Album · Compilation
Song Reader: Twenty Songs by Beck
Song Reader began life as a book rather than a record. Beck published twenty songs purely as sheet music in December 2012, through McSweeney's, with more than a hundred pages of artwork alongside the notation. The idea was to let other people supply the performances, and listeners were invited to share their own versions online. He had been working on the project since 2004.
This compilation, released on 29 July 2014 through Capitol Records, gathers recordings of those songs by a range of other musicians. It follows a run of three concerts in 2013 built around the same material, and it appeared in the same year as his studio album Morning Phase. It's worth hearing as a look at how one set of songs can sound different in different hands.
Song Reader: Twenty Songs by Beck: tracklist and credits
20 tracks · 1:05:21Tracklist
- 1Title of This SongBeck4:55
- 2Please Leave a Light On When You GoBeck2:42
- 3The Wolf Is on the HillBeck2:22
- 4Just NoiseBeck2:00
- 5Last Night You Were a DreamBeck3:23
- 6Saint DudeBeck4:06
- 7I’m DownBeck3:04
- 8Heaven’s LadderBeck3:18
- 9Don’t Act Like Your Heart Isn’t HardBeck3:27
- 10SorryBeck2:04
- 11Eyes That Say “I Love You”Beck3:18
- 12Rough on RatsBeck2:48
- 13Now That Your Dollar Bills Have Sprouted WingsBeck5:11
- 14The Last PolkaBeck4:33
- 15Old ShanghaiBeck2:55
- 16Why Did You Make Me Care?Beck4:40
- 17America, Here’s My BoyBeck3:05
- 18We All Wear CloaksBeck2:30
- 19Do We? We DoBeck2:52
- 20Mutilation RagBeck2:08
- Produced by
- Beck, Randall Poster, Joshua Willing Halpern, Moses Sumney, Fun, George Drakoulias, Jack White, Gus Seyffert, Fonseca, Juanes, Laura Marling, Jarvis Cocker, Stewart Lerman, Dave Cobb, Ron Mael, Russell Mael, Joe Henry, John Spiker
- Mixed by
- Fun, Steve McDonald, Tom Schick, Matt Marinelli, Rick Parker, Ben Schneider, Vance Powell, Joshua Smith, Jack White, Hugo Nicolson, Iker Gastaminza, Jason Buckle, Stewart Lerman, Dave Cobb, Jason Isbell, Albert Di Fiore, Ryan Freeland, John Spiker
- Engineered by
- David Bianco, Steve McDonald, Tom Schick, Matt Marinelli, Rick Parker, Ben Schneider, Ryan Williams, Vance Powell, Joshua Smith, David Greenbaum, Cole M.G.N., Hugo Nicolson, Gus Seyffert, Dave Poler, James Frazee, Dave Cobb, Stewart Lerman, Albert Di Fiore, Ron Mael, Russell Mael, Ryan Freeland, John Spiker
- Mastered by
- Greg Calbi
- Artwork
- Lawrence Azerrad, Jessica Hische
- Label
- Capitol Records
- Length
- 1:05:21
Line-up
- Jeff Tweedy · guitar, bass guitar, vocals · guest
- Spencer Tweedy · drums (drum set) · guest
- Norah Jones · organ, piano, vocals · guest
- Josh Lattanzi · bass guitar · guest
- Jason Abraham Roberts · guitar · guest
- Greg Wieczorek · drums (drum set) · guest
- Mark Barry · guest
- Miguel Briseño · guest
- Tom Renaud · guest
- Ben Schneider · guest
- Michael Eisenstein · electric guitar · guest
- Eric Gardner · drums (drum set) · guest
- Dave Gibbs · bass guitar, acoustic guitar, background vocals · guest
- Kevin Hastings · keyboard · guest
- Carl Restivo · electric guitar · guest
- Bob Forrest · vocals · guest
- Ben Blackwell · drums (drum set) · guest
- Carl Broemel · pedal steel guitar · guest
- Dominic Davis · bass guitar · guest
- Fats Kaplin · mandolin · guest
- Isaiah “Ikey” Owens · organ, Moog · guest
- Brooke Waggoner · piano · guest
- Jack White · acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals · guest
- Cory Younts · harmonica · guest
- Lillie Mae · background vocals · guest
- Josh Adams · drums (drum set) · guest
- Beck · percussion, keyboard, effects, vocals · guest
- Jake Blanton · keyboard · guest
- Benji Lysaght · guitar · guest
- Gus Seyffert · bass guitar · guest
- Nate Walcott · piano, electric piano · guest
- Juanes · drums (drum set), bass guitar, vocals · guest
- Jason Buckle · percussion · guest
- Jarvis Cocker · synthesizer, guitar, vocals · guest
- David Coulter · bass, violin, background vocals · guest
- Roger Eno · piano, background vocals · guest
- Andy Burton · piano, accordion, vocals · guest
- Sammy Merendino · drums (drum set) · guest
- Tony Shanahan · bass guitar, vocals · guest
- Andy York · guitar, lap steel guitar, vocals · guest
- David Johansen · vocals · guest
- Derry deBorja · keyboard · guest
- Chad Gamble · drums (drum set) · guest
- April Guthrie · cello · guest
- Jimbo Hart · bass guitar · guest
- Charlene Huang · violin · guest
- Jason Isbell · guitar, vocals · guest
- Amanda Shires · fiddle, vocals · guest
- Sadler Vaden · guitar · guest
- Brad Jones · bass · guest
- Marc Ribot · guitar, banjo · guest
- Doug Wieselman · clarinet · guest
- Noah Hecht · percussion, drums (drum set) · guest
- Malcolm Perkins · guitar, vocals · guest
- Jonathan Rosen · bass guitar · guest
- Michael Rosen · mellotron, organ, piano · guest
- Eleanor Friedberger · vocals · guest
- Ron Mael · keyboard · guest
- Russell Mael · vocals · guest
- Larry Goldings · piano · guest
- Levon Henry · bass clarinet, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone · guest
- Kaveh Rastegar · double bass · guest
- Swamp Dogg · vocals · guest
- Johnny Dyas · piano · guest
- Jack Black · vocals · guest
- Stewart Lerman · guitar · guest
- David Mansfield · guitar, bass guitar, banjo, mandolin · guest
- Chaim Tannenbaum · harmonica, vocals · guest
- Suzzy Roche · vocals · guest
- Loudon Wainwright III · vocals · guest
- Hideaki Aomori · clarinet · guest
- CJ Camerieri · trumpet · guest
- Clarice Jensen · cello · guest
- Gabriel Kahane · piano, vocals · guest
- Rob Moose · guitar · guest
- Nadia Sirota · viola · guest
- Alex Sopp · flute · guest
From MusicBrainz. Only what the sources record is shown.
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Released the same week
Also released on 29 July
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How we know the release date sources disagree on the year (2012, 2014)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 29 July 2014 | |
| Wikidata | 2012 | |
| US release | 29 July 2014 | earliest US date |
2 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 July 2014 | US | Capitol Records | 602537924813 | original |
| 29 July 2014 | US | Capitol Records | original |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · upscaled: major: best source 1000x1000, upscaled to 1500 (x1.50)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1000×1000 | upscaled: major: best source 1000x1000, upscaled to 1500 (x1.50) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |