Beck Song Reader

The 20-track all-star collection features exclusively recorded versions of Song Reader charts by the likes of Jack White, Jeff Tweedy, David Johansen, Jason Isbell, Fun., Eleanor Friedberger, and several more including Beck himself.

"I was incredibly excited when Beck asked me to produce a collection of Song Reader recordings with him," says the album's producer Randall Poster. "Beck's dynamic musical energy and creative passion inspired the artists-some of our favorite and greatest artists at that-to make these songs their own and render them with authority and distinction. They are both a reward and an invitation to join in on a unique and enduring song enterprise."

The release of Beck Song Reader marks the first officially recorded incarnation of the project, which has already inspired interpretations from hundreds of musicians the world over. The record includes the studio-quality debut of songs previously only played live either by Beck himself or at one of the handful of Song Reader concerts staged over the last two years. The most recent of these was presented by the L.A. Philharmonic in partnership with McSweeney's and Warby Parker at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on November 24, 2013. Described by The Los Angeles Times as an "expertly delivered and received night… another big step in Beck's long, fascinating evolution," the show's highlights included Jarvis Cocker's interpretively danced "Why Did You Make Me Care?" and Jack Black's borderline frightening "We All Wear Cloaks," the latter of which makes its recorded debut on the Beck Song Reader album.