Released barely four months after Beck’s 1994 debut Mellow Gold, the minimalist mutant folk collection One Foot in the Grave was a curveball that temporarily threw casual “Loser” fans off Beck’s scent while presaging myriad musical adventures to come in the form of 1996′s multi-platinum breakthrough Odelay. On April 14, One Foot in the Grave will be reissued in a deluxe format including 13 previously unreleased tracks from the original sessions and three more from an out of print 7″ only release, including an early version of “It’s All In Your Mind” from 2002′s Sea Change.

One Foot in the Grave was released in June 1994 on K Records, and was recorded by Calvin Johnson, founder of the label and proprietor of Dub Narcotic Studios. Sessions began in the fall of 1993, a few months into the existence of Calvin’s Olympia, Wa basement studio on a reel to reel 8 track. Musicians from local bands such as Built to Spill, Spinanes and Love As Laughter made appearances backing up Beck on half of the original album’s 16 tracks. Released with little to no initial promotion or fanfare, the record has grown from a cult favorite to one of the most highly regarded releases of the extensive Beck oeuvre, with tracks like “Hollow Log,” “He’s A Mighty Good Leader” and “Asshole,” which was covered by Tom Petty on his She’s The One album.

“I’d never worked with anyone so focused, or whose creativity flowed so freely,” Johnson recently recalled. “Songs altered structure and lyrics take to take, a fascinating process to witness.” The the deluxe reissue of One Foot in the Grave yields additional insight into the process by including the above-mentioned never before released originals and alternate mixes from these sessions.

The complete track listing is as follows:

1. He’s A Mighty Good Leader
2. Sleeping Bag
3. I Get Lonesome
4. Burnt Orange Peel
5. Cyanide Breath Mint
6. See Water
7. Ziplock Bag
8. Hollow Log
9. Forcefield
10. Fourteen Rivers Fourteen Floods
11. Asshole
12. I’ve Seen The Land Beyond
13. Outcome
14. Girl Dreams
15. Painted Eyelids
16. Atmospheric Conditions

BONUS TRACKS:

17. It’s All In Your Mind (K Records 7″)
18. Whiskey Can Can (K Records 7″)
19. Mattress*
20. Woe On Me*
21. Teenage Wastebasket*
22. Your Love Is Weird*
23. Favorite Nerve*
24. Piss On The Door*
25. Close To God*
26. Sweet Satan*
27. Burning Boyfriend*
28. Black Lake Morning*
29. Feather In Your Cap (K Records 7″)
30. One Foot In the Grave*
31. Teenage Wastebasket*
32. I Get Lonesome*

Beck has announced a series of US tour dates to follow his previously announced summer festival appearances. The announcement comes on the heels of the release of Beck’s new album Modern Guilt, which Beck co-produced with Danger Mouse. Modern Guilt has already been declared a more-than-worthy addition to Beck’s discography – USA Today called the album “retro-contemporary fusion for the ages,” while Time calls the music “a joy… giddy retro-futurism.”

As always, Beck’s creativity extends into the presentation of his music. The vinyl edition of Modern Guilt, which will be in stores July 22, includes download codes for high-fidelity (320 kbps) MP3s produced from a playback of the vinyl master. In other words, the first MP3 starts with a needle drop, and the ten MP3s will sound like a vinyl playback. Leave it to Beck to invent the first mobile turntable.

See below for Beck’s U.S. summer/fall tour itinerary, newly announced dates are bold. Tickets for these new dates will go on sale the weekend of July 18/19, except for Kansas City which will go on sale Monday July 21st. See Beck.com for more information on ticket sales.

For further information on the tour dates, Modern Guilt, and the vinyl release of the album, please contact Steve Martin or Laura Eldeiry at Nasty Little Man.

08/21/08 – Reno, NV – Grand Sierra Resort and Casino
08/22/08 – San Francisco, CA – Outside Lands Festival
08/24/08 – Bend, OR – Les Schwab Amphiteater
08/30/08 – Seattle, WA – Bumbershoot Festival
09/19/08 – San Diego, CA – Street Scene Festival
09/20/08 – Hollywood, CA – Hollywood Bowl
09/22/08 – Phoenix, AZ – Dodge Theater
09/23/08 – Albuquerque, NM – Kiva Auditorium
09/25/08 – El Paso, TX – Abraham Chavez Theatre
09/27/08 – Austin, TX – Zilker Park, Austin City Limits Festival
09/29/08 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theatre
09/30/08 – Minneapolis, MN – Wilkins Auditorium
10/02/08 – Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom
10/03/08 – Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom

Corporate line:
The new album contains 10 new songs, and with the exception of last year’s Grammy-nominated, digital-only single “Timebomb”, “Modern Guilt” is the first new material Beck has written since the prolific stretch that produced 2005′s platinum Guero and 2006′s universally acclaimed “The Information.”

“Modern Guilt” is a tightly assembled group of songs that range in lyrical tone from introspection and social commentary to off the cuff wordplay and lighthearted humor. Musically, the album’s ten tracks vacillate between economy and experimentation, hybrid and pop classicism, while consistently manifesting Beck and Danger Mouse’s shared interest in psych-rock, folk, electronic minimalism and orchestration. “Modern Guilt” was produced with Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton.

The great:
“Orphans” – A beautiful song that could have come from a ’60s greatest hits album by any number of peace-loving rock bands.
“Gamma Ray” – Beck takes on the destruction of the environment with surf guitars and the sort of spirit that doesn’t fit the message. Then again maybe it was his intention to take a pretty surf song to emphasis exactly what we might be destroying–the beauty of Earth.
“Modern Guilt” – For all the reasons why “Chemtrails” didn’t make the list of great songs–”Modern Guilt” does. This is the kind of song that you want to listen to over and over again–and of course sing-a-long to.
“Profanity Prayers” – A gorgeous song that once again taps into his rocking hippie side.
“Volcano” – This song could have opened the album–it’s a nice surprise to find it closing instead.

The rest:
“Chemtrails” – This is a beautiful song–until you realize he’s singing about dead people and trying to sort out where they go. Yet, as beautiful as “Chemtrails” is, it’s not the sort of song that is high on my replay list. That gives me pause as to whether its a great song. Replay value should rank high on that list.
“Youthless” – This sounds like Beck doing a slacker version of a Justin Timberlake song. It’s interesting and cool and yet it doesn’t match the previous tracks sound or vibe.

Finally:
Beck is the kind of artist that people either love or hate. It’s been quite a few albums since he’s really produced something truly worth buying and listening to from beginning to end. “Modern Guilt” is the cure to the so-so albums of Beck’s past. There are a few tracks like “Chemtrails” and “Replica” that don’t fit the overall vibe–and yet they aren’t bad songs. The only real complaint is that “Modern Guilt” barely clocks in over thirty minutes–that’s far too short. However short it is, if you kind of like Beck this is the time to get back on the bandwagon.If you love him you already own it.

Watch the album promotion video: