DESCRIPTION:
"Gold Chains" is a funky acoustic guitar rap song that was initially recorded during the Odelay sessions. As he told Rolling Stone magazine, "It was never a serious album contender — we were just fucking around one day." It kind of makes sense, as some of the arrangement sounds a little like "Loser," what with the rapping over a slide guitar.

In the end, the song was released 12 years later on the Deluxe version of Odelay.

I don't believe the song was untouched prior to release. Beck's voice sounds like his 1996 voice, but the song credits a Nathalie Merchand as "voice." Merchand is also credited as Beck's assistant on Modern Guilt, so I don't think she was around during Odelay. I assume she spoke the "Cheetah and Tammy" part; likely a re-recording of a sample (much like Petra Haden apparently did on "Rental Car"). Anyone know where Cheetah and Tammy come from?

Lyrically, the first verse--as do many of Beck's raps--floats around the blues, as well as his own unique language. "TB Blues" is a famous old folk song. "Whipflash" is a word Beck used on "Where It's At" and In A Cold Ass Fashion" too. Beck's also used nickels, fingers pointing and spice elsewhere on Odelay.

The key line here to me, and to the whole song, is probably "Trying to get together into some kind of scene." It's not an uncommon persona for Beck--the outsider trying to break into the coolness. This contrast between the singer and the scene is the whole first verse: people lookin' fresh and women in their whipflash rides vs. the singer's TB blues, wooden nickels, broken machines. He covers up his shortcomings with 50-foot woofers and gold chains. But in the end he doesn't make it; he gets sent back home.

The second verse has less obvious allusions, and is therefore more abstract, but I believe it also describes the bluesiness of his situation.

There was no mention or indication of "Gold Chains" from the time it was recorded until it was released. I know Beck has a huge archive of songs... but the sudden appearence of songs like this makes you dream. What other fun stuff is there hidden away?

UPDATE: Found an old interview in 1999 where Beck says this:

We hooked up an 808 beat with a loop from the Frogs, and then we had Bunny and Tigra on top-it's an outtake from Odelay. I doubt it'll ever see the light of day because it just costs too much money to clear a sample these days.



Which seems to me might possibly refer to "Gold Chains" before some changes were made. The other Odeluxe bonus track was slightly re-made too, so it's definitely possible.

"Inferno" is an unreleased track from the early Odelay sessions. Beck spoke fondly of the song, calling it a "freak out, just eight minutes of chaos. It's sort of a testament to taking it all the way."

But for many years, fans were only aware of this track from that quote, and from one bootlegged live performance.

That version, while not nearly "eight minutes," is certainly "chaos." The track is a pretty ripping mix of rap, rock, funk, noise. The live version, at least, began with the opening chords sampled from "Mr. Cool" by Rasputin's Stash. Beck would also use a different sample from the song on "High 5." (A few other vocal samples appear throughout "Inferno," much like they pepper "Where It's At.")

Beck then raps a couple of verses over loud drums and groovy bass, each ending with intense shouts of "Inferno!" A very cool blues slide guitar bridge (or sample) leads to a short jam, and the song ends with Beck shouting "Laidback!"

This was performed a good year before Odelay was released, and it was still likely intended for the album at the time. But then it got dropped, for whatever reason, and was mostly forgotten, if not for fans being so intrigued by the quote about what a freak out it was!

But then 12 years after Odelay came out, Beck decided to release a Deluxe version of Odelay, which included a couple of old outtakes. One was "Inferno"!

However, the release was not a pure outtake, in that Beck added some new sounds to it. Matt Mahaffey, who toured as Beck's guitarist in 2005/2006, performed on it. I am not entirely sure all the changes made, but my guess is that Beck took out some of the samples, and perhaps even re-recorded all of the music? Beck's vocals, however, are probably from way back in 1995. The craziness remains, however I'll always wonder--if the original piece was gutted in anyway so have to lost some of it's chaotic freakiness.

(excerpt lovingly taken from whiskeyclone.net)

. . .I own nothing. . .not the song. . .not the image. . .not my skin and bones. . .they're out on loan. . .