By the time Beck arrived at his sixth studio album, he was an established unstoppable force. After the creative leaps he took from one project to the next and coming off of the massive success of the hip-hop-influenced Odelay, the artist saw his next album as a blank canvas. Beck is a chameleon of an artist, fearlessly diving headfirst into a plethora of styles and sonics throughout his career, and his sixth album might be his most ambitious. And while Mutations fell short of the commercial success of Odelay, it cemented Beck as a pure artist. By ignoring the praise of his previous release, Beck was able to reinvent himself once again with a stunning set of songs that take more from psychedelic rock and ambient folk than anything else.
Beck tapped famed Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich for Mutations (released 11/3/98), and his impact was clear from the start. Beck began working on the album in the spring of 1998 and was originally not supposed to be released by Geffen, the major label behind Beck. The artist negotiated for the LP to be released by independent label Bong Load Records, but once Geffen heard the expansive and undeniable LP, they voided the contract and released the album themselves. This led to a lawsuit from Beck against Geffen and one from Geffen against Beck, starting a vicious legal battle between the two. Boiled in controversy and lined with majestic arrangements and poetic songwriting, Mutations was a statement piece for Beck both creatively and business-wise.
The sonic direction Beck took on his sixth LP was nothing short of shocking and mesmerizing. The sampling techniques executed on Odelay were almost completely pushed to the side to make room for dense acoustics and airy melodies. Beck dove headfirst into a more singer/songwriter style for Mutations, penning intimate lyrics and setting them to sparse rock psychedelic. He sets the tone for the album with the opener “Cold Brains”, a rollercoaster of an instrumental that gives the track a wavy sensation while Beck’s soaring vocals give the track the steadiness it needs. You can hear the folk influences on moments like “Lazy Flies” and “Dead Melodies”, but even in these moments of intimacy, Beck finds a way to add the perfect amount of texture and layered vocals to make these acoustics feel explosive. That is the sonic tightrope Beck traversed for Mutations, creating folksy rock with personal and brutally honest lyrics with an otherworldly twist on the arrangements.
Mutations would not sell as well as Odelay, but the praise Beck’s sixth album received showed otherwise. The album would go on to win a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album and garner immense praise from critics across the board. Everything from the music to its rollout felt risky but 25 years later, Mutations cemented Beck as a limitless artist whose fearless approach to music can birth gorgeous moments regardless of which genre he decides to attack.
