Beck finally gets his act together

Beck Hansen's last effort, 1999's Midnite Vultures, was a druggy mess of an album. It showed an artist in absolute limbo with his creative direction. Coming off such an anomaly, there was nowhere to go but up, and Beck went way up. Sea Change is the best album that he has ever made.\nIn the past, Beck attempted to form new lyrical theorems. It was a bold move, yet the music was never interesting enough and his lyrics lacked the goofy brilliance of Captain Beefheart (whose lyrical method Beck virtually stole). He came up with a few good, anthemic songs, but his albums always wanted direction and coherence. \nThe big surprise with Sea Change is that it is an album about "stuff." The lyrics express feelings in such an eloquent manner that it makes you wonder why he waited so long to tell us what was going on. They are nuggets of emotions from breakups, the pathos of sadness and obscure musical beauty, turning each song equally into a funeral march and an affirmation of life. \nAfter all, if one thing is true, breakups are not the end of anything physically. The saddest part of depression is the realization that you are not dying and you must consciously make the effort to move on. On the opening track, "The Golden Age," Beck sings, "Put your hands on the wheel, let the golden age begin / with the window down and the moonlight on your skin / the desert wind cool your aching head." \nThe sound of the album reflects Beck's increasing interest in contemporary country icon Gram Parsons and '70s folk artists Nick Drake and Skip Spence. Electronic sound effects, pedal-steel guitar and gorgeous string arrangements surround his voice and acoustic guitar. The strings borrow more than a little from Robert Kirby's arrangements on Drake's Five Leaves Left. The strings on Sea Change, though, take the seductive British-Indian qualities from Drake's album to an aching, American, bombastic conclusion.\nWhen such a private artist puts irrevocable personal sentiment into an album, the listener can't help but be fascinated. Sea Change is the first Beck album that you can say you hold unequivocal love for without lying.