Beck: Then and Now, Oh My Brothers.
Originally, he was a mysterious youth with a vague past, and even vaguer in his explanations of his life and times prior to having success in mainstream Pop. Of course, "Loser" was the song and supposed lifestyle that many members of the Generation known as X latched onto. And even if Beck was evasive about any significant aspect of his life, and especially in early interviews, he always made clear that he was very much a hard worker, so the slacker tag never did stick. The retro tag during the time of "Odelay" only lasted for as long as Beck wanted it to, before then moving onto Prince-style antics on "Midnite Vultures" or a sappy James Taylor-esque performer on "Sea Change." In more recent years he's been treading familiar ground, which for Beck, is genuinely a first. Albums like "Guero" and "The Information" have been heard earlier in Beck's musical catalog but better.
He has always sold good numbers in terms of record sales, and his live performances often sellout. What is frustrating for those of us who enjoy our Pop music with artistic leanings, is that it appears that Beck's more experimental and worthwhile recorded output is very much behind him, and fans of his current incarnation are left with corny Dance-Pop or bland Folk Ballads. It is interesting to think that "Sea Change" was made by the same man, who roughly a decade earlier created a bizarre little gem called "Golden Feelings." On that record, he was an effortless lyrical master and this is easily demonstrated on the "Loser" single, which was recorded around the same time period. Beck's weirdness with lyrics once carried weight, but now only feel like an anchor or creative crutch. It is unfortunate that some of his younger fans may not be familiar with the great collaborators and producers with which Beck worked, long before hooking up with the Dust Brothers or Nigel Godrich.
Beck's 1994 Experimental Noise epic "Stereopathetic Soulmanure" was recorded largely in a little studio in Los Angeles located right next to a car repair shop and the producers of said record were two gentleman named Tom Grimley and Gus Hudson. Fans of the early Jon Spencer outing Pussy Galore will want to delve into this record. Even Beck's eerie Acoustic Blues record "One Foot In The Grave" recorded on the precious and dainty K Records label out of Washington state is another example of his once lyrical brilliance and ability to essentially wing it, yet still create something that is musically worthwhile. As I find noodling around with The Dust Brothers on hi-tech computer gadgets looking for a perfect Disco beat, is something that does not necessarily make for the most potent music ever made. Clever? Yes. Novelty? Unfortunately, yes again.
"Mellow Gold" was Beck's third record to be released in 1994, not counting a peculiar 10" record release entitled "A Western Harvest Field By Moonlight," which is a record that is essentially a mix of what both "Stereopathetic Soulmanure" and "One Foot In The Grave" had to offer. "Mellow Gold," however, was the first great big mainstream album by Beck, it was also his best. Nothing had changed in his musical bag of tricks and everything came to fruition on this record, a record that appropriately begins with the massively successful "Loser" single. Beck worked with some interesting characters on this record, including Hip Hop producer Carl Stephenson and the two men behind the now mostly defunct Bong Load Custom Records label.
All of this brings me to the Beck that we know and maybe not necessarily love today. I believe the commercializing of 1996's "Odelay" was truly the beginning of the end of Beck as a amazingly creative force in music, a record that in retrospect is clearly overrated. He eventually de-evolved into a goofy Vegas act in a live setting, albeit, a Beck concert is still a great experience and at this point, probably the best way to interact with his music. He also became just another face in major music publications, a fashion model of sorts. In recent years he has championed many of the Hipster elite, such as The White Stripes and Devendra Bernhard, which only further obscures his early musical genius. But ultimately, do not take my word for it, compare and contrast the following songs from two very distinctly different time periods in Beck's music...
Then:
And Now:
He has always sold good numbers in terms of record sales, and his live performances often sellout. What is frustrating for those of us who enjoy our Pop music with artistic leanings, is that it appears that Beck's more experimental and worthwhile recorded output is very much behind him, and fans of his current incarnation are left with corny Dance-Pop or bland Folk Ballads. It is interesting to think that "Sea Change" was made by the same man, who roughly a decade earlier created a bizarre little gem called "Golden Feelings." On that record, he was an effortless lyrical master and this is easily demonstrated on the "Loser" single, which was recorded around the same time period. Beck's weirdness with lyrics once carried weight, but now only feel like an anchor or creative crutch. It is unfortunate that some of his younger fans may not be familiar with the great collaborators and producers with which Beck worked, long before hooking up with the Dust Brothers or Nigel Godrich.
Beck's 1994 Experimental Noise epic "Stereopathetic Soulmanure" was recorded largely in a little studio in Los Angeles located right next to a car repair shop and the producers of said record were two gentleman named Tom Grimley and Gus Hudson. Fans of the early Jon Spencer outing Pussy Galore will want to delve into this record. Even Beck's eerie Acoustic Blues record "One Foot In The Grave" recorded on the precious and dainty K Records label out of Washington state is another example of his once lyrical brilliance and ability to essentially wing it, yet still create something that is musically worthwhile. As I find noodling around with The Dust Brothers on hi-tech computer gadgets looking for a perfect Disco beat, is something that does not necessarily make for the most potent music ever made. Clever? Yes. Novelty? Unfortunately, yes again.
"Mellow Gold" was Beck's third record to be released in 1994, not counting a peculiar 10" record release entitled "A Western Harvest Field By Moonlight," which is a record that is essentially a mix of what both "Stereopathetic Soulmanure" and "One Foot In The Grave" had to offer. "Mellow Gold," however, was the first great big mainstream album by Beck, it was also his best. Nothing had changed in his musical bag of tricks and everything came to fruition on this record, a record that appropriately begins with the massively successful "Loser" single. Beck worked with some interesting characters on this record, including Hip Hop producer Carl Stephenson and the two men behind the now mostly defunct Bong Load Custom Records label.
All of this brings me to the Beck that we know and maybe not necessarily love today. I believe the commercializing of 1996's "Odelay" was truly the beginning of the end of Beck as a amazingly creative force in music, a record that in retrospect is clearly overrated. He eventually de-evolved into a goofy Vegas act in a live setting, albeit, a Beck concert is still a great experience and at this point, probably the best way to interact with his music. He also became just another face in major music publications, a fashion model of sorts. In recent years he has championed many of the Hipster elite, such as The White Stripes and Devendra Bernhard, which only further obscures his early musical genius. But ultimately, do not take my word for it, compare and contrast the following songs from two very distinctly different time periods in Beck's music...
Then:
And Now:
Labels: beck
2 Comments:
Well written MB - although I do disagree with you on this one (I quite like a lot of his more recent stuff). I do think there's a certain magic to Beck's older music so I can see where you are coming from. I do sometimes feel his newer music comes off a bit .. hm.. too slick?
Yeah, I would say too slick and too harmless. All persons want to cuddle with Beck. Don't get me wrong, as I did praise Beck's skills as a live performer, which certainly have not diminished. Of course, his live performances are quite slick now as well, but regardless, he's just a natural showman. I was mostly lamenting the loss of creative potency that I only really find in his early recorded output.
Cheerio.
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