Summary:Nigel Godrich produced the latest eclectic release for the prolific Los Angeles-based artist, which is more varied and uptempo than their previous collaborations.
This is their third collaboration, but neither the casual, light-bodied "Mutations" nor the intimate "Sea Change" anticipated this kind of flowering. [24 Sep 2006]
More than with either Mutations or Sea Change, you can hear Godrich’s rich instrumental layering beneath the rhythms.... Still, at fifteen tracks and over an hour, perhaps Beck needed a stiff editor more than the comfort of a familiar producer.
Even though The Information is neither a leap forward or nearly as exceptional as his previous collaborations with Godrich, it does serve as hope that Beck still has some great work ahead of him. [#15]
Yet for all the headphone-worthy sounds, the pace seldom rises above a back-porch feel and, at times, the stickers meant for customizing the cover seem like more fun than the music.
Many people feel like Midnite Vultures is Becks most risky album. I heavily disagree. I feel like The Information is Becks most out thereMany people feel like Midnite Vultures is Becks most risky album. I heavily disagree. I feel like The Information is Becks most out there album and I love every single minute. Beck makes a template were people can experiment with the songs, but also creates well written and produced tracks. There are three kind of Becks: Poppy Beck, Moody Beck, and Trippy Beck.
Some great pop songs are Elevator Music, Nausea, Cellphone's Dead, We Dance Alone and No Complaints. Elevator music has a great sing-along chorus and really makes you want to dance. Nausea has some great percussion and some great sampelling throughout that makes you feel paranoid. Cellphone's dead starts out like a good-enough rap song, but morphs into this great jam-sessions. No Complaints is a nice down to earth track after some intense tracks and prepares for the grand-finale. We Dance Alone is a great electronic enfused dance track.
Moody Beck appears on tracks like Think I'm In love, Movie Theme, New round and Motorcade. Think I'm In love just feels relatable and I love the Bass-line on the track. New round feels like refilling the engine and preparing for the long and interesting road ahead. Movie Theme has some amazing and synths. Motorcade has this feel like warming up.
And there is Trippy Beck on the other tracks. Strange apperition morphs into a different song and dilevers a great two act song. Dark Star feels like the opening of a Sci-Fi opus and uses some great samples from Elevator Music. 1000 BPM is Becks most insane song ever. The sounds mash and form into this amazing dance track. The information has some intense drums that really speeds the track up a lot. And last we have The Horrible Fanfare/Landslide/Exoskeleton. The horrible Fanfare builds up with some calm and intense instruments. landslide is my favorite of the three. It has this great guitar riff and intenser drums. Exoskeleton nicely closes the album nicely down.
Overall consensus: Sleek, but with deeper meanings, The Informations is Becks most risky record and pays of in Spectacular fashion…Expand
This is in my opinion Beck's finest album. It just feels so complete, and not in an over-stuffed filler kind of way. Every song has a This is in my opinion Beck's finest album. It just feels so complete, and not in an over-stuffed filler kind of way. Every song has a purpose, and together they create a masterpiece of musical craft. 'The Information' is a bit happier sounding in parts than the darker 'Guero', but it has it's dark moments too. It also has it's sincere ones. "Think I'm In Love" is one of the best songs Beck has ever created. Other huge stand-outs include "Soldier Jane", "Cellphone's Dead", "New Round", "Nausea", "The Infomation", "We Dance Alone", and "No Complints". I absolutely love this album, and even non Beck fans should pick this up if they want something new and wonderful to listen to.…Expand
Possibly Becks definitive statement as an artist. One of the best uses of production I've heard in years (not that Godrich is ever Possibly Becks definitive statement as an artist. One of the best uses of production I've heard in years (not that Godrich is ever slack, even on the more mediocre Radiohead releases post-Kid A), and Becks musings are as interesting and puzzling as ever. Requires much closer listening than his other work to fully appreciate, but the rewards make it more than worth it.…Expand
Awesome CD, perfectly captures the mood of 2006, and it has a great flow to it. Godrich's production is unreal, i dont think any Awesome CD, perfectly captures the mood of 2006, and it has a great flow to it. Godrich's production is unreal, i dont think any radiohead fan ever thought he could produce something this dark and funky and actually make it sound good.…Expand
V. good album; the only track that's questionable is the last one ('Horrible Fanfare...'), which sounds a bit too much like V. good album; the only track that's questionable is the last one ('Horrible Fanfare...'), which sounds a bit too much like Revolution #9. Other than that, it's got huge replay value, good lyrics, good music, and good beats.…Expand
As soon as I heard about Beck doing a 'hip-hop' album with Nigel Godrich, I got seriously excited. As hard as it was to imagine at As soon as I heard about Beck doing a 'hip-hop' album with Nigel Godrich, I got seriously excited. As hard as it was to imagine at the time, I knew it would be something special. And it is, for the most part. In fact theres absolutely nothing wrong about this album at all (except for 1000 bpm - I rarely admit that a beck song is truly just BAD). The problem is its just so smooth and comfortable that it never really incites excitement or exhiliration, as previous Beck albums have. Luckily, after hearing about 9 of the tracks online before the album was out, my expectations were down - not in terms of the quality, but in regards to how much the album pushed the tempo (or didn't push the tempo, as the case is here). It rarely puts its foot on the accelerator, but in its slow pace is still very layered and gets more interesting with repeated listens. What it makes for is a smooth, breezy album with the same kind of homogenous feel that was all over Sea Change and Mutations (thanks to Mr Godrich), and some really nice moments that do stand out eventually. Elevator Music, Strange Apparition, Motorcade, Inside Out and Think I'm In Love are my favourites. In light of the variation and shapeshifting that Beck has already done, its totally reasonable that he can make a 'Beck-by-numbers' record and get away with it, especially since its so well produced and delivered, and since being straightforward like this is actually something he hasn't done before. It may be the middle of the road but its the middle of Beck's road and thats a pretty freaked out highway to be in the middle of. The trick now is for him to not fall into the trap of repeating this. I'm sure he'll keep it interesting by continuing to work with different producers (hopefully Tony Hoffer again) and by being his eclectic self. Then all he has to do is get around to touring Australia again and my life is complete.…Expand
You can tell straight off the bat the critics don't have a clue what there talking about, take the NY times-"[A] darkly intelligent You can tell straight off the bat the critics don't have a clue what there talking about, take the NY times-"[A] darkly intelligent album", ahhh NO did you listen to the album, this album is anything but dark as$#le. Ok take The Onion-"There's nothing here that Beck hasn't done before", why yes the same old sh!t he's been trying to find, but you seem to give him a high score. Haa I love Rolling Stone almost everything they say is so wrong it just cracks me up-"One of the best albums Beck has ever made", right, alot of beck fans might want to take you up on that. Well for me this album was like listening to a "band" that…Expand
