Beck - Midnite Vultures
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CD Details
Artist: BeckEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1999-11-23
Music Label: Interscope Records
Soundtracks:
- Sexx Laws
- Nicotine & Gravy
- Mixed Bizness
- Get Real Paid
- Hlwd. Freaks
- Peaches & Cream
- Broken Train
- Milk & Honey
- Beautiful Way
- Pressure Zone
- Debra
Music reviews of Midnite Vultures
Music Review: Beck's Most Eccentric, Enthralling and Mystifying Disc to Date
Rating: 5 Stars
When lil' Beck Hansen stumbled into stardom with his quirky white-boy raps and sitar-haunts in 1994's "Mellow Gold", none could have foreseen his progression as a musician, entertainer and artist. With "Odelay" Beck molded a compelling stew of rock, country and hip-hop; sampling Bob Dylan and screaming about having a "Devil's Haircut" in his mind. It's a classic to be sure, as is his low-fi, majestic followup; "Mutations". Yet no one could have foreseen what was to come out of Beck's fascinating noggin next...
"Midnite Vultures" is Beck's most adventurous album ever. It is a funk, soul, electronica and rap album all in one. It is loud. It is energetic, and it is the complete polar opposite of its predecessor; "Mutations". After the simple recording process of "Mutations", Beck opted to take his next album completely in his own hands, self-producing the entire record in a custom home studio... and it shows. Beck's manic fantasies of "defying the logic of all sexx laws" and dropping "lobotomy beats" are ideally realized in sheer instrumental complexity and truly mesmerizing vocal presence. It is as if Beck lost himself in the late nights of disco nightclubs, cheap hotels and funky electronica somewhere between the 70's and 80's. Beck bends and bounces his voice like never before (or after) in his career on this album, opting for a laughable yet potent falsetto in the album's most progressive numbers. The songs initially sound so ridiculous that you may think it's a comedy album, and as the album progresses, the pace slows down a tad,and yet it never becomes dull. Repeat listens only further reveal the album's layered complexity and soul.
"Vultures" is difficult to easily describe. It traverses horn-ripping funk, blazing funk guitar and high-pitched Beck falsetto with "Sexx Laws" and "Mixed Bizness". "Get Real Paid" is somewhat of an electronica beat-fest, initially a seemingly repetitive and soulless meld of computer-speak and sexy double-entendres just as it dawns upon a rapid-fire sing-along chorus and a glorious harmony between every component it contains. It's odd yet compelling. Just like "Hollywood Freaks", which is a true departure; a sort of gangsta-rap parody with Beck cheesily rapping about expensive jeans and " hot dogs, no doz and hot sex in back rows". It will attract some listeners and alienate others. "Pressure Zone" and "Peaches and Cream" find Beck in a rockin' mood, while "Beautiful Way", with its building piano melody, country guitar and harmonized vocals, is perhaps the slowest and most heartfelt track on the album. "Debra" ends the party with a bit of a slow-jam, it's funky horns slowly unveil a screaming falsetto from Beck as he muses over gettin' it on with the sister of a chick he met at JC Penny's. It's a fan favorite, and there's a reason for that.
If you are curious, buy it. It is a masterpiece in its own right. Many listeners find it too much a departure and a joke to be considered a worthy effort from the Bard of the Barrio, but repeat listens will mine the glittering gold this album has to offer. It is easily the most fun you shall have singing along with any Beck album and that's for sure! But all jokes aside, "Midnite Vultures" is another reason you can tack on the blackboard attributing Beck as one of the most skilled, visionary and fascinating musicians of our time. It is fun, raucous, complicated and beautiful. It is mystifying, eccentric and addictive. If you like Beck, it is a must-buy... Really, if you like music it is a must-buy. "Midnite Vultures" is a mesmerizing and utter triumph.
(Note) If you are new to Beck, try "Mellow Gold" or "Odelay" first, they make the transition to this album a bit more confusing and fun.
Description of Midnite Vultures
Japanese only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD - playable on all CD players) pressing. Universal. 2008.When Beck mangles folk, hip-hop, country, blues, and lo-fi rock into a unique sonic species, he pays homage to his influences in a way that is utterly entertaining. Indeed, the alt-rock vagabond is responsible for some of the 1990s' most indispensable music. In his lesser moments, however, Beck's attempts at emulating his preceptors fall flat, creating only B-grade versions of the genuine articles. Midnite Vultures splits down the middle between the great Beck and the not-so-great Beck. About half the album gorges on retro pulp fiction, a "Becksploitation," if you will, where his relatively straightforward impersonations shortchange his influences. On the slow-burn soul tracks "Peaches and Cream" and "Debra" or the 808-driven tributary "Hlwd. Freaks," he lacks the pipes, heart, and history to pass as a legitimate double-breasted soul man or old-school rapper. The other half, finding Beck in his element, is exhilarating. His unfaltering studio mastery is especially evident on standouts such as the horn-punched "Sexx Laws," the steamy, slap-bass-blasted "Nicotine and Gravy," and the wah-wah bombast of "Mixed Bizness." The album proves that Beck playing the straight-up funkateer will never match ranks with the raw talents of Marvin Gaye, George Clinton, or Prince, but as long as he adheres to more inventive genre splicing, he remains compelling in his own right. --Beth Massa
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