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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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Guero
by Beck
This much-anticipated release for the eclectic performer--a return to the "fun" Beck of 'Odelay' and 'Midnite Vultures'--was produced by the Dust Brothers and Tony Hoffer.
| LABEL: |
Geffen |
| RELEASE DATE: |
29 March 2005 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Alternative, Rock |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
E! Online
Beck's taken everything he's good at and made it better.
100
Alternative Press
Long live the king of hip. [May 2005, p.132]
90
Drawer B
Even though Guero sounds familiar sonically, it still pushes Beck further into a league that he all but owns.
90
Uncut
A mouth-watering feast of beats and grooves... as welcome as anything he's done. [Apr 2005, p.100]
90
Delusions of Adequacy
Guero is Beck’s most enjoyable long-player because it doesn’t pretend to be more than what it is: a fun collection of disparate, delicious songs.
83
Stylus Magazine
Beck has shed himself of Sea Change’s need to shelter himself in his songs. We have our urban craftsman back, to stir the dust in sampled record grooves and unearth for us, again and again, the new in the old and vice versa.
80
Drowned In Sound
'Guero' contains several familiar sounds merely repackaged and freshened up - remnants of the party album mentality of 'Midnite Vultures' sit next to the eclecticism of 'Odelay' and the folk sensibilities of 'Mutations'. What negates this is the conviction with which it's all delivered.
80
The New York Times
Where his previous albums have seesawed between comedy and despair, "Guero" comes closer than ever to merging them. [21 Mar 2005]
80
Blender
Bubbles with kooky sounds and melodic invention. [Apr 2005, p.112]
80
The Guardian
Guero's easy, confident flow makes it easy to underrate but, despite his reputation as a slacker, Beck's biggest weakness has always been trying too hard. It's good to hear him so happy in his own clothes.
80
All Music Guide
A thoroughly enjoyable LP that sounds warm and familiar upon the first play and gets stronger with each spin.
80
Tiny Mix Tapes
It's probably best that the album we've been waiting so long to hear is as safe as Guero is. At this point we just want our Beck, and Guero is as Beck as Beck can be.
80
Dot Music
"Guero" proves that the old, post-modern magic still works.
80
New York Magazine
Beck integrates his personae into a fairly seamless whole, and his knack for synthesizing disparate musical elements (hip-hop, robot funk, blues, country, jazz, garage rock, etc.) extends beyond samples and individual tracks. The songs migrate smoothly from one to the next; there aren’t any throwaway numbers to sabotage the album’s momentum; the whole thing coheres.
80
Flak Magazine
One of Beck's most admirable traits is that when he tries on a new culture, he makes fun of his effort louder than anyone else can.
80
Filter
Finds [Beck] consolidating his considerable talent by combining all his disparate influences into one coherent collection of songs. [#15, p.90]
80
Magnet
Remarkably, the shifts in tone and mood only serve Guero in the end. [#67, p.85]
80
The Wire
Guero turns out to be much stronger than its provenance suggests. [#256, p.66]
80
Lost At Sea
One must realize that this album was created to be fresh but not necessarily edgy. The difference means that the effort is intended to be highly enjoyable but not breakthrough material.
80
Urb
Beck at his best. [Apr 2005, p.100]
80
New Musical Express
'Guero' represents a very clever man being clever enough to recognise what he's good at. [19 Mar 2005, p.58]
80
Rolling Stone
His liveliest and jumpiest music in years.
75
Spin
It's his most varied record, but it also sounds for the first time like he's tryinig to make a "Beck album." [Apr 2005, p.97]
70
No Ripcord
Guero is a record with lots of great ideas and some very good songs... but I can't help thinking that there's just something missing from this release.
70
Billboard
"Guero" explores all of Beck's influences and revisits so many of his finer ideas. It's not the cheeky soul-funk orgy of "Midnite Vultures," but something more mature.
70
The Onion (A.V. Club)
It sounds like a shadow greatest-hits album, a collection of also-rans offering intriguing variations on past styles.
70
Village Voice
Beck's sampler-songwriter m.o. feels freshest on songs evoking some version, real or imaginary, of Southern California.
70
Paste Magazine
While it lacks the churn or drama of his earlier work or the dour intensity of Sea Change, it’s an album remarkable in its consistent, pleasant above-averageness, punctuated by bursts of true genius.
70
PopMatters
On one level, Guero is the quintessential Beck album, incorporating aspects of everything he's done.... Yet in tone these songs all carry with them the heaviness of Sea Change.
68
ShakingThrough.net
Guero is all over the map but the majority of its detours simply aren’t worth the trip.
67
Austin Chronicle
Guero isn't exactly Odelay. It's more like a photo album tracing the phases in Beck's musical career.
66
Pitchfork
Many of the songs appear to be little more than weak echoes of their similar predecessors.
65
Neumu.net
There is nothing here that thrills with its audacity, beauty, beat or lyrics. Instead, we are given a solid batch of songs that for any other artist would be a crowning achievement, but for Beck is just mediocre.
60
Junkmedia
It's endearingly all over the place, but depressingly self-referential.
60
Mojo
While there are enough inspiring moments on here to suggest Beck hasn't yet run out of ideas, it demonstrates that the best way for him to revisit former triumphs would be to travel somewhere new. [Apr 2005, p.92]
60
Q Magazine
The production lacks the loose-fit liveliness and lightness of touch which was The Dust Brothers' trademark back in the mid-'90s. [Apr 2005, p.114]
52
cokemachineglow
If this record had come out in ’94 it would have been groundbreaking. ’98 and it would have been good. But it’s ’05 now, and there aren’t many reasons to be impressed.
50
Dusted Magazine
The album’s biggest weakness lies in its arrangements.
50
Playlouder
Too often tracks drag us down below the high standard an artist like Beck Hanson has set himself. Red Hot Chili Peppers outtakes with some harmonica and vocoder balanced incongruously on top are frankly not good enough.
The average user rating for this album is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 112 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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