Colors

When I began to research this album to see if I might like it, I found these opinions expressed: "echoey pop music", "electro-pop", "polished", "sparkly" and "Madonna ready". These descriptions were not meant as compliments. They are from one-star and two-star reviewers. But these attributes are the very reason that I do like the album. It is a pop bonanza! You can find speedy pop, electro-pop, dance pop, pop-rock, mid-tempo pop and more. Superhombre Beck is a wizard in the recording studio. His talents are limitless. His last album, "Morning Phase", earned critical acclaim and some Grammys, including Album of the Year. While I think "Morning Phase" is a superbly produced and recorded piece of work, and I was happy that Beck won the awards, it is not the kind of music that I want from him. I like it when Beck projects energy and attitude. His best albums to me are "Odelay", "Guero" and "The Information". On this 2017 album "Colors", I pretty much got what I wanted. Just about every track can be labeled "high energy", and about half of them have some noticeable attitude. Another thing that I expected, and did find, is Beck's usual tight, slick, precision-timed production. It is so tight that the majority of the tracks end quite abruptly, with no warning. And he again shows his gift for layering and interweaving different types of vocals - lead vocals, harmonies, backup vocals, reverb and some rap - all of which blend seamlessly into the kaleidoscopic music arrangements.The lyrics on this album are just as inscrutable as those on any other Beck album. I picked up on 3 main themes, each one found in more than one song: the desire for a tight relationship; the desire to be free of limits, even in dreams; and boredom or disenchantment with life. Here are examples, one of each. In "No Distraction", the need is clear: "What I need right now is right here, only you and me a million times, a million thoughts." In "Dreams", Beck claims, "She's making me high/I wanna get me free/nothing gonna get me in my world/Ahh, stop dragging down my dreams." And in "Square One", he says, "I'm learning to enjoy the ride on the road to nowhere...You'll be fine...when you lower your expectations." One line that I like, not really applicable to these themes, is found in "Wow": "My demon's on a cell phone to your demons/Nothing's even right or wrong/It's irrelevant."One thing I should mention is that if you listened to the samples for the MP3 tracks, you found a track #11, "Dreams [Explicit]". This track is not included on the CD. There are only 10 tracks.

I've been a Beck fan since "Odelay" and up to this point my favorite album was "Midnite Vultures" - in fact, it was one of my top 25 of all-time. You never know what you're going to get from album to album with Beck, and that's part of the fun. He's ever-changing and jumps from one category to another all the time. I prefer the pop albums to the more avant-garde, but some of his more mellow stuff is still great.With that said, "Colors" has now supplanted "Midnite Vultures" for my favorite Beck album. I've only listened to it 4 times now, but each time I love it more. For me, anytime I listen to a great album I can usually tell the first time I listen to it - this was no exception. While I'm probably in the overly-excited phase after falling in love with an album I can still say with confidence this is my favorite album in years. (And I have 1500+ CDs in a wide variety of genres from The Beatles to Barbra Streisand.)I won't detail all the tracks, but there's a distinct '80s vibe present on some songs. Overall, though, it's just a great pop album with tunes that will get stuck in your head. Two of my favorites - "Colors" and "Dreams" - go above and beyond straight pop and incorporate very interesting progressions that feel very Beck-like, despite the strong overall pop feel of the album.I rarely post reviews on Amazon but in this case I felt Beck's "Colors" deserves a clear 5-star rating. Do yourself a favor: if you're a fan of Beck (or just good music in general) this should be a part of your collection. Now.

It's probably no surprise to any longtime fans of Beck that the pattern of releasing a follow up album which has a new style and even genre is nothing new. When Morning Phase came out as the spiritual sequel to Sea Change, I was obsessed with that album for years. When I found out colors would be a collection of quirky pop songs I got a little nervous. Pop in general does suffer from the tendency to be over produced and generic in its sound. Then I heard Dreams and Wow and knew that Beck was going for his own thing with these songs. Then I heard Up All Night and was convinced I should be very excited for this album. I preordered it and got it yesterday. I have to say this entire album is amazing. I love every song on here and was even more happy to know that along with the singles there were other hidden gems like I'm So Free and Fix Me. Colors is an outstanding release from an outstanding artist. Beck is not afraid to be different and take big risks with his music. No a dull moment here and will likely end up my top new release of the year.