20 Odd Years
Encyclopedia
20 Odd Years is an album by Canadian
hip-hop artist Buck 65
. It , and is named in honour of Buck 65's 20 years in the music industry.
s, released digitally
and on 7" vinyl: 20 Odd Years Vol. 1: Avant (released June 2010), 20 Odd Years Vol. 2: Distance (July 2010), 20 Odd Years Vol. 3: Albuquerque (August 2010), and 20 Odd Years Vol. 4: Cenotaph (September 2010). The album primarily collects songs from the EPs, including a cover of Leonard Cohen
's "Who By Fire", but also includes two new songs.
gave it a seven out of 10 rating and called it "uneven but dynamic", complimenting Buck 65's "mix of subcultural influences is Canada’s [...] a dizzying, post-modern, multicultural stew". In consumer guide for MSN Music
, critic Robert Christgau
gave 20 Odd Years an A- rating, indicating "remarkable one way or another, yet also flirts with the humdrum or the half-assed". Christgau noted "Superstars Don't Love" and "Zombie Delight" as highlights, and commented that "Beholden to nobody's scene or purist myths, the Halifax-spawned, Toronto-based, Paris-savvy cult rapper makes beats his way—drum tracks of course, this is hip-hop like it or not, but with whatever on top, which here comes down to mostly female collaborators whose sonics subsume their considerable verbal input".
The album was named as a longlisted nominee for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize
.
Produced by Charles Austin, Buck 65, Graeme Campbell and Emily Wells
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
hip-hop artist Buck 65
Buck 65
Richard Terfry , who uses the stage name Buck 65, is a Canadian experimental artist, MC and turntablist. Underpinned by an extensive background in abstract hip hop, his more recent music has extensively incorporated blues, country, rock, folk and avant garde influences.Terfry is also a radio host,...
. It , and is named in honour of Buck 65's 20 years in the music industry.
20 Odd Years EPs
The album was preceded by a series of four EPExtended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
s, released digitally
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
and on 7" vinyl: 20 Odd Years Vol. 1: Avant (released June 2010), 20 Odd Years Vol. 2: Distance (July 2010), 20 Odd Years Vol. 3: Albuquerque (August 2010), and 20 Odd Years Vol. 4: Cenotaph (September 2010). The album primarily collects songs from the EPs, including a cover of Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
's "Who By Fire", but also includes two new songs.
Reception
Ross Langager of PopMattersPopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
gave it a seven out of 10 rating and called it "uneven but dynamic", complimenting Buck 65's "mix of subcultural influences is Canada’s [...] a dizzying, post-modern, multicultural stew". In consumer guide for MSN Music
MSN Music
MSN Music was a part of the MSN web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. In 2004, Microsoft created an MSN Music download store to compete with Apple's iTunes Music Store, though its sales in comparison were...
, critic Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
gave 20 Odd Years an A- rating, indicating "remarkable one way or another, yet also flirts with the humdrum or the half-assed". Christgau noted "Superstars Don't Love" and "Zombie Delight" as highlights, and commented that "Beholden to nobody's scene or purist myths, the Halifax-spawned, Toronto-based, Paris-savvy cult rapper makes beats his way—drum tracks of course, this is hip-hop like it or not, but with whatever on top, which here comes down to mostly female collaborators whose sonics subsume their considerable verbal input".
The album was named as a longlisted nominee for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize
2011 Polaris Music Prize
The 2011 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 19, 2011. The winner was Arcade Fire, for the album The Suburbs.For the 2011 award, the prize was increased to $30,000 for the winning musician.-Shortlist:...
.
Track listing
- "Superstars Don't Love"
- "Gee Whiz" (ft. Nick ThorburnNicholas ThorburnNicholas Thorburn is a Canadian musician who has fronted The Unicorns, Th' Corn Gangg, Islands, Reefer, and Human Highway. He has gone by the stage name "Nick Diamonds."...
) - "Whispers of the Waves" (ft. Gord Downie)
- "Paper Airplane" (ft. Jenn GrantJenn GrantJenn Grant is a Canadian pop singer-songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.-Background:Born on Prince Edward Island to Ken and Heather Grant, she moved to Halifax with her mother and brother at age ten when their marriage broke up...
) - "Stop" (ft. Hannah GeorgasHannah GeorgasHannah Georgas is a Canadian pop/rock singer-songwriter, currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia.Originally from Newmarket, Ontario, she played in a band with Tim Oxford of Arkells in high school before moving to Victoria, British Columbia to attend university.While in university, she...
) - "Zombie Delight"
- "Tears of Your Heart" (ft. Olivia RuizOlivia RuizOlivia Blanc known as Olivia Ruiz is a female French pop singer of partial Spanish origin belonging to the nouvelle chanson genre.-Biography:...
) - "Cold Steel Drum" (ft. Jenn Grant)
- "Who By Fire" (ft. Jenn Grant)
- "She Said Yes"
- "BCC" (ft. John SouthworthJohn Southworth (musician)John Southworth is an English-Canadian singer-songwriter. His style encompasses a range of popular song genres, from oldies-radio to folk, 80’s pop to cabaret...
) - "Lights Out"
- "Final Approach" (ft. Marie-Pierre Arthur)
Produced by Charles Austin, Buck 65, Graeme Campbell and Emily Wells
Emily Wells
Emily Wells is a violinist whose style "merge[s] ... hip-hop and classical". She also uses many other instruments in her work, including glockenspiels, analog synthesizers, and even toy pianos and other toy instruments. In live performances, she does not use any pre-recorded loops, rather she...
.