Beck Mellow Gold

3.5 stars - Good Plus - "...Beck makes ultrasurreal hip-hop-folk that harkens back to "Subterranean Homesick Blues"....catatonic cool....Beck's verbal collages get close to the truth of his milieu and our times. Think of it as generational code or stream of unconsciousness. But it's really called poetry...."
Ranked #2 in Spin's list of the '20 Best Albums Of '94' - "...Beck's stylistic experiments and lyrical indulgences are often intoxicating, sometimes infuriating, but...always giving the finger to the rock'n'roll singer..."
"...an accomplished raconteur of subterranean homesickness....America's youth never had a a more absurd--or honest--anthem...."
Ranked #8 in EW's "Top 10 albums of the '90s"
"...Both dopey and insinuating, Beck's full-length debut is total novelty pop, a cheeky mix of Ray Stevens, Falco and the Beastie Boys..." - Rating: B
"...however offhandedly delivered, [MELLOW GOLD is] genuine artistic expression, of which one suspects there'll be more to come. And if this is Beck, I can't wait to get to Clapton and Hendrix..."
Village Voice (2/28/95) - Ranked #10 in the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.
"...where 60's rockers set out to be beacons for a generation, Beck aspires only to be a symptom of his....reflects the twentysomething trademark, a mixture of self-mockery and sardonic defiance....While Beck's rap roots are in Dylan's 'Subterranean Homesick Blues,' his splintered recordings make him a child of hip-hop..."
Ranked #31 in NME's list of the 'Top 50 Albums Of 1994.'
Pitchfork (Website) - "[A] quintessential piece of alternative rock, experimental folk, and hip-hop that felt magically displaced in time."