Beck - Midnite Vultures (1999) {2012, Japanese Limited Edition, Remastered} Repost

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Beck - Midnite Vultures (1999) {2012, Japanese Limited Edition, Remastered} Repost

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Throughout the publicity tour for 1998's Mutations, Beck, his publicists, and his label emphasized that this was not the proper follow-up to Odelay, the 1996 album that cemented Beck's status as a wild, post-post-punk visionary. He was still toiling away on that record, planning to drop it in 1999. By passing off the muted, haunting psychedelic folk-rock, blues, and Tropicalia of Mutations as a stopgap, Beck set expectations high for this Odelay follow-up, especially when word began circulating that Beth Orton, Kool Keith, Johnny Marr, and the Dust Brothers had all contributed to the album. Reportedly, over 40 tracks were recorded for the album, 11 of which (plus the inevitable hidden bonus track) were selected for Midnite Vultures. Ironically, in its final incarnation, Midnite Vultures doesn't feel at all like a sequel to Odelay – it's a genre exercise, like Mutations. This time around, Beck has decided to delve into soul, funk, and hip-hop, touching on everything from Stax/Volt to No Limit but using Prince as his home base. He's eschewed samples, more or less, but not the aesthetic. Even when a song is reminiscent of a particular style, whether it's electro-funk or a slow jam, it's assembled in unpredictable ways, with layers of synths, guitars, rhythm loops, horns, and sundry sounds meshing in strange, exciting ways.

As the album kicks off with the uptempo Stax salute "Sexx Laws," it's hard not to get caught up in the rush, and "Nicotine & Gravy," which brilliantly blends funky soul with '80s electro, carries on the vibe expertly, as does the party jam "Mixed Bizness" and the full-on electro workout "Get Real Paid," an intoxicating number that sounds like a Black Album reject. So far, so good – the songs are tight, catchy, and memorable, and the production is dense. Then "Hollywood Freaks" comes on. Though easily as immaculately produced as anything else on the album, the self-conscious gangsta goof is singularly irritating, not least because of Beck's affected voice. The song is the first on Midnite Vultures to feel like a parody, and it's such an awkward, misguided shift in tone that it colors the rest of the album. Songs that sounded like tributes now sound like send-ups, allusions that once seemed affectionate feel a little snide, and the whole thing comes off as, well, a little jive. It's not that the music is bad. Midnite Vultures is filled with wonderful little quirks, like the steel guitar break in "Sexx Laws" or the layered backing vocals on "Nicotine & Gravy." Ultimately, what prevents the album from being an unqualified success is the sneaking suspicion that for all the ingenuity, it's all a hipster joke. Humor has always been a big part of Beck's music, but it was gloriously absurd, never elitist. Here, it's possible to see the smirk on his face as he sings "step inside my Hyundai," "make all the lesbians scream," "we're on the good ship ménage à trois," and "Jockin' my Mercedes/Probably have my baby/Shop at Old Navy," all of which are a long way from "drive-by body-pierce" (from "Loser") or even "her left eye is lazy" (from "Nicotine & Gravy"). It's likely that all this smug smirkiness was supposed to enhance a record that was intended simply as a good-time party album, but it actually undercuts the joy that the music generates. And that's why Midnite Vultures is so problematic. Musically, Beck is at the top of his game, with about half of the record ranking among his best, but the self-satisfied tone of the album keeps it at a distance. It's possible to create funny, involving, clever, postmodern party music – the Beastie Boys do it with every record, and Ween has absorbed the absurd spirit of Prince more than most would like to admit – but Midnite Vultures misses the mark. And that's especially frustrating because Beck himself has hit that very target before, with both Mellow Gold and Odelay.

~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music