Customer Reviews

Midnite Vultures

5 star:		(197)
4 star:		(88)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

The new Beck album is perfect. It's gorgeous. It's a delight. Do I sound hyperbolic? Or just plain hyper? "Midnite Vultures" has restored my faith in pop. Beck, I could pinch your cheek, you gangly, goony freak. What's so great about "Midnite Vultures"? "Sexx Laws", the disc's first cut, kicks out the jams all funky like, proving for a blue-eyed blond, Beck is super fly. In fact, only Prince, or the Artist Formerly Known As That Squiggly Symbol, rivals Beck in sheer funkability. Drawing from classic 1970s soul and R&B, as well as organ-tinged '60s kitsch, "Midnite Vultures" is full of homage -and irony. But not for one second does it sound derivative. How does Beck pull it off? By incorporating awesome horn blasts and go-go dancin' riffs Freaky banjo pickin' and hilarious lyrics. If "Nicotine & Gravy" doesn't bust your gut, you're dead. Then comes "Peaches & Cream", a sultry soul gem with nasty background vocals the likes of which you haven't heard since Squiggle Symbol ditched the Revolution. Or the New Power Generation. Whichever. Listen to Beck's homage to the Isleys and Barry White on the slo-jam "Debra". Hear Beck do a right-on falsetto. (Where did THAT come from?) And girl, you better step inside his Hyundai, when Beck asks you. This guy means LOVE. Oh, Beck, thank you. I needed "Midnite Vultures". We all did. Go on with your bad self. 5 STARS!

Beck's new album, Midnite Vultures is on the whole a differnt bird than his other works so far. If you liked Odelay's aural brilliance and experiementation, Midnite Vultures will either shock you pleasantly or seem a little overworked and obscure. The opening track, "SEXX Laws," is a gassed up torent of 70s brass and big stage antics that gives a b-slap to all that voodoo daddy nonsense. "Hollywood Freaks," a blistering satire/homage to the modern R&B scene post-Puff Daddy comes off as playfull and has a nice groove.

"Peaches and Cream," is an interection between Prince's "Rasperry Beret" and kitch American advertising ideal. And it works in its repititions and scope. "Beautiful Way," obviously the best track on this album, is a folksy/traintrack-bluesy/post-woodstock track and could best be compared to the best song Beck ever wrote, "Nobody's Fault but My Own." It is a sad and rolling track about a girl going insane and destroying her life.

My personal favorite on the album is a track called "Debra," a 70s suburban love song again with a touch of Prince falsetto. (I want to get with you/ only you/ and your sister/ I think her name's Debra?) Overall, this album may seem a little less inspired and free than Odelay, but it is still better than anything that is out there now.

I'm very envious of Beck and his freedom as an artist. "Mutations" absolutely blew me away and remains a staple in my CD player. "Midnight Vultures" displays more of Beck's irreverent lyrics and deft songwriting style, with more of an unbridled glee and jump-about thrill. The last five songs on the album are the real treat here, but the album unfolds much better than "Odelay" (which, as much of a Beck fan as I am...I could never appreciate). Highly recommended.

This may not be the best album of the 90's, but it is certainly the album that sums this decade up. We've come from funk, arena rock, disco, hair metal, gangster rap, grunge, goth, and the shadow of Beefheart, only to have our precious advances swallowed and vomited back to us by commercial producers seeking to prey on our pop sensibilities.

How do you escape the shadow of consumerism? By laughing at it, breaking it apart, and piecing it together into a kicking party album that is so reminiscent of Prince's 1999, that Prince must have been predicting an album like this to happen. Every track on Midnite Vultures pokes holes in all the music we grew up with and weaves a surreal web of sex, self-hype, and ultimately fear and loathing.

"I can smell the VD in the club tonight." Yeah, and it smells like our future. Buy this album, savor it, and hope your kids understand it.

Never before have I bought an album and been quite so blown away (save for Nine Inch Nails "The Fragile" or Self's "Breakfast with Girls"). This "official" follow-up to the Grammy winning "Odelay" is more than just a follow-up...it is the reigning king in the Beck repertoire. This album combines soulful motown loops with a sexy groove, and of course, is complete with the quirky ingenuity that is Beck. The CD begins with the brilliant "Sexxlaws", and continues to pound away with "Nicotine and Gravy". And if you think that the CD climaxes too early with "Mixed Bizness", then you haven't listened to the rest of the album. After an early 80s throwback ("Get Real Paid") and an homage to Puffy Style Rap ("Hlwd. Freaks"), he shines through with the remaining tracks (most notably "Peaches and Cream", "Milk & Honey", and "Pressure Zone"). The CD culminates with the silky-smooth "Debra" which drives the CD to a smart close, and pushes Beck's falsetto in a Prince-esque ode to the threesome. Overall, this disc is a must have for anyone who is looking for good music in this age of prefab rockers that couldn't write their way out of a musical hole in the ground.

Critic's rating: * * * * * Album: Midnite Vultures Label: Geffen Records Type of music: who knows? Beck has done it again! : Beck is one of those amazing artists that can jump from genre to genre and still maintain his likability and style. He's been working hard for the past year, releasing two albums within 12 months of each other. His material has always been unique and fun. In "Mellowgold" he grabbed a folksy alternative audience, in "Odelay" he combined nearly every style of music into an alternative rock masterpiece, in "Mutations" he went back to a Dylan-ish folksy style, and now with "Midnite Vultures," he's continuing his trademark style and substance. "Midnite Vultures" takes a trip back to some of his "Odelay" material, but with more of a 70's groove and a funky sound. I was actually a bit worried about this album when Beck said that it was going to be a party album, but after listening to the CD a few times, I now have 11 new favorite songs. None of the songs disappointed me and there is always something new to find. Most of the songs start out with a 70's sound and gradually morph into more unusual styles like funk, rap, techno, alternative, jazz, and even bluegrass. His weirdness doesn't overwhelm you, and the album's lyrics are funny and twisted. Best Songs: While all of the songs are excellently strange, a few really stick out as my favorites. Quite possibly the best song and also this album's first single, "Sexx Laws" starts the CD with an upbeat funk/swing/motown sound. Also in that same vein is the song "Mixed Bizness" which has a great 70's groove that makes you want to dance and a wild funk guitar playing throughout. "Pressure Zone" is one of the more alternative/rock songs on the CD with wild sound effects and a driving guitar and piano pounding during the chorus. The song "Beautiful Way" takes a trip back to Beck's more folksy material and feels like an extra from "Mutations". Weird, man: Beck continues his pervasive weirdness with nonsensical lyrics such as, "I'm mixing business with leather/ Christmas with heather/ Freaks flock together/ and make all of the b-boys scream." One of the songs that highlights his bizarre sense of humor is the song "Debra" that has some of the funniest lyrics from any Beck album. Downsides: Sorry to inform you, but there aren't any. Overall: Beck just can't seem to make a wrong move. He keeps warping, testing, and redefining his style and it always works out. I don't care what type of music you like or don't like, you should buy this CD. Beck is always worth the investment.

Let's put it right out there--as an old (44) fart that's been listening carefully to contemporary music for four decades, I think Beck is the most undeniable pop music genius working today. Whatever style he touches turns into artistic gold. The fans who know this should buy this cd, if they haven't already. If you haven't heard it yet, just be prepared for Beck's partiest album, and though it's aimed more for the booty and less at the head, like Odelay it proves that serious F-U-N is an artistic end in itself. And to any of you folks out there that haven't heard Beck yet--especially any of you other old dudes that question whether there is any worthwhile new music being made nowadays that embraces old values without aping them--this would be a great place to start.

I am a Beck fan no doubt, but this album gets listened to less and less by me. After playing it for a few years now, I realized that I really only like 3 songs from it: "Sexx Laws", "Mixed Bizness", and "Debra". The thing is, those songs are absolutely amazing! But the rest has just become noise to me. Some of the other tracks are good, just not real good. I can't get rid of this because of those three songs, "Mixed Bizness" is just insane, and "Debra" has the smoothest groove, and funniest lyrics. Get this used, or pick up "Mellow Gold", or "Sea Change".

I made the mistake of listening to this album while walking to work. Yes, it woke me right up and instantly cheered me up, but it also gave me the strongest urge to boogie, and I couldn't do that on the sidewalk of a major street. So I settled for bopping my head and grinning like an idiot. This album does that to you. Never underestimate the power of a Beck party album!

Once again, Beck melds a dizzying array of musical styles into a sound that's all his. He's one of the few artists today who has the cojones to stick a banjo solo spang in the middle of an unabashedly ga-roo-vy, horn-laden motown track. I agree with one of the reviewers below; possibly my best buy since OK Computer. I'm gushing, I know, but this album really has it all: great tunes, great beats, great (albeit bizarre) lyrics, and last but not least, a great sense of fun.

On a sidenote: did anyone else notice the similarity between the last track on Midnite Vultures and the last track on The Flys' Holiday Man (Sexual Sandwich)? Listening to both Beck and The Flys paying tribute to (and spoofing) the 70s R&B seduction song--complete with falsettos and basso profundo voice-overs--is pretty trippy. Coincidence that Holiday Man and Midnite Vultures are my two best buys for 1999? Perhaps not...

Beck really out-does himself. Funky and falsetto - it's the record that Prince wishes he'd done. I've always liked albums with a varirety that it sounds like you're flicking through the radio dial - Beck does this within each song. The production is immaculate - every instrument and funny noise perfectly clear and perfectly on cue. Ready for a nice little guitar lick? - there it is. A tasty backup vocal? - right there with a perfect hook. It's blowing away anything else on the radio, and in my cd player - see, Lars? (if you're reading this, i told you it was the record of the year).