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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk
If there’s one thing that’s proved consistent about Beck Hansen, it’s that every fresh record will be a curveball, and so it is with Modern Guilt. If 2006’s The Information felt like a return to familiar Odelay territory, a gleaming beats-and-raps record with an eerie futuristic twist perhaps inspired by its maker’s interest in Scientology, its follow-up feels like a step out again into uncharted territory. Recorded with the help of hip-hop beat-maker turned multi-talented producer Brian ‘Danger Mouse’ Burton, Modern Guilt is a foggy, sometimes distant-sounding affair apparently inspired by canyon-dwelling psychedelic rock, conspiracy theories, and end-of-the-world angst. "You and me hit by a test of white evil/Watching the jet planes go by", he strains, urgently, on "Chemtrails", eyes fixed to the sky. "Orphans" and "Walls", two songs recorded with Cat Power’s Chan Marshall feel like a bit of a missed opportunity, Chan’s vocals pushed too far back in the mix. But Danger Mouse’s beats are a delight, giving what could be quite morose numbers like "Gamma Ray" a skippy, vintage beat group feel. All in all, it’s not Beck at his most engaging or playful, but there’s a thoughtful, mature quality to Modern Guilt that you don’t find when he’s playing postmodern prankster, and it’s got much to recommend it. --Louis Pattison
Product Description
CD XL Recordings, XLCD369, 2008 10 Track
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Mr. T. Knott
Format:Audio CD
I had loved Beck's earlier albums all the way until 'Sea Changes', as it was just naff (in my opinion, though i know others will disagree) and then he went toooo much into the hip-hop/techno/electro style and all his music started to sound the same. Which was a shame for an artist the caliber of Beck.
BUT....
......HE HAS RETURNED!
Modern Guilt is soooo much more like the old Beck i know and love. The songs are simple and there's more guitar involved. It's much more in the vein of Odelay than say...Midnight Vultures or Mutations - and it's great because of it!
If like me, you'd lost some faith in the music of Mr Hansen, then rejoice because although he's on a new label, this is VINTAGE Beck!
BUT....
......HE HAS RETURNED!
Modern Guilt is soooo much more like the old Beck i know and love. The songs are simple and there's more guitar involved. It's much more in the vein of Odelay than say...Midnight Vultures or Mutations - and it's great because of it!
If like me, you'd lost some faith in the music of Mr Hansen, then rejoice because although he's on a new label, this is VINTAGE Beck!
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Absolutely amazing album.
I originally bought it on download, but I've now bought the proper CD as compressed MP3 really doesn't do justice to all the layers and vibes going on.
Easily Beck's best album since the glorious Odelay. Definately his most accessible. Yes it is only half an hour long, but when you listen to it you don't feel short changed, it's half an hour beauty.
Innovative, wise and most of all you can dance to it.
Love it.
I originally bought it on download, but I've now bought the proper CD as compressed MP3 really doesn't do justice to all the layers and vibes going on.
Easily Beck's best album since the glorious Odelay. Definately his most accessible. Yes it is only half an hour long, but when you listen to it you don't feel short changed, it's half an hour beauty.
Innovative, wise and most of all you can dance to it.
Love it.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By M. Pedrick
Format:Audio CD
The most impressive Beck record since Sea Change, for this genre bending artist has finally produced a record that, rather than land erratically at whatever musical influence echoes his current feelings, is a culmination of all his styles. Melodic folk, post-modern alternative indie, whatever you call it, it's brilliant.
By DPVC
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Anyone who has listened to Beck and any one of his albums over his career can tell you that he has always made very idiosyncratic sounds to go with each album; there is no one Beck sound and its highlighted on this too though I would argue this is a more straight-forward sonically...
There is still much of the old Beck in there, particularly lyrically and I would recommend this album to anyone who loves straight-forward rock but would like to hear a new slant towards it...
There is still much of the old Beck in there, particularly lyrically and I would recommend this album to anyone who loves straight-forward rock but would like to hear a new slant towards it...
By Alex Pughe
Format:Audio CD
I was enthralled as I ripped open the packaging to find an extraordinary case. An empty case. It has brown on it it has grey on it it has black on it and it has white on it. If you are the rarest of collectors (beck cases) then this is for you! :) :) :) :)' xoxoxo
Format:Audio CD
another great album from Beck, I like everything he does so I am probably not the best reviewer but so far he hasn't astray from the path
By J. Jenkins
Format:Audio CD
After two albums that saw Hansen subdue his chameleon tendencies in favour of pusuing a sound that was distinctly 'Beck', Modern Guilt sees him back breaking new ground. You suspect that some of the credit for that has to go to producer Danger Mouse, if only because the music here, a dark brew of electronica, 60s psychedelia and pop, bears more than a passing resemblance to his own group Gnarls Barkley. It's a world away from his work on something like Sparklehorse's Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain, where he seemed hands off to the point of invisibility.
Further new elements include Gamma Ray's surf guitars, Replica's drum 'n' bass meets Aphex Twin futurism, and Chemtrails squaling Neil Young-esque guitar solo. Youthless is probably the closest thing here to Beck's past, mixing hip-hop beats, lyrical non-sequiturs and a chorus catchier than swine flu.
While Guero and The Information saw Beck juxtaposing a bleaker, more jaded lyrical perspective with his traditional party anthems, Modern Guilt is an apocalyptic vision set to apocalyptic music. The mix of conspiracy theory, scientologist imagery, and more tangible concerns (global warming, nuclear war, existential angst) combine to form a nightmarish vision worthy of Philip K. Dick.
Further new elements include Gamma Ray's surf guitars, Replica's drum 'n' bass meets Aphex Twin futurism, and Chemtrails squaling Neil Young-esque guitar solo. Youthless is probably the closest thing here to Beck's past, mixing hip-hop beats, lyrical non-sequiturs and a chorus catchier than swine flu.
While Guero and The Information saw Beck juxtaposing a bleaker, more jaded lyrical perspective with his traditional party anthems, Modern Guilt is an apocalyptic vision set to apocalyptic music. The mix of conspiracy theory, scientologist imagery, and more tangible concerns (global warming, nuclear war, existential angst) combine to form a nightmarish vision worthy of Philip K. Dick.
11 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Like I said above, nearly all the reviews I've read for Modern Guilt have praised it as a return to form, "best since Sea Change", and that sort of garbage. Lazy, lazy journalism, particularly considering I read the exact same things about previous two albums (and bona fide clinkers) Guero and The Information. Where Modern Guilt outshines those albums is in its length, as both were at least twice as long as the half-hour Modern Guilt. That, and the music.
Which is fantastic. For reasons I don't understand, this Beck album took me the longest to get into. Well, of the ones I like. The less said about the boring Mellow Gold and the HIDEOUS Midnite Vultures the better. I was initially put off by how minimalist the album sounds. After about three listens, I was completely and utterly dependent on it. I couldn't do without it. Still can't. Strange that, isn't it? I think the reason for it is that I like the songs, or something.
Seriously though, the songs are fantastic. From the opener "Orphans" to closer "Volcano", there's not a duff moment on here. Plus, not one of the songs outstays its welcome. Once the verses, choruses and bridges have had their moment, its onto the next one. "Gamma Ray" is about the funnest song of the summer so far, "Chemtrails" has some incredible drumming and eerie vocals, "Modern Guilt" is relentlessly catchy, "Youthless" and "Replica" sound like Guero culls, "Walls" could pass for a Gnarls Barkley song (thanks Danger Mouse), "Soul of a Man" is sleazy as anything, "Profanity Prayers" is a super-happy bass fest and "Volcano" is perfect. The songs are as sparse as the artwork, but Beck doesn't need to layer his songs full of washboard solos and Schubert to be great. Modern Guilt's your proof.
Which is fantastic. For reasons I don't understand, this Beck album took me the longest to get into. Well, of the ones I like. The less said about the boring Mellow Gold and the HIDEOUS Midnite Vultures the better. I was initially put off by how minimalist the album sounds. After about three listens, I was completely and utterly dependent on it. I couldn't do without it. Still can't. Strange that, isn't it? I think the reason for it is that I like the songs, or something.
Seriously though, the songs are fantastic. From the opener "Orphans" to closer "Volcano", there's not a duff moment on here. Plus, not one of the songs outstays its welcome. Once the verses, choruses and bridges have had their moment, its onto the next one. "Gamma Ray" is about the funnest song of the summer so far, "Chemtrails" has some incredible drumming and eerie vocals, "Modern Guilt" is relentlessly catchy, "Youthless" and "Replica" sound like Guero culls, "Walls" could pass for a Gnarls Barkley song (thanks Danger Mouse), "Soul of a Man" is sleazy as anything, "Profanity Prayers" is a super-happy bass fest and "Volcano" is perfect. The songs are as sparse as the artwork, but Beck doesn't need to layer his songs full of washboard solos and Schubert to be great. Modern Guilt's your proof.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
10 songs, 34 minutes, one of his best!
One thing is for sure that when you buy a Beck album, you never really know what to expect, such is the multi-faceted nature of the artist, and you definitely have to approach most... Read more
Published on 5 Dec 2008 by A. Sweeney
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pleasent surprise
Couldnt really be bothered with another beck album boring me to sleep none the less i was given this cd as a gift and well..............what a surprise! Read more
Published on 10 Sep 2008 by D. Williams
2.0 out of 5 stars
Competent, but no classic
'Modern Guilt' has the feeling of an 'in-between' album, although having said that, Beck's last truly great album was 'Sea Change' - 'The Information' and 'Guero' had moments of... Read more
Published on 21 Aug 2008 by A. Wright
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful reminder of Beck's genius
I can't really see what people are complaining about. Beck has spent the last countless years reeling out album after album of quality, thought provoking and truly original... Read more
Published on 24 July 2008 by A. BUNCALL
4.0 out of 5 stars
Modern guilt of past crimes
I like any hardcore fan of Beck from the start, stopped listening to him when the atrocity that was Midnight Vultures came out. Read more
Published on 21 July 2008 by Ziramen Tao
1.0 out of 5 stars
No Beck. No.
The i-tunes exclusive single "Timebomb" was no masterpiece and seemed a bit too much like a mid life crisis attempt to rekindle the fun of "Sexx Laws" era Beck. Read more
Published on 17 July 2008
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