Record Club: INXS “Mystify” from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.
From Beck’s official website:
Record Club is an informal meeting of various musicians to record an album in a day. The album chosen to be reinterpreted is used as a framework. Nothing is rehearsed or arranged ahead of time. A track is put up here once a week. The songs are rough renditions, often first takes that document what happened over the course of a day as opposed to a polished rendering. There is no intention to ‘add to’ the original work or attempt to recreate the power of the original recording. Only to play music and document what happens.
I’m not scared to admit it: when INXS’ 1987 album, Kick, came out… I loved it. I mean, I knew all the words to all the songs, and played it until the tape broke (cassettes were a form of music medium the predated both CDs and MP3s, kids). So it is no surprise that when I heard that Beck’s “Record Club” was going to cover the album, I was front row center.
The video above is just one of the many from the Kick session available at his website. You can also check out other “Record Club” recordings at his website. This project is amazing in its simplicity: pared-down production, top-notch musicians, and, of course, the always amazing Beck. In the past year alone he has tackled Leonard Cohen’s Songs of Leonard Cohen and The Velvet Underground’s The Velvet Underground & Nico. Amazing stuff.