Sea Change by Beck
Performed by: Beck
Editorial Reviews:
Japanese only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD - playable on all CD players) pressing. Includes the Japanese only bonus track, 'Ship in a Bottle'. Universal. 2008.
If you like "Sea Change by Beck , you might also like ...
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Beck's Talent Front and Center
Comment: Buried in most of Beck's music is actual ability to write songs and melody, once you strip away all those loops and trickery, songs are buried under there. Sea Change brings all this to the front with perhaps one of the best breakup albums ever written, and I say this owning albums going back 40 years and over 8,000 songs in my iTunes library. Sea Change never feels old, never feels dated, and is a brilliant late night album to put on and just ponder. I'd give it six stars if I could, it's that good.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Respectable Album From Beck
Comment: Sea Change marks Beck going into a territory some people probably would have never expected. Beck drops everything that made him loved (and hated): The tendencies to cram a gazillion styles into one song, his nonsensiclay lyrics, the quirky and irony style (and gimmick, for some times of it), and so on (granted, I don't exactly love this). IT's his most real album to date, an album with a lot of meaning. A real album detailing a hard time, like music should be. Catharis for Beck. A recipe for some great, emotional music.
So why the three stars? Simple, it's not that interesting to listen to. Beck, as usual, has a lot of trouble pulling off the folk/country/mellow side of him. He makes an interesting attempt to pull of some sentimential lyrics, and I respect him for writing love songs considering that his ten year girlfriend broke up with him harshly. It's a real album. But beside that, it's not that interesting to listen to. Just the same old uninteresting folk sound of Beck. IT sounds a lot better than Mellow Gold, it has some interesting parts, but on the whole, it's just not that memorable for me. Maybe next time.
6.5/10
Customer Rating:
Summary: Beck as confessional troubadour
Comment: I never really liked Beck's music prior to Sea Change. His music just didn't resonate with me. It may have been fairly creative and original, but it was seriously lacking in warmth. Too much style and too little substance. Lost Cause, the first single off the album, surprised me, since it was much more of a folky singer / songwriter type of song. So I took a chance and bought Sea Change - a good decision. It's a beautiful piece of work that flows very nicely indeed, with tasteful production by Nigel Godrich (Air). I first bought it on cd and recently bought it on vinyl, too.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Beck's best yet
Comment: Who'd have thought it? Beck Hansen, the onetime ironic champion of ironic trash culture, has grown up. The Beck we see here eschews sampling and sarcasm entirely, and doesn't rap at all. Instead, the backing tracks are warm, and lush, and Beck switches from rapping to crooning in a gentle baritone inspired by Nick Drake. There's often an orchestra, but it never overwhelms the main focus: the lyrics. It's a breakup record, and it's the most genuine thing Beck ever put out. He doesn't do any screwing around, he doesn't once try to display how clever he is. He just sings from his heart for fifty minutes or so, and the result is the best record Beck ever made. I know most prefer Odelay and Mutations, but I think this bests either of them. It's a very melodic, haunting, gorgeous record. The string arrangements are inspired ("Paper Tiger," "Lonesome Tears"), the singing is much better than it ever was ("Guess I'm Doing Fine," probably the most emotional song Beck's ever released; "Lost Cause"), and the lyrics are dead earnest, heartbroken, and much better than any others he's ever done ("Golden Age"). There is also some excellent production supplements scattered about, including prominent electric piano on "End of the Day" and odd sound effects that fit completely with the album's somber tone everywhere. Even lesser songs like "It's All in Your Head" have likeable touches such as stand-up bass. The best song is probably the eerie, spacey mood piece "Round the Bend," though it's also hard to argue with "Lost Cause" and "Guess I'm Doing Fine". He also gets points for using elements of the Far East in his vocals and guitar tone on "Already Dead", which demonstrates quite an able falsetto as well. He even works in some wary, cautious optimism into the chorus of "Sunday Sun," which has a U2/Coldplay style chord progression and an abrasive ending. A bit more variety would've helped the record, as it closes with two good but disappointing acoustic ballads ("Little One," "Side of the Road"), but as it stands this is as good as I've heard from Beck.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Heady, heartfelt, terrifying in its honesty
Comment: If you are the kind of guy that likes music equal measures Dylan and Drake, don't mind a little grit mixed in with your smooth, and know what it means to be knocked out and unable to breathe when someone you love leaves you...well, then you will have an inkling about what kind of music Beck makes on this album, and very likely, you will love it. This is simply the most elegantly heartbreaking break-up album by one of the most eloquent songwriters of our time. The miracle and beauty of the album is that nothing sounds fake, precious, or pretentious--simply honest and lovely. Beck doesn't shy away from the places that hurt when he writes. He walks right up to the bruises and pokes them. It hurts, but at least he knows that he can still feel. I hope he's doing fine.
EAN: 0606949339326
Label: Interscope
Manufacturer: Interscope
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Interscope
Release Date: 2002-09-24
Studio: Interscope
 | Format: Audio CD List Price: $13.98 Our Price: $10.97 Your Save: $ 3.01 ( 22% ) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Average Customer Rating:  |
Editorial Reviews:
Japanese only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD - playable on all CD players) pressing. Includes the Japanese only bonus track, 'Ship in a Bottle'. Universal. 2008.
If you like "Sea Change by Beck , you might also like ...
 | Mutations |
 | Modern Guilt |
 | Odelay |
 | Guero |
 | Midnite Vultures |
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Beck's Talent Front and Center
Comment: Buried in most of Beck's music is actual ability to write songs and melody, once you strip away all those loops and trickery, songs are buried under there. Sea Change brings all this to the front with perhaps one of the best breakup albums ever written, and I say this owning albums going back 40 years and over 8,000 songs in my iTunes library. Sea Change never feels old, never feels dated, and is a brilliant late night album to put on and just ponder. I'd give it six stars if I could, it's that good.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Respectable Album From Beck
Comment: Sea Change marks Beck going into a territory some people probably would have never expected. Beck drops everything that made him loved (and hated): The tendencies to cram a gazillion styles into one song, his nonsensiclay lyrics, the quirky and irony style (and gimmick, for some times of it), and so on (granted, I don't exactly love this). IT's his most real album to date, an album with a lot of meaning. A real album detailing a hard time, like music should be. Catharis for Beck. A recipe for some great, emotional music.
So why the three stars? Simple, it's not that interesting to listen to. Beck, as usual, has a lot of trouble pulling off the folk/country/mellow side of him. He makes an interesting attempt to pull of some sentimential lyrics, and I respect him for writing love songs considering that his ten year girlfriend broke up with him harshly. It's a real album. But beside that, it's not that interesting to listen to. Just the same old uninteresting folk sound of Beck. IT sounds a lot better than Mellow Gold, it has some interesting parts, but on the whole, it's just not that memorable for me. Maybe next time.
6.5/10
Customer Rating:
Summary: Beck as confessional troubadour
Comment: I never really liked Beck's music prior to Sea Change. His music just didn't resonate with me. It may have been fairly creative and original, but it was seriously lacking in warmth. Too much style and too little substance. Lost Cause, the first single off the album, surprised me, since it was much more of a folky singer / songwriter type of song. So I took a chance and bought Sea Change - a good decision. It's a beautiful piece of work that flows very nicely indeed, with tasteful production by Nigel Godrich (Air). I first bought it on cd and recently bought it on vinyl, too.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Beck's best yet
Comment: Who'd have thought it? Beck Hansen, the onetime ironic champion of ironic trash culture, has grown up. The Beck we see here eschews sampling and sarcasm entirely, and doesn't rap at all. Instead, the backing tracks are warm, and lush, and Beck switches from rapping to crooning in a gentle baritone inspired by Nick Drake. There's often an orchestra, but it never overwhelms the main focus: the lyrics. It's a breakup record, and it's the most genuine thing Beck ever put out. He doesn't do any screwing around, he doesn't once try to display how clever he is. He just sings from his heart for fifty minutes or so, and the result is the best record Beck ever made. I know most prefer Odelay and Mutations, but I think this bests either of them. It's a very melodic, haunting, gorgeous record. The string arrangements are inspired ("Paper Tiger," "Lonesome Tears"), the singing is much better than it ever was ("Guess I'm Doing Fine," probably the most emotional song Beck's ever released; "Lost Cause"), and the lyrics are dead earnest, heartbroken, and much better than any others he's ever done ("Golden Age"). There is also some excellent production supplements scattered about, including prominent electric piano on "End of the Day" and odd sound effects that fit completely with the album's somber tone everywhere. Even lesser songs like "It's All in Your Head" have likeable touches such as stand-up bass. The best song is probably the eerie, spacey mood piece "Round the Bend," though it's also hard to argue with "Lost Cause" and "Guess I'm Doing Fine". He also gets points for using elements of the Far East in his vocals and guitar tone on "Already Dead", which demonstrates quite an able falsetto as well. He even works in some wary, cautious optimism into the chorus of "Sunday Sun," which has a U2/Coldplay style chord progression and an abrasive ending. A bit more variety would've helped the record, as it closes with two good but disappointing acoustic ballads ("Little One," "Side of the Road"), but as it stands this is as good as I've heard from Beck.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Heady, heartfelt, terrifying in its honesty
Comment: If you are the kind of guy that likes music equal measures Dylan and Drake, don't mind a little grit mixed in with your smooth, and know what it means to be knocked out and unable to breathe when someone you love leaves you...well, then you will have an inkling about what kind of music Beck makes on this album, and very likely, you will love it. This is simply the most elegantly heartbreaking break-up album by one of the most eloquent songwriters of our time. The miracle and beauty of the album is that nothing sounds fake, precious, or pretentious--simply honest and lovely. Beck doesn't shy away from the places that hurt when he writes. He walks right up to the bruises and pokes them. It hurts, but at least he knows that he can still feel. I hope he's doing fine.
Technical Details
Binding: Audio CDEAN: 0606949339326
Label: Interscope
Manufacturer: Interscope
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Interscope
Release Date: 2002-09-24
Studio: Interscope
