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Review: Beck's 'Midnite Vultures'
by William S. Repsher

published 12/6/99

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William Repsher is a LeisureSuit.net staff writer based in Queens.



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Subj: hunting
i meen what is he doing now?

-- Debra Meen
Jun 14, 2005 at 9:35AM

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beck beck beck
Beck's new album "Midnite Vultures" is a load of fun. With his always-inventive lyrics and great sense of pop history, one can listen to the whole thing and constantly find neat references and glib one-liners that are the mark of great songwriting.

The problem: he spent a few years working on this? A funky party album? It's not a bad album, but three years in the making? Last year, he put out Mutations as a sort of stop-gap "in-between" album while he slaved away on "Midnite Vultures". He might want to consider making a living out of in-between albums, because "Mutations" is better.

On "Midnite Vultures", it's Parliament-Funkadelic background vocals, synth pop and early ‘80's electro funk & rap that serve as his sound palette. On "Odelay," he was all over the place, sampling everything from Van Morrison's 60's blues band, Them, to James Brown. The samples were parts of songs, like the breakthrough "Where It's At," that began sounding like a 70' cop show theme, moved into James Bond territory, and all the while had a hip-hop beat that all fit perfectly. Like that revolutionary moment on "Loser" when the slide guitar is cut off by a beat box, Beck was mixing styles so expertly and effortlessly that he made it all sound natural and easy.

There is very little quite that inventive on "Midnite Vultures". If he does anything, he simply takes whatever genre the song is working in and tweaks the sound with off-speed vocals or weird instrumental touches. About the only song that breaks out here is "Nicotine & Gravy" with its creepy "I don't want to die tonight" chant amidst the P-Funk vocals weaving through a vaguely Middle Eastern melody, and a shaky saxophone solo worthy of late-70's Bowie. "Milk and Honey" also develops into a pretty interesting mix of dance-floor stomp and ham-fisted 70's power chords, with cheesy computer game effects buzzing all around.

Most of the songs here aren't bad--they simply don't do all that much. "Beautiful Way" is a languid, spacey ballad with steel guitars that's supposed to sound like an updated "Ode to Billy Joe," but the song simply doesn't shift gears in any sense and gets boring after two minutes. "Debra" is Beck's unabashed stab at soul balladry a la the Isley Brothers or any number of 70's R&B bands with a falsetto singer. It's not embarrassing, and he does a nice job with it. But, so what? If I want to hear this stuff, I'll go straight back to the source and play a Chi-Lites' compilation or a few of my "Soul Hits of the 70's" compilations.

"Mutations" is a better album for one reason only: the songs. He wrote stronger melodies, and while he may not have monkeyed with production values as much as on "Odelay" or "Midnite Vultures", he made it clear that he knows how to write good songs, and that his studio tricks were just that. There seems to be this strange juxtaposition being set up with Beck in that when he experiments with old R&B/black elements, he's considered inventive and risk-taking, whereas when he does the same with white/pop elements, he's making "in-between" albums.

Is it because he's white? I don't know, but it makes no sense to me, as a good song is a good song, no matter who writes it or where the influences come from. I recall the shock of seeing Beck perform live for the first time, how he pulled those James Brown moves, and the audience didn't know if he was joking or serious. I thought he was dead serious--and great--but it was that we are so unused to seeing a nerdy white guy, aside from Mick Jagger, moving that way that it takes a moment to register that he's running the risk of looking like a fool, which he didn't.

That moment may have passed Beck by. I just saw him do the same moves last night on "Saturday Night Live" while performing "Mixed Bizness" from the new album. He still looked great--only this time professional rather than jaw-dropping. That may be the same problem I have with "Midnite Vultures". I've already read a handful of raving reviews that haven't picked up on this, and I imagine that's simply the gratitude most reviewers feel in listening to good music as opposed to the usual dreck. I'm simply saying I expect more from Beck than relief from the ordinary.


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THE YAK SHACK


Name: Debra Meen
Subject: hunting
-- Jun 14, 2005 at 9:35AM
i meen what is he doing now?

Name: phill
Subject: BECK
-- Aug 10, 2003 at 8:23PM
hey again guys, i jus got the record mellow gold and i was jus wondering wat beck is all bout i meen wat is he doing now and is he so weird i meen i like him but yea ttyl dudes

Name: phill
Subject: BECK
-- Aug 10, 2003 at 8:21PM
hey, guys i'm just getting into BECK and i would like 2 no more about him, b/c i herd that when he recorded the album "MELLOW GOLD" he was stoned in amsterdam and recorded it. i would also like 2 know if beck is playing an IL(illinois) and since i have never ben 2 a concert ever i would lie him come here and play the song LOSER. thanx guys

Phill

Name: William S. Repsher Responds
Subject: Re: something you should know
-- Jun 23, 2000 at 7:33PM
Andrew, I checked out that Beck b-side thing -- only to find that it's all the more reason to dog Napster long and hard? Why? That album will be a Japanese import, priced at around $34. Furthermore, the set list is pathetically small and doesn't include some of the favorites (like "One of These Days") that were easily found on Napster.

Situations like this are exactly what I use Napster for. If Beck came to his senses, he could put out a double CD of all his b-sides and kick some major ass.

Name: Andrew
Subject: something you should know
-- Jun 22, 2000 at 4:00PM
yeah there are some great b-sides out there. And they'll be released pretty soon onto one album. Yep, I went to get a list of b-sides and I hit the jackpot. Beck's putting out a compilation of his b-sides. I forget the name, but go to www.beck.com so you can take a look.

Name: William S. Repsher Responds
Subject: Re: enjoyable...but not great
-- Jun 21, 2000 at 9:00AM
I'll tell you one thing, Andrew -- get thee to Napster, first stopping at one of Beck's websites to get a list of his b-sides, an then go about downloading said b-sides, as there are dozens.

Some great stuff out there -- I'd say you could make one b-side compilation as good as any album he's put out.

Name: Andrew
Subject: enjoyable...but not great
-- Jun 20, 2000 at 2:59PM
I would agree that this is not a great Beck album. It doen't have the shock factor that made his previous albums so creative and beautiful, but I must say that i like it just as much as Mutations. Midnight Vulture's is basically the opposite. Mutations was a mellow folk album that (in my opinion) got a boring. Midnight Vultures is an overdose of soul and funk. Instead of being mellow and boring, it is instead a bit too silly and extravagant. When it comes to the record itself, I would say it is at the same caliber as Mutations. Neither are better than the other, but instead just very different. Then again, if you don't like folk, then you would like this much better than Mutations, but if you don't like to party, then you'd like Mutations much better than this. It all depends.

Name: William S. Repsher Responds
Subject: Re: oooh baby
-- Dec 21, 1999 at 7:17PM
Thank you, Love Muffin, but I know that's not your real name. I know your real name is Artist Formerly Known as Love Muffin. Or a symbol that looks like a penis rising out of a muffin.

You know what that song reminds me of? Emotional Rescue by the Stones. That, or me singing songs from Car Wash in the shower.

Name: Love Muffin
Subject: oooh baby
-- Dec 21, 1999 at 2:36PM
i want to get withchu, William S., and your sister, I think her name is Debra. . . . .

Name: William S. Repsher Responds
Subject: Re: Mr. Hansen
-- Dec 8, 1999 at 11:57AM
Thank you, Mr. 5Ace. (Face? Five-ace?) I gave the album a good listen last night and came up with the much the same reaction: sounds great, but a lot of the songs just aren't quite there. Still, even when he's messing around, he's far above a lot of what's out there. My favorite rhyme is the one about Norman Schwartzkopf.

Name: Johnny5Ace
Subject: Mr. Hansen
-- Dec 8, 1999 at 4:05AM
Good review--especially the second to last line. See, I'm not the biggest Beck fan (don't even like Odelay all that much), but I do think that even mediocre Beck is better than pretty much everything else on the radio.

I bought the album for "Sexx Laws," because it's awfully catchy and fun. And the rest of the album is, as you mention, very similar. I enjoy it. Shades of The Artist (FKAP) as well, back when he made good music.

And anyone who can pull off rhymes about nicotine and gravy, a girl looking Israeli, and one eye being lazy...is A-OK in my book.


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