Music
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2009
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000
Upcoming &
Recent Releases
62
50 Cent
70
AFI
65
Air
70
Alice In Chains
53
Kris Allen
78
Amerie
79
Annie
76
Anti-Pop Consortium
86
The Antlers
75
Arctic Monkeys
68
As Tall As Lions
82
Atlas Sound
77
The Avett Brothers
67
Backstreet Boys
59
Bad Lieutenant
68
Devendra Banhart
71
Lou Barlow
88
Baroness
69
Basement Jaxx
81
David Bazan
72
Beak>
72
Brendan Benson
84
Biffy Clyro
72
The Big Pink
95
Big Star
46
Billy Talent
75
The Black Crowes
72
The Black Heart Procession
68
Blitzen Trapper
75
BLK JKS
53
Bon Jovi
76
A.A. Bondy
65
Boys Like Girls
76
Brand New
73
Tyondai Braxton
83
Brother Ali
72
Ian Brown
75
Michael Buble
77
Built To Spill
61
Colbie Caillat
78
Califone
69
Mariah Carey
81
Brandi Carlile
72
Julian Casablancas
83
Rosanne Cash
71
Castanets
65
The Cave Singers
82
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
64
Exene Cervenka
79
Vic Chesnutt
75
Choir Of Young Believers
81
Circulatory System
67
The Clean
84
The Clientele
72
Cold Cave
85
Converge
71
Eric Copeland
76
The Cribs
79
Cymbals Eat Guitars
62
Dashboard Confessional
71
Datarock
59
Dead By Sunrise
76
Dead Man's Bones
77
Del The Funky Homosapien & Tame One
88
Destroyer
73
Do Make Say Think
63
The Dodos
77
Drive-By Truckers
67
Bob Dylan
58
Echo & The Bunnymen
61
Electric Six
44
The Entrance Band
69
Fanfarlo
71
Jay Farrar And Benjamin Gibbard
63
Felix Da Housecat
68
Fink
66
Orenda Fink
79
The Flaming Lips
66
Flight Of The Conchords
79
Florence And The Machine
67
John Fogerty
83
Fuck Buttons
71
Nelly Furtado
47
Gary Go
68
Ghostface Killah
79
Girls
69
Gossip
62
David Gray
66
David Guetta
65
Calvin Harris
79
Richard Hawley
74
Mayer Hawthorne
66
Headlights
79
HEALTH
77
Joe Henry
67
Hockey
67
Whitney Houston
80
Hudson Mohawke
68
Imogen Heap
59
Jack Ingram
79
Islands
74
Jamie T
65
Jay-Z
51
Jet
68
Daniel Johnston
76
Norah Jones
77
Karen O And The Kids
72
Toby Keith
69
Kid Cudi
75
Kid Sister
66
Kings Of Convenience
62
Sean Kingston
64
KISS
63
Mark Knopfler
73
Kris Kristofferson
68
KRS-One & Buckshot
76
La Roux
85
Miranda Lambert
72
Ledisi
71
Sondre Lerche
56
Juliette Lewis
62
Leona Lewis
82
Lightning Bolt
74
Little Dragon
44
Pixie Lott
83
Patty Loveless
73
Lyle Lovett
79
Lucero
75
Baaba Maal
77
Madness
84
Madonna
85
Manic Street Preachers
61
Maps
73
Mario
55
Massive Attack
57
Matisyahu
62
John Mayer
67
Reba McEntire
66
Tim McGraw
65
Brian McKnight
79
Mew
75
Mika
68
Amy Millan
76
Mission Of Burma
75
Molina And Johnson
80
Monsters Of Folk
66
Morrissey
85
Mount Eerie
76
The Mountain Goats
62
Múm
72
Muse
66
Willie Nelson
82
Nirvana
96
Nirvana
80
No Age
71
Noah And The Whale
75
Noisettes
79
Nudge
64
OneRepublic
47
Dolores O'Riordan
74
Os Mutantes
78
Osso
67
Alec Ounsworth
81
Owen
73
Paramore
78
Pastels And Tenniscoats
54
Sean Paul
80
Pearl Jam
69
Jemina Pearl
72
Jack Penate
65
Phish
82
Pissed Jeans
61
Pitbull
79
A Place To Bury Strangers
79
Polvo
72
Porcupine Tree
72
Port O'Brien
79
Q-Tip
79
R.E.M.
88
Raekwon
69
Rain Machine
70
Ramona Falls
75
Dizzee Rascal
74
The Raveonettes
79
Real Estate
76
Jay Reatard
81
Rodrigo Y Gabriela
66
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
78
Russian Circles
69
Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
78
Say Anything
61
Sally Shapiro
78
Shudder To Think
70
Simian Mobile Disco
58
Simple Minds
72
Six Organs Of Admittance
80
Slayer
61
The Slits
77
Speech Debelle
58
Spiral Stairs
55
Steel Panther
75
Sufjan Stevens
52
Rod Stewart
68
Joss Stone
83
Barbra Streisand
77
A Sunny Day In Glasgow
74
Susanna And The Magical Orchestra
79
The Swell Season
80
David Sylvian
83
Taken By Trees
80
Tegan And Sara
68
The Temper Trap
78
The Dutchess & The Duke
71
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
74
Them Crooked Vultures
72
Themselves
82
They Might Be Giants
66
J Tillman
69
Times New Viking
57
Tokio Hotel
67
Trey Songz
73
Frank Turner
71
The Twilight Sad
60
Carrie Underwood
56
The Used
68
Various Artists
69
Various Artists
77
The Very Best
70
Kurt Vile
65
Vivian Girls
71
Volcano Choir
73
Rufus Wainwright
78
Wale
57
Weezer
81
White Denim
76
Why?
83
Wild Beasts
80
Wildbirds & Peacedrums
69
Robbie Williams
59
Andrew W.K.
65
Wolfmother
84
The xx
79
Yo La Tengo
83
Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band
52
Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson
59
Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Guero
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 39 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 112 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Geffen
Release Date: 29 March 2005
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Alternative, Rock
Summary
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.
Also By This Artist: Guerolito Midnite Vultures Modern Guilt Sea Change The Information
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
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...
Alternative Press
Long live the king of hip. [May 2005, p.132]
Drawer B
Even though Guero sounds familiar sonically, it still pushes Beck further into a league that he all but owns.
Read Full Review >Uncut
A mouth-watering feast of beats and grooves... as welcome as anything he's done. [Apr 2005, p.100]
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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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]
Blender
Bubbles with kooky sounds and melodic invention. [Apr 2005, p.112]
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.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
A thoroughly enjoyable LP that sounds warm and familiar upon the first play and gets stronger with each spin.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >Filter
Finds [Beck] consolidating his considerable talent by combining all his disparate influences into one coherent collection of songs. [#15, p.90]
Magnet
Remarkably, the shifts in tone and mood only serve Guero in the end. [#67, p.85]
The Wire
Guero turns out to be much stronger than its provenance suggests. [#256, p.66]
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.
Read Full Review >Urb
Beck at his best. [Apr 2005, p.100]
New Musical Express
'Guero' represents a very clever man being clever enough to recognise what he's good at. [19 Mar 2005, p.58]
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]
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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
It sounds like a shadow greatest-hits album, a collection of also-rans offering intriguing variations on past styles.
Read Full Review >Village Voice
Beck's sampler-songwriter m.o. feels freshest on songs evoking some version, real or imaginary, of Southern California.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >ShakingThrough.net
Guero is all over the map but the majority of its detours simply aren’t worth the trip.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle
Guero isn't exactly Odelay. It's more like a photo album tracing the phases in Beck's musical career.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
Many of the songs appear to be little more than weak echoes of their similar predecessors.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >Junkmedia
It's endearingly all over the place, but depressingly self-referential.
Read Full Review >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]
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]
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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
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.
nas haq gave it a4:
No way as good as Sea Change. Three good songs and the rest some awful hip pop.
Ryan R gave it a9:
"Girl" is possibly the best song by Beck, even if the chorus is "cyanide girl". I love "Que Onda Guero" 's street sounds. Interesting note, the songs "Go It Alone" and "Farewell Ride" are written in collaboration with the Beastie Boys.
Pat O gave it a10:
Guero is the best album by Beck ever, of 2005 and probably one of the best of this millennium so far.
Adam W gave it a9:
Guero & The Information sound like 2 halves of one very long double album..Guero is the better half though. Playful and somber at the same time, the majority of Guero sounds like Beck enjoying the up-side of a bout of manic depression.
Andy gave it a5:
The most disappointing Beck album yet.
Tom B gave it a10:
back to his very best; from the grin-worthy e-pro to the soulful girl and the yeah yeah yeahs of rental car...a masterpiece.
Luis G gave it a9:
....back in the groove .....and back on land( from SEA CHNAGE) beck delivers again ala odelay and mutations but with more ambition and less blab....some tracks highlight extraordinare others just bounce off the walls making you hit repeat again and again....too bad the market in inundated with hip-hop crap.....heck even becks plays tribute but with creativity and non abrasive words and beats ......WE LOVE BACK HERE !!!
