So, the other day I played Fresh Meat And Old Slabs for the first time in ages. And I immediately declared it International Fresh Meat And Old Slabs Week.What does that mean? I don’t know. But if you are newer to Beck, it is a good time to download this old gem of a tape. (You can do that at the BeckHub, instructions here–though use this address instead of the one listed: dc://becktabs.homelinux.org:1411 ).
These old tapes were what really made me a Beck fan. Back in the day, you could easily get all the CDs, but what joy it was to get on old Beck fansites (Truck’s and Slo-Jam Central and Comat0se’s disco) and read about these tapes and songs. There was a Beck mailing list too that made connecting with people and actually getting a copy of these tapes. This spirit has definitely carried on to Whiskeyclone.net here and the group of us who regular the hub.
Fresh Meat itself is a very good collection of songs. Culled from a bunch of sessions/tapes such as Golden Feelings and Don’t Get Bent Out Of Shape, Beck reportedly put together this bunch of songs as a collection for his mother for her birthday. A few copies were distributed–I believe by Bibbe herself–and copies quickly spread among collectors.As a collection though, the tape is fantastic. It runs the gamut of weird tape experiments, hilarious folk songs, heartfelt blues, and lots of little sound interludes. Most of all, Beck shows his early folk/blues mastery with many of his early favorites: “Mexico,” “Heartland Feeling,” and different versions of “Satan Gave Me A Taco,” “Leave Me On The Moon” and “Hollow Log” than you’re probably familiar with. Fun! Not to mention my personal favorite Beck blues, “Going Nowhere Fast.”
My compass is spinning like a gambling wheel
It takes a hideous misfortune for to tell how I feel
Goin’ nowhere fastI’m sick to my skin with silence and doom
I’ll break my back, I’ll cry on the moon
Goin’ nowhere fast Â
What great verses!If you do have this tape, give it some play this week. Post your thoughts/rememberances/feelings below.
