Performed by Eels Rated 4.5/5.0, based on 66 reviews. Buy from Amazon: New price: $5.78 Used price: $2.72

Beautiful Freak is Novocaine for the Soul.
Rating: 5/5
"Life is good and I feel great
cause mother says I was
A great mistake

Novovaine for the soul
You better give me something
To fill the hole
Before I sputter out."--Novocaine for the Soul

Beautiful Freak is the brilliant 1996 debut album for the Eels, which is essentially singer/songwriter Mark Oliver Everett (also known as "a Man Called E," "Mr. E," or simply "E"). I call him a musical genius. (Other musicians on this album include drummer Butch Norton and bass player Tommy Walter.) The Eels were among the first bands to sign with the Dreamworks label. The music here is not for the faint of heart. The lyrics are the melancholic musings of a truly tormented soul confronting a life of existential angst, sung against upbeat pop, grunge, and even a little trip hop. Noteworthy tracks include the hit single, "Novocaine for the Soul," "My Beloved Monster" (which was featured on the soundtrack for the movie Shrek), and "Susan's House," a haunting pop song which confronts mental health, violent crime (arson and murder), and teen pregnancy. Beautiful Freak is a work of Beautiful Genius. Tracks include:

1. Novocaine For The Soul
2. Susan's House
3. Rags To Rags
4. Beautiful Freak
5. Not Ready Yet
6. My Beloved Monster
7. Flower
8. Guest List
9. Mental
10. Spunky
11. Your Lucky Day In Hell
12. Manchild

G. Merritt

Best album of 1996!
Rating: 5/5
I purchased this album used in 1997 having liked the songs "Novacaine for the Soul" & "Rags To Rags" which both played on the local alt-rock station. Once I put it in my Cd player it stayed in there for a month as I loved it, every song was to my liking. The stand outs besides the before mentioned songs for me were "Guest List", "Not Ready Yet", & "Your Lucky Day In Hell". I then went out and bought E's earlier albums. "Broken Toy Shop" and "A Man Called E", both were pretty good although I greatly prefered "Broken Toy Shop" to "A Man Called E". If you like this album I would suggest these two to you.
Interesting enough I found when visiting their web site in 1997 I found this album posted in a new sound format (mp3) my first encounter with this now mainstream format and before it was endlessly traded on the many file sharing networks that would later spring up and hurt bands like the Eels.

beautiful
Rating: 5/5
this is a really dark album. beautiful songs, funny but very emotionally charged material. This is the best Eels record by far

The eclectically experimentally ecstatically effervescent Eels
Rating: 5/5
The Eels really hit home with this `debut'. From the indie classic opening tune "Novocain for the Soul" to the closing bars of the haunting "Manchild," the Eels effortlessly and successfully conquer a number of styles. The real stand out on the album is "Susan's House," which paints a picture of troubled life in the suburbs and gives the feeling of looking for home, and depending upon your interpretation and life view finding lasting or momentary comfort, or having this delusion of a place that doesn't exist or won't help. There are not many songs that can make me feel as this one does.

The overall mood of the album, mostly through the lyrics, is rather sobering and realistic. I highly recommend this album for anyone who appreciates experimentation and thinking outside the box. This is a wonderful, cohesive album.