Record company and management claims that this Mutations is not a “real” followup to Odelay are misleading. This is lightyears beyond the half-assed roll in the roots of One Foot In The Grave. Any doubts of Beck’s genius have been settled now that he has emerged from behind his layered pastiche of samples with songwriting like a bantam boxer in peak form. While the album was recorded in relatively quick fashion for Beck, two weeks was plenty of time to create a fully realized, fully produced album rich with spacey keyboard effects, sitars and orchestration arranged by his father.
Produced by Nigel Godrich (Radiohead) this is anything but lo-fi. The post-ragtime piano blues of “O-Maria” evokes early Randy Newman. In fact, much of the album sounds like it could have been produced by Lenny Waronker (Newman, Ry Cooder, Van Dyke Parks), who happens to be the father of drummer Joey Waronker. The droney raga of “Nobody’s Fault But My Own” is one of Beck’s most original accomplishments. “Tropicalia” is a flawless tribute to the Brazillian movement of the 60s (see Tom Ze). “Cold Brains” wouldn’t have sounded out of place sung by Kurt Cobain, and rivals his best writing. The songs blend into a timeless, drowsy, pretty, low-key country blues flow that seems to end before you’re ready. But wait, there’s more! The album closes with a hidden, heavily psychedelic “Diamond Bollocks,” which shows off his tight and muscular touring band. With very little fanfare, almost anti-fanfare, Beck has accidentally produced a classic.
September 17, 2025
Chameleons – Arctic Moon (Metropolis)
September 1, 2025
Lathe of Heaven – Aurora (Sacred Bones)
