''Beautiful Freak'' is the debut album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Eels Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order (biology), order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 20 Family (biology), families, 164 genus, genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the earl ...

. It was released on 13 August 1996 and is the second album released by record label DreamWorks.

Background

''Beautiful Freak'' is the first album using the full band name Eels, in an attempt to get the records in the same general location in the stores as frontman

Mark Oliver Everett Mark Oliver Everett, also known by his stage name E (born April 10, 1963) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and the frontman of the rock band Eels (band), Eels. He is known for writing songs tackling subjects such as dea ...

's previous works under the name "E".

Recording

''Beautiful Freak'' was produced by E,

Jon Brion Jon Brion (born December 11, 1963) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and The Grays (band), the Grays before becoming an established pro ...

Mark Goldenberg Mark Goldenberg (born October 2, 1952) is an American guitarist and songwriter, noted for his session work and composition of successful songs for Linda Ronstadt, the Pointer Sisters, and others. Biography Early career Raised in Chicago, Illi ...

and Michael Simpson. The majority of the album was recorded from 1993 to 1995, with first single "Novocaine for the Soul" (which contains a sample of "Let the Four Winds Blow" by

Fats Domino Antoine Caliste Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orl ...

) having been recorded and mixed as early as 1993. "Susan's House" contains a sample of "Love Finds Its Own Way" by

Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American Rhythm and blues, R&B, soul music, soul, and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early ...

; "Guest List" contains a sample of "I Like It" by

The Emotions The Emotions are an American soul/ R&B vocal group from Chicago. The group started out in gospel music but transitioned into R&B and disco music. The Emotions were named by VH1 as one of the 18 most influential girl groups of all time. Hist ...

; and "Flower" contains sample of "I'm Glad You're Mine" by

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), known professionally as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer. He is best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Tired of ...

Artwork

Everett had suggested having a little girl with big eyes on the cover. The girl that came in to have her picture taken incidentally looked "like a miniature Susan" to Everett, referring to his ex-girlfriend and the subject of the song "

Susan's House "Susan's House" is a song by American rock band Eels. It was released as the third single from their 1996 debut album, ''Beautiful Freak''. Content In his autobiography, Mark Oliver Everett states that Susan "wasn't a crazy girl, a rare except ...

Release

''Beautiful Freak'' was released on August 13, 1996, by record label DreamWorks, the first album released on the label. The album peaked at number 5 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. Four singles were released to promote the album: "

Novocaine for the Soul "Novocaine for the Soul" is a song by American rock band Eels. It was released as the lead single from their 1996 debut album, ''Beautiful Freak''. The song charted in several countries including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and the ...

" in February 1996, "Susan's House" in May, "

Your Lucky Day in Hell "Your Lucky Day in Hell" is a song by American rock band Eels, released on August 27, 1997, as the fourth single from their debut album, ''Beautiful Freak'' (1996). Music video Around the same time, a video was released to promote the single, ...

" in September, and the title track the following year. The April 1997 German release of the album included a bonus live EP from a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

recording session.

Reception

In a contemporary review of ''Beautiful Freak'', '' Q'' praised the album as "a complete musical vision, a genre-spanning soundscape that reels you in with its myriad hooks".

Robert Hilburn Robert Hilburn (born September 25, 1939) is an American pop music critic, author, and radio host. As music critic and editor at the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1970 to 2005, his reviews, essays, and profiles have appeared in publications worldwide ...

of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' wrote that "Eels' maverick vision reminds you of all the great Los Angeles bands, from

the Flying Burrito Brothers The Flying Burrito Brothers are an American country rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1968, best known for their influential 1969 debut album, ''The Gilded Palace of Sin''. Although the group is known for its connection to band f ...

to X, that have chronicled the outsider, underdog attitude in the shadows of a record industry that never embraces them commercially." Ethan Smith of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' stated that "the Eels' postgrunge pop melodies and quirky, intelligent production make for catchy modern rock that's miles ahead of the competition", but felt that E's "attempts at warts-and-all portrayals of urban life come off as a disingenuous, arty pose" and that "a little less pretension would get these guys a lot further." ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' critic Mark Caro was less favorable, writing that E's lyrics paint him as "either naive and self-absorbed or patronizing and calculating". ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

''s

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

assigned the album a "dud" rating, indicating "a bad record whose details rarely merit further thought." In his retrospective review, James Chrispell of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote: "Concise pop tunes form the backbone of the album, yet tinges of despair and downright meanness surface just when you've been lulled into thinking this is another pop group". ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' wrote that "E's material works best when he finds the rare balance between his misanthropy and his capacity for warmth."

Legacy

It was voted number 666 in the third edition of

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British music writer. He founded and was the editor-in-chief of ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. Along with the ten-volume encyclopedia, Larkin also wrote the book ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'', and edited th ...

's ''

All Time Top 1000 Albums ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by the ...

'' (2000). The album was included in the book ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music criti ...

''.

Track listing

All tracks written by E, except as noted #"

" (E and

) – 3:08 #"

" (E, Jim Jacobsen, and

Jim Weatherly James Dexter Weatherly (March 17, 1943 – February 3, 2021) was an American singer-songwriter who wrote mostly pop and country music. He played quarterback at the University of Mississippi while also writing music with his own bands. He subseq ...

) – 3:43 #"Rags to Rags" (E) – 3:53 #"Beautiful Freak" (E) – 3:34 #"Not Ready Yet" (

and E) – 4:46 #"My Beloved Monster" (E) – 2:13 #"Flower" (E and Jacobsen) – 3:38 #"Guest List" (E) – 3:13 #"Mental" (E) – 4:01 #"Spunky" (E) – 3:11 #"

" (E and Goldenberg) – 4:28 #"Manchild" (E and

Jill Sobule Jill Susan Sobule ( ; January 16, 1959 – May 1, 2025) was an American singer-songwriter best known for the 1995 single "I Kissed a Girl", and "Supermodel" from the soundtrack of the 1995 film ''Clueless''. Her folk-inflected compositions alte ...

) – 4:05 German edition bonus disc The April 14, 1997 German release of the album included a bonus live EP from a

recording session #"Novocaine for the Soul" (E and Goldenberg) – 3:22 #"Manchester Girl" (E) – 3:21 #"My Beloved Mad Monster Party" (E) – 2:34 #"Flower" (E and Jacbosen) – 3:17

Personnel

Eels *

Butch Butch may refer to: People * Butch (nickname), a list of people * Barbara Butch, French lesbian DJ and activist * Butch Patrick, American child actor Patrick Alan Lilley (born 1953), best known for his role as Eddie Munster in ''The Munsters'' ...

– drums, backing vocals,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

* E – vocals, guitar,

Wurlitzer electric piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from 1954 to 1983. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptually similar to ...

, production, engineering *

Tommy Walter Thomas Edward Walter (born October 30, 1970) is an American musician, best known for his alternative rock band Abandoned Pools and as the former bassist and one of the founding members of Eels. Early years and Eels Tommy Walter was raised in ...

– bass guitar, backing vocals Additional musicians *

– guitar,

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

Chamberlin The Chamberlin is an electro-mechanical keyboard instrument that was a precursor to the Mellotron. It was developed and patented by the American inventor Harry Chamberlin from 1949 to 1956, when the first model was introduced. There are several ...

– guitar, keyboards, production, engineering * Jim Jacobsen – keyboards, loops, engineering Technical * Michael Simpson – production, mixing * Jon Brion – production, engineering *

Amir Derakh Amir Davidson, professionally known as Amir Derakh, is an American musician and record producer. He is currently the guitarist and the synthesizer player for the band Julien-K, and was the guitarist for the band Dead by Sunrise. He was the g- ...

– engineering * Matt Thorne – engineering *

Billy Kinsley William Ellis Kinsley (born 28 November 1946) is an English musician who was lead vocalist and bassist with the Merseybeats until 1966 (although he temporarily left the band to form the Kinsleys). The group disbanded in January 1966 to resurfac ...

– mixing * Rob Seifert – mixing *

Stephen Marcussen Stephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and distri ...

– mastering * Ann Giordano – photography * Francesca Restrepo – art direction, sleeve design

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1996 debut albums Albums produced by Jon Brion DreamWorks Records albums Eels (band) albums Albums produced by Mark Oliver Everett Albums produced by Mark Goldenberg Albums produced by Michael Simpson (producer)