beck doesn't really make bad albums. all his stuff is good to great imo. i've enjoyed all of his albums since they were released. every single album contains a few '10' songs.
still not really sure about 'colours' though. it was a long wait for that one and the singles they released before the album were released way too long before it. the songs felt old and were only so-so in comparison to former singles. some of the one off single stuff was better imo.
Though he's one of my favorite artists of the 21st century, I haven't listened to Colors yet because it seems like he's been content to repeat himself for the last 10 years.
[Edited 7/28/18 16:17pm]
Good night, sweet Prince | 7 June 1958 - 21 April 2016
Props will be withheld until the showing and proving has commenced. -- Aaron McGruder
I'll rate the 1s I bother with. I'm a fan, but not so much when he's all morose, save a (usually uptempo) song or 2 from those efforts. The only album I haven't heard is Colors cuz I wasn't feeling it from the 1st song or the others I'd heard from it n since no 1s mentioning his first (2?) albums (which have sum decent stuff up there btw n sum useless stuff but ya no), I'll avoid them myself .
1) Mellow Gold (10)
2) Midnite Vultures (9.5)
3) Odelay (9.5)
4) The Information (9) (I really only sometimes skip the last track, enjoy parts of it)
nobody's a fan of 'song reader'? i'm quite fond of that album...and 'sea change' and 'morning phase'. i've only listened elsewise to 'odelay', maybe 25 years ago and 'colors' recently; but this thread's inspired me to reserve his catalog at the library, which is starting to trickle in now...
I'll rate the 1s I bother with. I'm a fan, but not so much when he's all morose
Agreed! I'm all about upbeat Beck with the goofy lyrics. I skip sad Beck, even though everybody tells me it's his best stuff.
Same for me. The only sad song I love is Lost Cause
With a very special thank you to Tina: Is hammer already absolute, how much some people verändern...ICH hope is never so I will be! And if, then I hope that I would then have wen in my environment who joins me in the A....
you people! dark, depressing beck can be so good! i once spent an entire day at the office just listening to 'runners dial zero' over and over and over and over again.
i'd say, if you couldn't get into 'sea change', at least give 'morning phase' a chance because it's a bit easier to crack, i guess. and some of the songs are just too beautiful and good not to add to your beck favourites.
'heart is a drum' 'blue moon' 'country down'
trust me, you won't regret getting to know those, they are just too beautiful to ignore and not that depressing either
and if you happen to have the japanese version of sea change, check out the last song on it, 'ship in a bottle', which is one of my favorite beck songs ever.
For the record, I have not avoided Beck's sad stuff. I've listened to it. I just don't like it.
Beck is interesting enough that I'd recommend any newcomer listen to EVERYTHING, even the independent albums that have not been mentioned here (Stereopathetic Soulmanure or One Foot In The Grave anyone?).
That said, the one's I ranked above are the one's I enjoy and continue to listen to. If I didn't rank it, I've heard it, I just have no desire to hear it again.
A friend of mine and I have debated this a few times. His opinion is the opposite of mine. And that's cool because diversity of opinion is a beautiful thing.
Don't hate your neighbors. Hate the media that tells you to hate your neighbors.
djThunderfunk said: I feel the same way about his music. Only care for the upbeat stuff. No dismal Beck jams for me.
list these dismals......please...i guess they would be opposite of spirituals
i guess that differs for everyone. for me 'runners dial zero' is almost religious.
the whole sea change album is a collection of hymns to me.
some of the most uplifting spirituals can drone on and on or not lift you up in the way you hoped. 'dismal' beck manages to both comfort and uplift you, while at the same time not shying away from looking life's darker elements right in the face.
it just depends on your taste and your interpretation.
and beck has a lot of songs that sound very much like fun and summer on the surface, yet have lyrics that are pretty darn bleak. take "tropicalia"
what do people who don't like dismal beck make of these type of songs?
That was 1 of the uptempo songs on an otherwise morose album I was talking about . That's the jam! Never know what he's going on about anyways. Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes is a slower jam I like from Mutations also .