finulanu 2007-11-03
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Beck's second album is often called his masterpiece, and I'm not arguing much. Like last time out, he often succeeds in bridging the gap between rap and everything else, most notably rap, surf-rock and techno on the amazing yet stupid "Devils Haircut" (with lyrics that mock death-metal), and rap, jazz, and soul on the brilliant, sample-laced hit single "Where It's At", which to many is Beck's shot at artistic credibility. But it's every bit "goofy novelty" as "Loser". Let us not forget that a lot of samples on the song are from an obscure sex-ed record. Yeah, that's mature. Thankfully, I can't praise the song enough: the samples are amazingly integrated into the song, the organ is beautiful, and every time I hear the song, I pick up on something I previously missed. Plus who can forget that chorus? "I got two turntables and a microphone!" He also pumps out a couple very solid alt-rockers, like the nerdy "Hotwax" and "New Pollution", which ends in an unforgettable sax loop. And just to prove his eclectism, he throws in some odd material like the Eastern drone "Derelict" and the impossible-to-classify, overbearing "Novocain", which has turntables, buzzing guitars, hip-hop drums, R&B horns, bass, electric piano, and vocals all going at more-or-less the same time. To me, that's where the album caves in - it's like he was trying to show us just how much noise he could pack into four-and-a-half minutes. This is redeemed by the ironically beautiful (or should I say ironic beauty?) of "J*cka**", a very lovely song with a title that suggests just the opposite. Confused? So am I. But there are times when I think only Beck knows what he's intending. It contains a deadly accurate Dylan harmonica interpretation, provided by Them (it's a sample of Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" - again, seamlessly incorporated!). Continuing on my "Beck-does-everything!" thread, "Minus" is a solid bit of sludgy hard rock, and the humorous "Sissyneck" is entertaining country-funk. Yes, that's right, country-funk. And "High 5 (Rock the Catskills)" is the closest thing to pure rap I've ever heard Beck do. Well, up until that weird classical loop that he throws in just for the sake of throwing it in. And then turns around and delivers heavy guitars. Okay, forget what I said about pure hip-hop. It's a super song, though - that spoken part at 2:40, after those weird samples, is funny, all right. And unexpected. I'm unsure what I think of "Ramshackle", though: it's pretty and well-written, but it's kinda boring and has a kinda crappy hidden track - just a minute of Beck strangling his guitar. Thanks, man! But the songwriting here is exceptional; it's eclectic; and it's packed with all kinds of weird surprises. And Beck's a capable multi-instrumentalist, adding guitars (lead, rhythm, and slide), bass, drums, a wide variety of keyboards, and vocals. "Novocain" is horrible, but most the rest is stellar.
