Beck Laments: Their tongues are full of heartless tales...
Aug 13 '03
Pros Lovely, usually diverse bunch of songs...
Cons Sometimes boring, sometimes strange, probably inaccessible...
The Bottom Line A must-own for Beck fans, Mutations may not be appealing to people most accustomed to the singer-songwriter's earlier more mainstream releases.
Full Review
It is a nearly impossible task to find fault in the music written and recorded by the remarkably talented and adaptive Beck. Consider for a moment how he broke into the mainstream. The song was called Loser and it was culled from a slacker alt-rock album that probably was never intended to be a teeny-bopper bestseller. Of course, in retrospect it is easy to see why young Mr. Beck Hansen became an immediate hit—talent, brains, and awkward good looks wrapped up in a tidy package.
But not content to rest on his laurels, Beck (after blasting the world with a painful indie release or two) returned with a funky, alternative, and electronic album. You know it, you love it, you couldn’t get enough of it in the mid-1990’s. Odelay was appropriately where it was at (at the time) with songs like Where It’s At, Devil’s Haircut, and New Pollution. But after two stellar albums would the California native be able to do it again? Fans did not wait long for an answer and were soon awarded with 1998’s Mutations. And while the album isn’t up to par with Odelay or Mellow Gold or even 2002’s Sea Change, it is still pretty impressive.
Mutations represented a sonic change for the usual “mainstream” Beck album. It was dark, trippy, laced with psychedelic verve, and peppered with a good bit of folk. The older, more mature sibling to indie release One Foot in the Grave, Mutations wasn’t meant to be super popular. The songs were just on the whole too inaccessible to the vastest majority of the population. Whereas Odelay was hip, hyper, and appealing Mutations was strange, dark, and druggy. Mutations separated the fair-weather fans from the true Beck fans. And as mentioned it isn’t his best, but is still a pretty notable release with lone modest hit single Tropicalia in addition to Cold Brains and Nobody’s Fault But My Own (among a few others).
Beck’s writing on Mutations is an interesting blend—it is clearly thought out, but he recorded the album in such a matter using instruments and vocalizations that make it seem like a spontaneous jam of sorts. It on the whole works pretty well, although as much as I hate to admit it the album at times is bogged down in monotony and could have benefited marvelously from at least one wildly creative and unexpected Beck hit.
I already mentioned that there are three particularly rousing tracks, but with that said there are others. I do however find myself most drawn to Cold Brains and Nobody’s Fault But My Own. The former is an acoustic, atmospheric track. I adore the mix of bizarre strings and understated synths. It all works so wonderfully with Beck’s understated, lovely work. Nobody’s Fault But My Own also strikes me in much the same way. A slightly slower and trippier track, it is without doubt my favorite song of the album. The sitar works rather well with the acoustic guitar and Beck’s rolling vocals.
Tropicalia on the other hand is a strange, folky, upbeat rock track. It’s probably the closest the album comes to yielding a hit. But with the washboard, strange percussion, and Beck’s largely spoken vocals it isn’t nearly as appealing as his earlier “hits.” Though, it is easy to understand why it was the only even moderate hit from Mutations.
Of course there are other tracks of particular mention, but there are also a few of only average tracks—and it is these than makes this album something less than perfect or seamlessly appealing. The songs that are less than perfect are Lazy Flies, Dead Melodies, and the over-long album closer Static. The songs that are yet unmentioned are good if not great.
I’m particularly fond of the theatrical, tin pan of O Maria. The blend of piano with lightly stroked percussion works wonderfully and exhibits a different side of the chameleon Beck. Bottle of Blues is a wistful, folk track populated by the harmonica and acoustic elements—not to mention Beck’s lovely voice. Also of note is We Live Again (one of the top three songs on the disc). Beautifully arranged and featuring a cello, Beck on Mutations really is hard pressed to get better than this.
Mutations is overall a better than average release. I’m disappointed by the occasional “boringness” of the disc, but can on the whole excuse Beck as it is clear he was experimenting in musical textures and influences. Mutations isn’t as accessible as Mellow Gold or Odelay. It’s also not as good as Sea Change, but it does go to show that the singer-songwriter was experimenting in the darker side of music before his most recent release came to be. Mutations is recommended, although not highly.
Muze: Copyright 1995 - 2008 Muze Inc. For personal non-commercial use only. All rights reserved.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2008 Shopping.com, Inc.