REVISITING AN OLD POST.......BECK : DEVIL'S HAIRCUT

TOUCHED BY THE HAND OF GOD

Well.....that could have been a headline you would have expected to read when this single was released in mid 1996.

It was a time when the mania and hype around Oasis was at its most ferocious with Wonderwall and Don't Look Back In Anger having dominated the singles charts like no others in many a long time. Beck had recorded a critically-acclaimed LP entitled Odelay, but the first single lifted from it, Where It's At, hadn't done all that well, peaking at #61 in the USA and #35 in the UK.

But Noel Gallagher was a big fan of Beck and he offered to play on and produce a remix of the follow-up single, Devils Haircut. Fair play to the record label, they resisted the temptation to make the most of things by keeping the original version as the single with Noels' remix, along with another remix by Mike Simpson of The Dust Brothers made available as extra tracks along with a previously unreleased Beck song.

The Oasis connection worked to some extent in the UK, with the single reaching #22 (which is the third highest single position Beck has achieved over here). But it made no difference at all in the USA with Devils Haircut bellyflopping its way to #94.

mp3 : Beck - Devils Haircut
mp3 : Beck - Devils Haircut (Remix by Noel Gallagher)
mp3 : Beck - Devils Haircut (Groovy Sunday Remix by Mike Simpson)
mp3 : Beck - Trouble All My Days

My own verdict? An excellent pop single on its own. But both remixes do manage to bring something extra along to the song - the extra guitar playing (by Noel Gallagher himself) makes it ideal for your indie discos, while Mike Simpson's work gives it a touch of soul.....

Happy Listening.