Ah, Beck: The quintessential indy weirdo/musical genius. Since exposed to his work, I’ve been known to become more than a little excited when I hear he has a
new album dropping. Beck Hansen’s single, “Loser”, got him noticed. His album,
Odelay, was groundbreaking.
Mutations was more subdued, but no less interesting.
Midnight Vultures was an overloaded crazy-fun dance
party that managed to remain barely accessible.
Sea Change was aptly titled, featuring an about face to a spacious, mellow, introspective, folksy sound. Now he delivers
Guero.
Guero (Spanish slang for “white boy”) is a beat-driven
album that has a very cohesive sound from song to song. This makes two albums in a row in which Beck has favored an overall concept rather that each song being a different animal, and I’m not sure I like it! This is not to say his past albums have not contained
songs which gel together nicely, because they most certainly have. It’s just that Beck’s past genius for me has been the fact that he used rap, folk, country, rock, and electronica (sometimes all at the same time) to create the amazing sonic tapestries that would often take drastic turns from one song to the next. One minute you would be grooving at a disco dance, then sitting at an intimate folk show, and next you’d be banging your head and jumping into the mosh pit. However, with
Guero you are constantly cruising down the road with your wrist draped over the steering wheel, bobbing your head to the beat. This is my only beef with Beck on this album: It’s the same almost from beginning to end. Many of the
songs have the same tempo and similar beats (courtesy of the Dust Brothers who co-produced with Beck.) There are a few stand-outs of course. The high points are “Que Honda Guero”, a
fun and accurate depiction of the sights and sounds of a Latino neighborhood; “Hell Yes”, an electronica infused rap for the dance floor; and “Go It Alone”, a catchy, loose, funky vamp. As the
album plays, I find myself enjoying the more organic sound of the
songs toward the end more than his beat-laced grooves that are mostly on the first “side” of the album. As can be expected with Beck, his
lyrics are the usual abstract
poetry which can cause some head scratching as you listen, but when read from the liner notes, can often surprise you in their poignancy and/or beauty. The opening track “E-Pro” contains this passage: “I won’t give up that ghost / It’s sick the way these tongues are twisted / The good in us is all we know / There’s too much left to taste that’s bitter.” “Farewell Ride” has
lyrics that seem pulled right out of a death ballad from the late 1800’s. Even with its shortcomings this is still a Beck album, automatically making it far more intriguing and inventive than anything in the current rotation of your local Top 40 station. If you are already a fan and appreciate all the different sides of Beck, this is well worth a purchase. If not, better start with
Odelay instead.
