In the age of one-hit wonders and sophomore slumps it seems so rare these days to pick up an album from an established artist and be genuinely blown away. Too often, musicians fall victim to complacency, a sort of musical purgatory where artists neither grow into a new sound nor refine the style that made them initially popular. Beck’s ability to create a more evolved and mature version of his junkyard funk proves that in the musical world, at least for talented artists, you can go home again.
Beck is the quintessential homogenized American musician. By drawing on a vast background of rock, soul, R&B, rap, Latin and folk, Beck is able to blend nearly every genre on the musical spectrum into pleasant catchy riffs with inspired lyrics. In Beck’s much anticipated, sixth studio album, Guero, he employs a sharp mix of his melodious Sea Change and his rock-funk masterpiece Odelay.
Although the MTV-era of music has altered the definition of “pop music” from simply an upbeat tune to mass-produced, bland drivel, Beck’s outstanding ability to fuse genres leaves a sliver of hope for the revival of pop music. One day, “pop music” won’t conjure images of auditory pornography such as Ashley Simpson and Good Charlotte, but rather the more sophisticated and eclectic sound of Beck.
Beck’s wide range in audience and fan-base can be strongly attributed to his perfecting the art of “white-boy-rap.” This is not “white-boy-rap” in the sense of The Beastie Boys classical sound of rap, but more of a smooth euphonic string of lyrics put to a mixture of folk/funk guitar riffs. Also, the overall production of Beck’s music is always superb. The way in which he injects sound effects and a generic “electronic” sound into rock songs makes Beck one of the most creative and innovative artists of the last decade.
The most obvious reason that Beck returned to a version of his junkyard funk was that he reunited with Odelay producers The Dust Brothers. The Dust Brothers, known for their background in rap, have produced albums for a variety of artists such as The Beastie Boys, Coolio, Smashmouth and The Rolling Stones. The Dust Brothers contribution in Guero was essential in order for Beck to produce a matured version of his initial popular style.
The first song on the album and also the first single, “E-Pro,” has a strong addictive bass line accompanied by quick soulful lyrics. “E-Pro” effectively establishes an affable tone, which carries throughout the entire album. The strongest song is the title track “Que Onda Guero.” Beck’s capacity to weave seamlessly from Spanish to English exemplifies his lyrical genius. Although the album generally flows well, it does seem to stall in the middle with the more soporific and mellow “Earthquake Weather (Maybe),” “Go it Alone,” and “Farewell Ride.” Oftentimes, as Beck’s more somber songs lull on, he voices over large portions of the song with an unnecessary amount of “Na, na, na’s.” Although the stall is somewhat apparent, Beck finishes the album just as strongly as he started it with “Scarecrow” and “Emergency Exit,” to round out the auditory orgasm that is Guero.
It is not uncommon for artists who have published a string of successful albums to revert back to their roots. The Beatles, in their last official studio album Let it Be, wrote the song “One After 909,” which sounds strikingly similar to their much previous “pop” sound of the early ’60s. “One After 909” is almost a parody of their earlier work because of its simplistic beat and bluesy lyrics; however, there is something distinctly different sounding in the writing and production of the song that must have come with a lifetime of musical experience The Beatles encountered throughout their career.
More currently, widely popular Radiohead strayed from the sound of their previous two albums in the making of their most recent album Hail to the Thief. Like Beck, Radiohead infused the sound of its rock-oriented past albums of The Bends and OK Computer with the more electronic centered Kid A and Amnesiac.
It seems implausible that Beck could evolve his sound once again into something completely creative and original. It is simply too difficult to grow as a musician while still making hit records. All things being equal, Beck should be out of material, his virtuoso brain tapped dry of any musical inspiration. Yet, each consecutive record continues to impress and so should Guero.
Beck’s Guero will be released on Tuesday, March 29th.
