One Foot in the Grave by Beck

One Foot in the Grave is the third independent studio album and fourth overall by American alternative rock musician Beck, released in June 1994 on K Records, an independent label. It was recorded prior to the release of Mellow Gold, but was not released until after that album had met critical and commercial success. One Foot in the Grave shows a strong lo-fi and folk influence, and features several songs that are interpolations or covers of songs popularized by artists like Skip James and The Carter Family. One Foot in the Grave features production, songwriting, and backing vocal assistance by Calvin Johnson, founder of K Records and Beat Happening. It also features performances by Built to Spill members James Bertram and Scott Plouf, Love as Laughter's Sam Jayne, as well as The Presidents of the United States of America frontman Chris Ballew. The album was recorded at Dub Narcotic Studio, which at the time was housed in Johnson's basement. Like Stereopathetic Soulmanure, the album never charted; however, One Foot in the Grave strengthened Beck's critical reputation, arguably allowing him to break into the mainstream with Odelay in 1996. As of July 2008, One Foot in the Grave had sold 168,000 copies in the United States. On April 14, 2009, the album was reissued with 13 unreleased tracks by Beck's own Iliad label.