tread in much more experimental territory, some of which work better than others. I absolutely adore “Thunder Peel,” a song that could easily slide in as one of the best tracks on either Mellow Gold (#24 of best 1,000 albums ever) or One Foot In the Grave (#18). How would I describe it? I suppose it’s folk grunge meets experimental noise rock. It’s similar in feel to the faster-paced “Burnt Orange Peel” off of One Foot In the Grave, and both are among my most favorite early Beck tracks.
It’s a cold ass fashion when she stole my passion
It’s an everlasting, it’s a ghetto blasting
On the wonder wheel I let my thunder peel
I made an effort to get just what I deserve
Then there are also some really fun throwaway cuts like “Ozzy” and “One Foot in the Grave” (which landed here as opposed to the album of the same title) that I greatly enjoy.
Don’t go carving no happy face on my tombstone.
Hell yes.
Some stats & info about Beck’s Stereopathetic Soulmanure
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Dance Music, Alternative Pop, Rock Music, Pop Music, Country Rock, Country, Punk Rock
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 3 out of 5 stars
- When was Stereopathetic Soulmanure released? 1994
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #98 out of 1,000
Beck’s Stereopathetic Soulmanure on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Beck’s Stereopathetic Soulmanure that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Now I’m rolling in sweat with a loaf of cold bread and a taco in my jeans.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.