20 Odd Years is an album by Canadian hip-hop artist Buck 65. It was released on February 1, 2011, and named in honor of his twentieth anniversary in the music industry. The album continued Buck 65's tradition of combining several different musical styles, and featured many different guest collaborators.[1]

20 Odd Years
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 1, 2011
Recorded2010
GenreHip hop
LabelWEA
ProducerCharles Austin, Buck 65, Graeme Campbell, Emily Wells
Buck 65 chronology
Situation
(2007)
20 Odd Years
(2011)
Neverlove
(2014)

Reception edit

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
CHARTattack     [2]
MSN Music (Expert Witness)A−[3]
PopMatters(7/10)[4]
Postmedia News     [5]
Toronto Star    [6]

20 Odd Years has received critical acclaim. Ross Langager of PopMatters gave it a seven out of 10 rating and called it "uneven but dynamic", complimenting Buck 65's "mix of subcultural influences" as "a dizzying, post-modern, multicultural stew".[4] In consumer guide for MSN Music, critic Robert Christgau gave 20 Odd Years an A− rating,[3] noting "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".[3]

The album was named as a longlisted nominee for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize.[7]

Track listing edit

  1. "Superstars Don't Love"
  2. "Gee Whiz" (ft. Nick Thorburn)
  3. "Whispers of the Waves" (ft. Gord Downie)
  4. "Paper Airplane" (ft. Jenn Grant)
  5. "Stop" (ft. Hannah Georgas)
  6. "Zombie Delight"
  7. "Tears of Your Heart" (ft. Olivia Ruiz)
  8. "Cold Steel Drum" (ft. Jenn Grant)
  9. "Who By Fire" (ft. Jenn Grant)
  10. "She Said Yes"
  11. "BCC" (ft. John Southworth)
  12. "Lights Out"
  13. "Final Approach" (ft. Marie-Pierre Arthur)

Produced by Charles Austin, Buck 65, Graeme Campbell and Emily Wells.[8]

20 Odd Years EPs edit

The album was preceded by a series of four EPs, released digitally and on 7" vinyl: 20 Odd Years, Vol. 1: Avant (released June 8, 2010); 20 Odd Years, Vol. 2: Distance (July 12, 2010); 20 Odd Years, Vol. 3: Albuquerque (August 10, 2010); and 20 Odd Years, Vol. 4: Cenotaph (September 14, 2010). The latter EP was withdrawn from availability, presumably due to copyright issues involving the unauthorized sampling of the Bronski Beat single, "Smalltown Boy."[9] The album primarily featured songs from these EPs, including a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Who By Fire", as well as two previously unreleased songs. Buck 65 later released an additional EP in the series titled 20 Odd Years Vol. 4: Ostranenie (November 21, 2011).[1]

20 Odd Years, Vol. 1: Avant edit

  1. "Gee Whiz" (feat. Nick Thorburn)
  2. "Who By Fire" (feat. Jenn Grant)
  3. "Superstars Don't Love"
  4. "Red Eyed Son"

20 Odd Years, Vol. 2: Distance edit

  1. "BCC" (feat. John Southworth)
  2. "Paper Airplane" (feat. Jenn Grant)
  3. "The Niceness"
  4. "Tears In Space"

20 Odd Years, Vol. 3: Albuquerque edit

  1. "Final Approach" (feat. Marie-Pierre Arthur)
  2. "Cold Steel Drum" (feat. Jenn Grant)
  3. "Lights Out"
  4. "Zombie Delight"

20 Odd Years, Vol. 4: Cenotaph edit

  1. "Smalltown Boy" (feat. Gentleman Reg)
  2. "She Said Yes"
  3. "Tears of Your Heart" (feat. Olivia Ruiz)

20 Odd Years, Vol. 4: Ostranenie edit

  1. "Days Go By" (feat. Jenn Grant)
  2. "Dolores" (feat. Marnie Herald)
  3. "Joey Bats"
  4. "Legendary"

References edit

  1. ^ a b Hudson, Alex (2010-12-09). "Buck 65 Celebrates 20 Odd Years with Collaborations with Gord Downie, Nick Thorburn, Hannah Georgas". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  2. ^ Brophy, Aaron (2011-01-31). "Buck 65 — 20 Odd Years". CHARTattack. Archived from the original on 2011-11-09. Retrieved 2011-08-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ a b c Christgau, Robert (11 March 2011). "Buck 65/M.I.A." MSN Music. Archived from the original on 5 April 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  4. ^ a b Langager, Ross (11 February 2011). "Buck 65: 20 Odd Years < PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  5. ^ "Album Reviews (Buck 65, Monotonix and More)". canada.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-09. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
  6. ^ Rayner, Ben (2011-01-31). "No real change for Buck 65". thestar.com. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
  7. ^ "2011 Polaris Music Prize Long List announced" Archived 2015-10-02 at the Wayback Machine. aux.tv, June 16, 2011.
  8. ^ "20 ODD Years - Buck 65 | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  9. ^ "Under the Radar: Buck 65". 21 October 2011.