Keith Doughty discusses songs, albums and artists that are unappreciated, unknown, and/or unfairly-maligned by the general public. This is Hidden Tracks.

Beck - "Halo of Gold"

“Have you got a fine place to slip to when you're feeling down?”

Although I don’t think Beck is an underappreciated artist, there is a song of his I’ve always liked that is not very well known. Originally released on the Cold Brains EP, Beck’s cover of the Skip Spence song “Halo of Gold” stands out to me particularly when compared to the original version.

Unlike the Beck cover, the original Skip Spence song sounds sloppy and unfinished (for good reason- learn more about Skip Spence here). Spence’s delivery is halting and out of rhythm; the instrumentation is very sparse, just drums and bass.  Beck takes the original melody and lyrics, adds typical Beck instrumentation (while retaining much of the prominent bass line), and performs it in his usual style.

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Today's word of the day is Snollygoster:

Snollygoster

n.   Slang
One, especially a politician, who is guided by personal advantage rather than by consistent, respectable principles.