Mellow Gold

Mellow Gold is the third studio album by American alternative rock musician Beck, and also his major label debut. Mellow Gold was released on March 1, 1994 following the surprise success of "Loser". Informed by the irreverent Gen X slacker and punk-influenced anti-folk styles of his earlier independent work, critics noted the album's hybrid of styles and ironic, witty lyrics. The decidedly anti-commercial attitude of Mellow Gold became an unexpected commercial success and went platinum. In an effort to get the album into stores such as Wal-Mart and Kmart, which do not stock albums with a "parental advisory sticker", a clean version of the album was released. Nonetheless, Wal-Mart carried the explicit version of the album, though the move is believed to have been an unintentional oversight. Mellow Gold reached #13 in the United States and #41 in the United Kingdom. As of July 2008, Mellow Gold has sold 1.2 million copies in the US.