Music Review: Beck, Morning Phase

By Less Lee Moore

Morning Phase, Beck’s newest album and his first on Capitol Records, has been described as a companion piece to 2002’s Sea Change. Since I hadn’t heard Sea Change in a while, I thought I’d compare the two albums. What I discovered surprised me.

Sea Change is a whole lot better than I remember. I recall it being boring and morose, but it is neither, and is actually lush and beautiful. Of course, it’s also a terribly painful and personal album, like a raw wound that won’t heal. Compared to Sea Change, Morning Phase is almost pastoral. Yes, there are still songs dealing with heartbreak, but they are far more simple and subtle. Nothing as bleak as “Already Dead” appears on Morning Phase, and the lyrics are more optimistic, as if healing has taken place or is at least a possibility. Even the title, a pun on the word “mourning” also indicates a more lighthearted approach to romantic misfortune as well as implying that this too, shall pass, since a new day is dawning.

After the orchestral instrumental opener, “Cycle” (another pun?), there is “Morning,” delicate and echoey, reminding us that Beck can use his falsetto in ways that are not Prince or R. Kelly impersonations. “The roses all have thorns,” he sings, indicating that with beauty there is also pain.

“Heart is a Drum” is a southern California song through and through, with terrific harmonies and acoustic guitar, almost like a gentler, more introspective version of Nilsson’s “Driving Along.” “Say Goodbye” is what I would consider a classic Beck song, even though a lot of people may associate Beck with the more pastiche sounds of “Where It’s At” or “Debra.” Yet, even before Sea Change, which was considered his most serious and straightforward work up to that point, Beck was able to conjure emotions in his music (think “Rowboat”) even when the lyrics were seemingly nonsensical (think “Pay No Mind (Snoozer).”

Beck has spent his whole career exploring various musical styles, examining the different facets of American music. “Blue Moon” is a lovely example of this. It’s his interpretation of the 1934 Rodgers and Hart hit, but it’s not a cover, despite that fact that he lifts some of the lyrics from the original “Blue Moon.” Perhaps Beck’s version describes what happens after the narrator is no longer alone. “Cut me down to size so I can fit inside the lies that will divide us both in time,” he sings, a fairly nihilistic lyric that’s smoothed over by a swoony chorus of “ooohs” and background harmonies from Roger Manning.

Although I’ve been a fan for twenty years, I don’t know that I’ve ever heard Beck referred to as a gifted singer. Granted, his voice is unique—thick and syrupy without sounding maudlin—but in “Unforgiven,” when he switches from his natural range to a falsetto within one line, it’s pretty remarkable. There are more memorable lyrics in this song, too, and anyone who’s had trouble letting go of a relationship will relate: “Down on his street/Just let the engine run/Till there’s nothing left/Except the damage done.” And although in the past, Beck’s hip-hop sensibilities have resulted in lyrics that are ironic and follow his own odd internal logic, on Morning Phase, like Sea Change, he is direct and candid.

“Wave” is probably the most Sea Change-like song on this album, opening with a majestic wash of orchestral strings and gilded with tragic lyrics and a dramatic vocal performance. The considerably more lighthearted “Don’t Let It Go” and “Blackbird Chain” follow, and while they’re both perfectly fine songs, they can’t help but appear slight and somewhat unmemorable compared to the first half of the album. There is more orchestral music in the hushed, haunting “Turn Away” which sounds like a Simon & Garfunkel song as interpreted by Elliott Smith. “Country Down” unselfconsciously evokes the classic 1970s singer/songwriter sound of artists like Kris Kristofferson with its harmonica and pedal steel guitar.

Morning Phase ends much like it began, as “Waking Light” swells with pretty, sunshiney harmonies and lush instrumentation until it ends in a buzz of feedback. Even when Beck reminds you of others, he’ll never let you forget that he’s created some glorious music of his own. No matter how many various styles he’s tried on over the years, he is always remarkable and steadfastly original. Morning Phase is a welcome reminder that Beck still has a lot more to say.

Morning Phase was released by Capitol Records on Feburary 25.