Beck
Sea Change

THE REVIEW

It's remarkable how the two most anticipated albums of autumn 2002 (Up by Peter Gabriel and Sea Change by Beck) turned out to be decidedly twilight albums, devoid of the euphoria that characterized their previous works. In Peter Gabriel’s album, despite the nine long years of waiting, it is possible to trace a continuum with his previous works—partially betraying the expectations of those who anticipated a small revolution or at least evolution—but the same cannot be said for the album by then 32-year-old American Beck Hansen. Sea Change is an album that is astounding in many ways, bearing witness to the author's eclecticism.

An eclecticism that is never an end in itself, as demonstrated by the evocative twelve tracks contained in this album (already three years old and chronologically surpassed by a new work) which tells the story of the end of a long love affair, his love affair. Those who still remember the sounds of Midnite Vultures (his previous album from 1999) will be taken aback, though certainly not disappointed. The sunny, kaleidoscopic sounds of the album three years older disappear to make room for a more introspective music, whose matrix—according to Beck himself—is "the clear and clean acoustic sound that reigned in 1970s California". The colorful funky of Midnite Vultures, transforms into a sound with strong folk flavors, superbly arranged and executed, that does not disdain the measured use of an entire orchestra on some occasions.
"Guess I’m Doing Fine", "The Golden Age", "Lonesome Tears", in my opinion, are the most beautiful tracks on the album.

Who knows if part of the credit also goes to producer Nigel Godrich (see Radiohead) with whom Beck admits to working better than with anyone else, due to his ability to get involved in the works he believes in. Who knows if the pain from the tumultuous end of the love story between Beck and his partner is the source of that vital essence that flows through the veins of this little musical masterpiece, that pain sometimes indispensable in works that make a mark. Who knows how many will want to fully embrace the temporary metamorphoses of an artist without blinders and always in search of something different, who has decided he can afford this luxury.