Beck: Midnite Vultures

He's a loser, baby, and a soul man to boot

Slacker-at-large wants to get all funked up

"Can't you hear those cavalry drums/Hijacking your equilibrium..." So begins another rampage through lyrical obscurity with Beck. Throughout the first minute or so it's good, if standard, stuff: drawl-singing against a soulful backdrop of bass, guitar, drums, horns, and spacey keyboards. My equilibrium didn't really get hijacked until the chorus kicked in, and Beck and his background vocalists launched into the line, "I want to defy the logic of all sex laws." The rumors are true; everyone's favorite slacker has suddenly developed a libido. I guess the neon highlighting the cover model's crotch should have tipped me right off.

The development doesn't stop there. The same chaos that prevailed on Odelay is present on Midnite Vultures, except here it's much more organic and controlled. Part of this has to do with the fact that Beck assembled a core group of musicians for Vultures and only had production wonder-team the Dust Brothers produce two tracks. Even the colder, more digital songs on the album eventually give way to a more natural sound. "Get Real Paid" sends up L'Trimm's "The Cars With the Boom" with lyrics like "We like the boys with the bulletproof vests/We like the girls with the cellophane chests," and the robotic percussion and monotone female vocals of the original. But in the end Beck combines the track's various vocal parts with a warm keyboard playing off the electronic sputters that serve as an intro to the song.

The more soulful arrangement provides Beck's sexual innuendo with a sincere backing, protecting it from the ironic effect for which some have criticized his work. Although "Mixed Bizness" boasts trademark toys like a synthesizer and a vocoder, it sounds much more like the work of a tight-knit funk combo than a studio scientist. The percolating drum machines that formed the rhythmic foundation for Odelay have given way to an incessant wah-wah guitar, stirring up echoes of Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On that provide context for the line, "She can really do me."

Not that Midnite Vultures is completely sincere. It's not all about sex, either. "Hollywood Freaks" is full of synthesized bass and percussion sounds common to Bad Boy rap tracks. Beck adopts a more aggressive rap style than ever before and spits out faux bravado like "Looking like jail bait/Selling lots of real estate/Looking like a hot date/Banging like an 808" in a parody of shiny West Coast materialism. As the album progresses, Beck buries the sexy sheen that characterizes the album's opening songs among increasingly surreal lyrics, and funk-oriented arrangements give way to the straight-ahead rock 'n' roll intros of "Milk & Honey" and "Pressure Zone."

The album ends with "Debra," a slow jam that combines the overt sexuality of "Mixed Bizness" and the tongue-in-cheek quality of "Hollywood Freaks." "Debra," a longtime concert staple, catches Beck expounding upon his desire for a ménage à trois with two sisters in a Prince-ly falsetto. Lines like "I said, `Lady, step inside my Hyundai'" make it easy to write "Debra" off as a novelty. However, the sublime bass hook, gentle, psychedelic guitar, and smooth horn arrangements make it impossible not to nod your head. Dilemmas like this are the best part of Midnite Vultures: you hear those cavalry drums, and you can either let them hijack your equilibrium or just groove along. (Geffen)

—Eliot Rose

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