Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0602517754416
Label: Interscope Records
Manufacturer: Interscope Records
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Interscope Records
Release Date: 2008-07-08
Studio: Interscope Records

Beck's new album Modern Guilt, produced with Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton, will be released July 8, 2008.

The new album contains 10 new songs, and with the exception of last year's Grammy-nominated, digital-only single "Timebomb", Modern Guilt is the first new material Beck has written since the prolific stretch that produced 2005's platinum Guero and 2006's universally acclaimed The Information.

Modern Guilt is a tightly assembled group of songs that range in lyrical tone from introspection and social commentary to off the cuff wordplay and lighthearted humor. Musically, the album's ten tracks vacillate between economy and experimentation, hybrid and pop classicism, while consistently manifesting Beck and Danger Mouse's shared interest in psych-rock, folk, electronic minimalism and orchestration.

Beck is about to embark on a tour of the UK and Europe, followed by a number of US headline and festival appearances, culminating in Beck's biggest hometown headline show to date, September 20, 2008 at the Hollywood Bowl.

Beck Photos

In the last few years, Beck has freely sailed the seas of electronic and alternative music, but he is now back on land with Modern Guilt, an album that gravitates mostly toward electronic music and that, unfortunately, only has a couple of songs that really stand out ("Modern Guilt," "Orphans"). The problem has nothing to do with the fact that this CD is more electronic than acoustic. The sound is poor, and it sounds as if Beck were actually singing out of a barrel. Also, the beat doesn’t change from one song to the next, and if you don’t listen carefully to each song, you could not tell when tracks change. Despite Beck being one of the most creative and versatile musicians in recent years, the songs of this album have no depth. Let’s just hope that Beck surprises with his next. --Ernesto Sánchez (People en Español )

En los últimos años, Beck ha navegado libremente por las aguas de las música electrónica y la alternativa, ahora está regreso al mundo de la música con Modern Guilt, un disco que se inclina más hacia la música electrónica y que desgraciadamente sólo tiene un par de canciones que se destacan como "Modern Guilt" y "Orphans." Y el problema no tiene nada que ver con el hecho de que sea un disco más electrónico que acústico, el sonido del disco es muy pobre, pareciera que Beck está cantando dentro de una cubeta, y el beat no parece cambiar de una canción a la otra. Si no se pone extrema atención a cada canción no se dará cuenta del momento en que cambian los tracks. Si bien Beck es uno de los músicos más creativos y versátiles de los últimos años hay que decir que este es un disco en el que los temas carecen de profundidad. Esperemos que Beck realmente nos sorprenda con su siguiente producción. --Ernesto Sánchez (People en Español )

Customer Rating:
Summary: Solid
Comment: Has some great songs. Love tracks 4, 5, and 6. I've had this CD on rotation in my car since it came out. Just don't get tired of it. Highly recommend getting the whole cd, rather than buying individual songs.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Modern Guilt Is Better Than Most Are Rating It!
Comment: On his latest album, Modern Guilt, Beck returns to a more up-tempo affair. Well, an exception to the rule is the last track, "Volcano." Anyway, this is the most enjoyable Beck cd since Sea Changes, musically speaking. In some ways, it's even better, because it rocks. Sometimes it even sounds like someone is actually playing a drum kit rather than recording with electronic drums, which is something I always prefer hearing. "Volcano" sounds more like an outtake from Sea Changes minus a strumming acoustic guitar perhaps. It is the only track on Modern Guilt that doesn't seem like it belongs. However, every album needs to have at least one ballad, so to speak, on it. To be fair, Modern Guilt could have had one or two more slow numbers on it for balance, but the cd rocked so much, and the album was so short that there wasn't enough time to worry about an equal mix. If anybody wants to hear Beck play truly beautiful folk-rock numbers, they should try Sea Change. Modern Guilt and Sea Change are essentially the opposite of each other, both in form and tempo, but I think they are two of Beck's best!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Better MP3's and the record as a bonus
Comment: Inside the album you get a coupon to download high quality MP3's. Beck is the man! I can't wait to see him play at the Hollywood Bowl. The album is a classic.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great album, sounds like a 60's album with a modern day psychedelic twist.
Comment: I'm going to take a different approach to reviewing albums on Amazon. Instead of going in depth on each album and describe each album in detail, i'm going to simply rate each album with how many stars I feel each album is worth based on the below criteria. I hope this helps you make a better decision on purchasing this album with a simple individual rating. If it doesn't help read another review.
5 stars- Classic, Album goes beyond description, Perfect in every way, Could remind you of a certain time or place, Lifetime replay value.
4.5 stars- Near Classic, Incredible album, Maybe only one song that is skippable or just overall doesn't quite deserve classic status. High replay value.
4.0 stars- Awesome album. Very solid album from start to finish. Met every expectation and more. Maybe only one song or two that is skippable or just doesnt' quite deserve a classic or near classic rating. High replay value.
3.5 stars- Above average album. Solid from start to finish but there are a few songs worth skipping. Met expectations, minimal replay value.
3.0 stars- Average album. Nothing bad but nothing great either. After the initial appeal will collect dust.
2.5 stars- Major disappointment. You had high expectations that were ruined as this album is not good at all. There might be only one or two songs worth listening to. No replay value.
2.0 stars- Below average album. This album doesnt bother you to hear as background music but you would rather not listen to it if you didnt have to. No songs really appeal. No replay value.
1.5 stars- Terrible album. Makes one sick to hear it. No songs really appeal but there might be one song that you could stand to hear. Would rather throw in garbage than even waste space in your collection.
1.0 stars- Makes one cringe and the ears bleed!
*keep in mind, each album review might not be based on opinion of the band but the album itself in the bands discography.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: No Download
Comment: I'm a recently converted vinyl enthusiast, and I was psyched to the new Beck release on vinyl. One of the really cool features, I thought, was that by purchasing the vinyl you get a code to download the digital version of the record. Well the coupon that was enclosed in the record was code-less. Extremely disappointing. The record is quite good though.

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