BECK: MORNING PHASE (2014)
1) Cycle; 2) Morning; 3) Heart
Is A Drum; 4) Say Goodbye; 5) Blue Moon; 6) Unforgiven; 7) Wave; 8) Don't Let
It Go; 9) Blackbird Chain; 10) Phase; 11) Turn Away; 12) Country Down; 13)
Waking Light.
A pox upon this whole goddamn «sequel» idea. Time
and time again, artists keep falling into this ridiculous temptation — «hey,
that masterpiece of mine was so great, I wonder if I can do another one just
like it?» — and it's not even necessarily for the money. No, more likely it is
because you happen to run out of ideas, and start looking for inspiration in
your own past, sort of an incestuous affair with your own body and soul. What
good can come out of it? Was there ever a self-conscious musical «sequel»
(excluding multi-volume issues that were initially planned as such) that
managed to equal, let alone surpass, the original?
It took Beck more than five years to give us Morning Phase, and when he did, he
advertised it as a «companion piece» to Sea
Change. But that album needs no companion piece. It is an album about loneliness, for Christ's sake; how can
an album about loneliness require a «companion»? And even though Beck's
previous records showed some signs of stagnation, not a single one was directly
billed as, or emotionally felt like a straightforward attempt to repeat the
moods, textures, and effects of any of its predecessors. So is this a
confession that Beck is finally spent, and that from now on he will be
specializing in inferior re-writes of his past glories?
And here are the general reasons why you could
suspect inferiority even before putting on the album. First, remember that Sea Change was actually written and
recorded under the shadow of internal struggle and strife — an authentic «breakup
album» where the songs were fueled by real feelings. That dark fire may have
been artificially fed up, but its basis was real, and you could feel it. Fast
forward twelve years, though, and the only internal struggle and strife that we
see is from an artist who used to be on the edge of musical progress, and now
feels himself somewhat left out, without a proper understanding of how he could
be in the lead once again — mixed-up and confused. That could be an emotional basis for something, but why confuse it with
the «disillusioned recluse» image of Sea
Change, then?
Second, for some reason, Beck decided that the
album would be self-produced — even though, last time I checked, Nigel Godrich
was still alive and well, and even more, this was his regular turn in the «every second album» cycle. Beck did get some
of the Sea Change musicians to play
on the record, and, once again, entrusted the orchestration business to his
father, but Godrich was absolutely crucial to the sound of Sea Change, dressing those songs up in ways that Beck's mind could
never have come up with — and yes, he is very sorely missed on Morning Phase, which feels stripped and
underworked without the Godrich touch.
Now here is the first revelation when you
actually put the album on: it shares a lot of things in common with Sea Change, but in general, it feels
nothing like Sea Change. The first
and probably best song, ʽMorningʼ, does not strike you with a bleak, secluded
view of the world that ʽGolden Ageʼ proclaimed so solemnly. Its lyrical message
is completely different: "Can we start it all over again? / This morning /
I've lost all my defences / This morning / Won't you show me the way it used to
be? / I've gone all around / 'Til there's nothing left to say / We've worn it
all down / Into something that couldn't be said". Yes, you could try and
interpret it as part of a dialog with a relationship partner, but in this whole
context, wouldn't you say that it's basically a song about, er, uhm... impotence?
Spiritual, I mean, of course.
A thin whiff of melancholy emanates from the
song, but no desperation — Beck is being tender (falsetto in the verses) and
submissive (chorus), not particularly happy, but generally coming to terms with
his lot, «letting down his defences» indeed. There might even be some sort of early
pre-nirvana calm contained in the tune, what with its angelic harmonies and soothing
piano chords bringing on a bit of a «New Age flavor», musically. This will be a
serious blow for people who expect strong emotions or body-bending impulses
from the man all the time, but if you are prepared to give the man a chance,
ʽMorningʼ, as an anthem of calming down, humility and submission, actually has
a real point to make.
The bad news is that most of the following
songs struggle to make a real point —
or, more precisely, they do not struggle to make a real point. ʽHeart Is A
Drumʼ picks up the tempo a little bit to become a simple, unassuming folk-pop
ditty whose hushed vocals, obscure lyrics, and ghostly background vocals
presume a dig at «depth», but I do not sense any real depth — just a guy murmuring some barely coherent nonsense to
the mellow sound of acoustic guitars and pianos. No hooks to speak of, no
musical textures to be astounded at, and what is it exactly that you are trying
to get across to me, Mr. Hansen? What I see is just some grayish ambience, as
if you wanted to capture some light and some darkness in the same bottle and
give me both, but then you accidentally shook 'em up, and now it's sort of undrinkable.
No taste.
This is pretty much the same reaction I get
from everything else: a total feel of «middle of the road» where you really
keep wishing he'd stuck to this side or that. On ʽBlue Moonʼ, the first single
from the album, he sings that "I'm so tired of being alone", but
there is no musical indication in the song that he is alone, and if he is tired, it is more like he is tired of
finding great ideas for songs rather than anything else. And song after song,
we get the same unmemorable acoustic patterns, the same walls covered by
simplistic synthesized or orchestral carpeting, the same mock-transcendental «woo-hoos»
and «aaa-haas» from the backup singers, and, guess what, not even a single example of great usage of the
bass guitar (dark bass grooves were an integral part of Sea Change, but not here).
Oh, it all sounds suitably nice, and it may
even all sound suitably adequate to Beck's current state of mind, but it makes
me sad and disappointed to see him in this state of mind. Even when he opts for
a «grand» closure (ʽWaking Lightʼ), the crescendo effects seem boring and
predictable, and, most importantly, devoid of real tension and energy — and
this is the first Beck album in my experience where, after three listens in a
row, I was unable to memorize any of the songs (with ʽMorningʼ as the only exception,
and even that mainly because I really love that use of falsetto on the verses).
Is it the kind of album that could be expected to subtly grow on you after a miriad
of listens? But we are not living in an epoch where one would have time for
that. And even if we were, this is Beck Hansen we are talking about, the guy
who used to be the fastest gunslinger in the West. Sure, even the fastest
gunslingers eventually grow old, but I was sort of unprepared that the aging
process would be so quick.
If we judge the record on its own merits,
removed from any possible context, it is inoffensive and generally pretty. But
as a part of the curve, it is a catastrophe — a pretentious statement about
having nothing to say that comes from a washed-up artist who really has nothing left to say, and
knows not how to say it properly. Okay, «washed-up» is a harsh and undeserved
word; maybe it is just a temporary blunder, and no sooner than Beck renounces
this stupid idea of a «sequel» and starts bringing back in his usual batch of
wonder producers, he may be able to get back on the right track. But the signs
are not at all auspicious — when an album is as empty of meaning and feeling as
Morning Phase seems to be, one can't
help fearing that this particular thumbs down, the first one I've ever had the
mispleasure of giving Beck, will be far from the last.
Check "Morning Phase" (CD) on Amazon
Check "Morning Phase" (MP3) on Amazon
As soon as I saw the cover, I knew this one was going to hurt. Bat Out of Hell II (or III) anyone?
ReplyDeleteOkay, it's probably not as bad as that but...yeah. No thanks Beck!
Wow. I am perplexed at your reaction to this album, George! I can't believe someone who can appreciate the melodic talents of Beck through the years would so hastily discard Morning Phase, which is chock-a-block with great moods and textures, even if those moods and textures aren't as filled with despair as Sea Change. So what if it's billed as a "sequel"? That's marketing and nothing more. You really think these songs are inferior to, say, the by-the-books blues ditties on the second half of Mutations?
ReplyDeleteYour complaint that most of the songs do not make a "point" is misguided; this is an album about living in a monogamous relationship. Every song, start to finish, reveals some facet of Beck's perspective on married life, some lyrics more overt about it than others. I found the juxtaposition between the total surrender to misery at losing love in Sea Change and the surprise that finding new love has created a different kind of misery on Morning Phase quite fascinating. The same melancholy that pervaded Sea Change cannot by definition be present on Morning Phase; it's a whole other shade of gray.
As you can probably tell, this album clicked with me immediately. And no one can make someone else like a song. But I really am surprised you reacted so negatively to this album. While at times it feels like Beck's most "conventional" album, I still feel a fan of Beck's quieter numbers will enjoy the hell out of it.
Also, I thought for sure you were going to note the uncanny resemblance of "Turn Away" to '60s-era Moody Blues (specifically John Lodge).
ReplyDelete"Is it the kind of album that could be expected to subtly grow on you after a myriad of listens?"
ReplyDeleteYes, yes it is actually.
"But we are not living in an epoch where one would have time for that".
Well existence moves at the rate you choose to live it.
This is by no means a perfect album - far from it. I felt a little underwhelmed upon first listening to it but found myself returning repeatedly until something unlocked and the album's cohesive charms became increasingly apparent. Subtle and slight, but charming nonetheless.
But hell, taste is taste.
The disappointment is that the review has the whiff of someone having made up their mind before even listening to the album and regrettably has the bombastic nature of contemporary polarising criticism - "oh I don't like it, so I must hate it".
No, I never make up my mind before listening to an album. First time I catch myself doing that, I'm closing up the site.
DeleteI don't hate the album - it sounds nice.
And with a little effort, every single album on Earth may be made to exude a cohesive charm after a while.
brilliant review as always, george. i skipped the last becks but got this one on the strength of a (very positive) new yorker piece. and i can't help but echo your thoughts: "morning" is nice, but the album never builds on it. it's a shockingly textureless, emotionless, featureless record from a guy who was once the king of bells and whistles. the effusive response to it from critics proves, once again, that if your record is slow, acoustic, humorless, and serious, there's a far better chance of it being "art" than if its fast, colorful, funny, and seriously fun (like the still underrated "midnite vultures"). thanks, george!
ReplyDeleteWell, "harsh and undeserved" characterizes this review, for me -- a surprise, because I so rarely disagree with your "thumbs down" verdicts and appreciate that you don't seem to give them lightly, George. I hear more meaning in the album than you do, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteI also have to disagree that "every single album on Earth may be made to exude a cohesive charm after a while." Unless generous uptake of mood-altering substances are involved, that is.
It's the first negative review that I am reading for this album! I was starting to feel like a black sheep because I couldn't really like it (I am not usually a huge fan of Beck, but I liked many of his previous albums)... and now your review says exactly what I have been thinking about it from the first listen. Well done: once again you are a very reliable reviewer! (eagerly waiting the day when you'll start to review Depeche Mode, although I miss your 10/15 rating scale).
ReplyDeleteSo annoying when Beck's worst album to date is also his best selling and won a grammy. When will the public learn? :(
ReplyDelete