No.79 - ‘Guero’ by Beck (2005)

“Throw a coin in a fountain of dust, white noise, her ears are ringing; Got a ticket for a midnight hanging, throw a bullet from a freight train leaving…”

Beck; most famous for his mid-nighties hits such as ‘Where it’s at (I’ve got two turntables and a microphone), Devil’s haircut (in my mind), Loser (baby, so why don’t you kill me), and many more. ‘Odelay’ is arguably his most popular album to date, but ‘Guero’ knocks it right out of the park, in my opinion.

This is one of those albums i go to when I dont want to be hit by a wall of noise (no matter how coherent and excellent that noise may be). It’s actually one of my chill-out albums. The two upbeat tracks, and probably the most well known on the album are ‘E-Pro’ and my favourite, ‘Girl’. Hearing both of these on XFM when released (but once again, lost to the ages) was always a joy. ‘Girl’ just flows so well as a song. 

In fact this whole album flows, and thats why its so easy to chill to. There is an age to Beck’s vocals, which sounds so good with the songs and sets this album apart from the 90s classics. But there is still that bounce and classic spoken word that Beck is so associated with. There is some Brazilian influence throughout, mixed with the varied and unique sounds that you would have on any Beck album; Hip-hop, country, folk, blues, chill, rock, electronica. Definitely have a listen you’re not into the heavier stuff that I’m listing.

Beck Hansen started performing in 1988 as a folk & country blues musician. The word ‘Guero’ is a mexican slang word for a blonde or pale skinned person, ie. Beck. The original recording was so hi-tech and polished that it was “too good”. The producers ran it through a transistor radio that gave it the wonderful ‘dirty’ feel in the final product. The album charted in many countries, but hit no.2 in the US and no.15 in the UK. It is available on vinyl and does reside in my collection.

Favourite songs -  Girl, E-Pro, Pages 42-43, Earthquake Weather