One Foot in the Grave

One Foot in the Grave is Beck's fourth studio album, released on 27 June 1994. It was recorded before Mellow Gold, but only came out once that record had found critical and commercial success. The sound leans heavily on lo-fi and folk, and several songs reinterpret or cover material popularised by Skip James and The Carter Family.

It was made at Dub Narcotic Studio, then housed in the basement of Calvin Johnson, founder of K Records and Beat Happening, who produced, wrote and sang backing vocals. Built to Spill's James Bertram and Scott Plouf play on it, as do Love as Laughter's Sam Jayne and Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America. It never charted, but it strengthened Beck's critical standing and helped pave the way for Odelay in 1996. Anyone who knows him only as a genre-hopping pop experimenter will find a quieter, rootsier side here.