20 Odd Years


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.

Reception

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". In consumer guide for MSN Music, critic Robert Christgau gave 20 Odd Years an A- rating, 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".
The album was named as a longlisted nominee for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize.

Track listing

  1. "Superstars Don't Love"
  2. "Gee Whiz"
  3. "Whispers of the Waves"
  4. "Paper Airplane"
  5. "Stop"
  6. "Zombie Delight"
  7. "Tears of Your Heart"
  8. "Cold Steel Drum"
  9. "Who By Fire"
  10. "She Said Yes"
  11. "BCC"
  12. "Lights Out"
  13. "Final Approach"
Produced by Charles Austin, Buck 65, Graeme Campbell and Emily Wells.

''20 Odd Years'' EPs

The album was preceded by a series of four EPs, released digitally and on 7" vinyl: 20 Odd Years, Vol. 1: Avant ; 20 Odd Years, Vol. 2: Distance ; 20 Odd Years, Vol. 3: Albuquerque ; and 20 Odd Years, Vol. 4: Cenotaph. The latter EP was withdrawn from availability, presumably due to copyright issues involving the unauthorized sampling of the Bronski Beat single, "Smalltown Boy." 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.

20 Odd Years, Vol. 1: Avant

  1. "Gee Whiz"
  2. "Who By Fire"
  3. "Superstars Don't Love"
  4. "Red Eyed Son"

    20 Odd Years, Vol. 2: Distance

  5. "BCC"
  6. "Paper Airplane"
  7. "The Niceness"
  8. "Tears In Space"

    20 Odd Years, Vol. 3: Albuquerque

  9. "Final Approach"
  10. "Cold Steel Drum"
  11. "Lights Out"
  12. "Zombie Delight"

    20 Odd Years, Vol. 4: Cenotaph

  13. "Smalltown Boy"
  14. "She Said Yes"
  15. "Tears of Your Heart"

    20 Odd Years, Vol. 4: Ostranenie

  16. "Days Go By"
  17. "Dolores"
  18. "Joey Bats"
  19. "Legendary"