Beck
Mutations
[Geffen]
Rating: 9.0
If you've been keeping up with your reading, by now you've already ingested a
glowing review or two of Beck's latest release, Mutations. No doubt,
you've read that he recorded the album's twelve songs in fourteen days after
completing the Odelay tour. And surely you know that the album was
co-produced by Nigel Godrich who was at least partially responsible for Radiohead's
OK Computer. All this background information was most certainly followed by
heaps of praise for the songs on the album and the treatments they get at the hands
of Godrich and Beck.
So I'm in a bit of a spot here. How can I tell you something about the album that
you don't already know? How about this one: it's better than Odelay. Now let
me qualify that statement. There are some who will tell you that Beck's last album
is a masterwork of late twentieth century American culture; I'm not one of them. On
that 1996 landmark release, Beck finally realized fully his oft- heralded command
of an unfathomable range of musical genres. It was a fantastically successful album,
both financially and musically. But slightly lost in that jumbled collage of sounds
and influences was the synergy of the album as a whole. In his efforts to plaster
his genius credentials as subtly as a billboard, he failed to create the sense of
unity that is a trademark of every true masterpiece. Ultimately, Odelay was
a somewhat disjointed collection of great songs.
On Mutations, Beck's traded in his two turntables and microphone for a Moog
synth and a copy of the Kinks' Muswell Hillbillies. Here, he fully explores
his obsession with the '60s. He's always shared Ray Davies' ear for a tune and flair
for the theatrical, but on "Bottle of Blues," he manages to co-opt the old Brit's
voice, too. But what makes Beck special is his ability to infuse his own musical
identity into the lifted lines. Like Davies' Hillbillies and even Neil Young's
Tonight's The Night, Mutations initially flows so easily, it sounds
rudimentary. It's that very flow that's missing on Odelay, and subsequent
listenings reveal the complex details creating it. It's like pressing your nose
against an impressionist painting to examine the thousands of meticulously placed
brush dabs that make up the seascape.
If the backbone of the album is a string of
rootsy melodies-- some of the best Beck has ever penned-- its mood is definitely
driven by Godrich's patented pre-millennial assortment of buzzes, bleeps and quirks,
giving it the spacy urgency of OK Computer. What you're left with is a
futuristic roots album. A perfect example is the addendum to the album's last
track, on which dueling lasers fire over a riff swiped off of the Beatles'
Revolver.
Unfortunately, with the music biz buzz awaiting the release of Odelay's
proper follow up (due next year), Mutations will most likely be praised and
then forgotten. Its quick recording period, soft- spoken demeanor and lack of a
standout single will surely count against it, too. That would be a mistake. Beck is
clearly working on a level most others can only dream of and Mutations is
proof of that. It seems impossible that his next album could be any better, but
I can't wait to find out.
-Neil Lieberman