WE DO THE MASHED POTATO AND THE FUNKY CHICKEN

Beck

Sea Change

  • AMG Review of Sea Change

    Amg
    Stephen Thomas Erlewine
    All Music Guide

    Beck has always been known for his ever-changing moods -- particularly since they often arrived one after another on one album, sometimes within one song -- yet the shift between the neon glitz of Midnite Vultures and the lush, somber Sea Change is startling, and not just because it finds him in full-on singer/songwriter mode, abandoning all of the postmodern pranksterism of its predecessor. What's startling about Sea Change is how it brings everything that's run beneath the surface of Beck's music to the forefront, as if he's unafraid to not just reveal emotions, but to elliptically examine them in this wonderfully melancholy song cycle. If, on most albums prior to this, Beck's music was a sonic kaleidoscope -- each song shifting familiar and forgotten sounds into colorful, unpredictable combinations -- this discards genre-hopping in favor of focus, and the concentration pays off gloriously, resulting in not just his best album, but one of the greatest late-night, brokenhearted albums in pop. This, as many reviews and promotional interviews have noted, is indeed a breakup album, but it's not a bitter listen; it has a wearily beautiful sound, a comforting, consoling sadness. His words are often evocative, but not nearly as evocative as the music itself, which is rooted equally in country-rock (not alt-country), early-'70s singer/songwriterism, and baroque British psychedelia. With producer Nigel Godrich, Beck has created a warm, enveloping sound, with his acoustic guitar supported by grand string arrangements straight out of Paul Buckmaster, eerie harmonies, and gentle keyboards among other subtler touches that give this record a richness that unveils more with each listen. Surely, some may bemoan the absence of the careening, free-form experimentalism of Odelay, but Beck's gifts as a songwriter, singer, and musician have never been as brilliant as they are here. As Sea Change is playing, it feels as if Beck singing to you alone, revealing painful, intimate secrets that mirror your own. It's a genuine masterpiece in an era with too damn few of them.

Sea Change
over 2 years ago
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Recently i've been listening to Beck. Latest things i've heard from him are HIGH quality music! SEA CHANGE is my favorite til now. Unique album, very different from other aproches to rock/folk/pop STUPID TO TAG BECK'S MUSIC! THEY'RE IMPOSSIBLE TO! Beck is Beck, right?;-)Seems to me that this album did not achieve the success of beck's other albums. I think in the future this will be a MUST albu...

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Thank you postman!
over 3 years ago
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Okay, so my new vinyl came today, oh yay.Buying vinyl is so fun, but I really can't afford it at the moment, ah what the hell - can't wait till the other ones arrive (someone stop me!) Ooo my camera adds a lovely orange hue!I love Jeremy Blake's work so this is like a double treat for me, artwork on the inside pretty!Sometimes I wish I had MTV2, because on the odd occasion they do manage to sho...

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A close second in the CL ad of the day
over 3 years ago

OH! I saw this one after i posted my official winner!!@Post: I want someone similiar to Chris Carabba (from Dashboard Confessional) - 22w for mIf you're artistic and have a lot of tattoos and are a nice and genuine guy overall, that's what I'm looking for.I'm tired of assholes, posers and superficial people.Preferably someone in their twenties.Good luck with that!!

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Hey look! The only Beck song I like!
over 3 years ago

It seems very direct at the moment.Good night.

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Sea Change
over 2 years ago
Blog post image preview

Recently i've been listening to Beck. Latest things i've heard from him are HIGH quality music! SEA CHANGE is my favorite til now. Unique album, very different from other aproches to rock/folk/pop STUPID TO TAG BECK'S MUSIC! THEY'RE IMPOSSIBLE TO! Beck is Beck, right?;-)Seems to me that this album did not achieve the success of beck's other albums. I think in the future this will be a MUST albu...

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Beck's Changes
over 3 years ago

A quick gripe: in all the minor flurry of excitement about Beck's THE INFORMATION, I'm peeved at the number of critics who dismiss the magnificent SEA CHANGE as e.g. mopey, hangdog, lacklustre etc etc. I contend that SEA CHANGE is one of the most convincing documents of heartbreak in the canon of recorded Western pop music - an album of extraordinary gravitas in an age of quick-fix highs and ca...

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Thank you postman!
over 3 years ago
Blog post image preview

Okay, so my new vinyl came today, oh yay.Buying vinyl is so fun, but I really can't afford it at the moment, ah what the hell - can't wait till the other ones arrive (someone stop me!) Ooo my camera adds a lovely orange hue!I love Jeremy Blake's work so this is like a double treat for me, artwork on the inside pretty!Sometimes I wish I had MTV2, because on the odd occasion they do manage to sho...

More >
3 songs you could NEVER live without...
over 3 years ago

You're stuck on a desert island with all the food and water you can stand, along with a fisher price tape player, boxes of long lasting batteries, and a 30 minute tape which holds the 3 greatest songs you've heard that you would want to be with you on this island for the rest of your life. What three songs would it be?I'd go with...1. Beck- Little One2. Underworld- Cups3. The Chemical Brothers-...

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Cover Artist For Beck's ??Sea Change?? Dead From Apparent Suicide
over 2 years ago
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Visual Artist, Jeremy Blake, who created the cover for Beck Hansen's ??Sea Change?? album and a video for ??Round The Bend?? was presumably found dead in waters off of New Jersey. Blake had been a rising superstar in the art world and had done works based on British fashion designer Ossie Clarke, David Berman of the Silver Jews, and an unfinished piece on Malcolm McLaren. His death, 8 days af...

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Beck- Sea Change
over 3 years ago

A couple of posts ago I told all of you I was a little concerned about picking a band a week, so this week I am going to try a little something different. I will be focusing on an album rather than an artist. Beck Sea Change We’ve all been asked the question: “Who’s your favorite band?” or “What’s your favorite song?” This may be an easy answer for most, but for mus

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mmmmBeck
over 3 years ago

Epic Night Recovery Programme:•9:00 roll out of bed, followed by immediate teeth-brushing•Cursory cleaning of room•Load of laundry•2-3 slices of last night's pizza•1/2 quart of gatorade, lemon lime, mixed•Couch + Blanket + Ibuprofen•Nap for the duration of Beck's Sea Change.

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