Beck returns mutated
Kevin Kobos/Staff Writer

Beck
Mutations

Too often, a song from a recent CD is played on the radio which doesn’t represent the album from which it comes. 

Such is the case with Beck’s most recent single, ‘’Tropicalia.”

This first single is reminiscent of “Odelay,” where Beck played that funky music on the majority of tracks.  But the new CD, “Mutations,” strays far from those inventive loops and samples in most songs.

“Mutations,” though an entirely new release, is actually a compilation of new and old material that Beck Hanson has been tinkering with.  

Some songs are as old as his first demo tapes, and some have been remixed and cooked until Beck decided they were in releasable form. 

At any rate, to any normal Beck fan, this will all be new stuff in which Beck emphasizes another area of his music that we saw hints of on past albums but was never brought forth with the same prominence as it ison “Mutations.” 

A lot of this is due to their producer, Nigel Godrich.  Perhaps a few of you Radiohead fans recall his name from what has been acclaimed as the best alternative CD ever, “OK Computer.” 

That album wasn’t exactly one that rocked—it was more of a beautiful, stripped-down album.  

And if you look closely, you’ll see that the same person who helped to produce Beastie Boys’ “Hello Nasty,” Mario Caldato, Jr., is also the man who helped Beck with “Odelay.” 

The producer is the reason behind the similarities between “Hello Nasty” and “Odelay” just as Nigel Godrich is the reason “Mutations” is a step in the direction of “OK Computer.”

The point I’m trying to make is that “Mutations” varies greatly from “Odelay.”  Gone are the energetic and hip-hop aspects of “Odelay,” at least for the most part. 

“Tropicalia” and a few instances here and there prevent this CD from being considered to be entirely classified as a blues/country/folk album.  

Indeed, “Tropicalia” seems to be completely out of place on this album when you compare it to the easy listening, slow waltz of the quasi-Caribbean “Sing It Again,” or the dull, pleasant moaning of “Nobody’s Fault But My Own.”

So how is all of this going to run over with fans of Beck? 

Well, that depends.  Do you think Beck’s greatest songs are the ones like “New Pollution” or “Where It’s At” from “Odelay,” or would it be fine if the funk stopped and Beck went country? 

If you’re a big fan of extreme genre dabbling (and believe me, Beck can do this like no other), chances are, you’ll love “Mutations.”