BECK
Guerolito
Interscope
·Looks like Beck needed a bit of extra cash to pay his Scientology dues.
The thing about Beck is, when he’s truly on his game (as he often is alongside the Dust Brothers), his originals are whacked out enough that they already feel like remixes. Guerolito, an album-length remix of Guero, comes off at times as a pointless exercise in name-dropping and empty collaboration. Think about it – Beck gets to put his name in lights next to the likes of Boards of Canada, Diplo and Mario C, without even having to be there while the work’s getting done. Cool.
As a first glimpse of both Islands and Th’ Corn Gangg (formed from the ashes of The Unicorns), re-structuring "Que Onda Guero" as clarinet-driven indie hymn, Guerolito at least shows Beck giving props before we’ve even heard a note of actual Islands material. Guerolito only really works with 8bit’s Nintendo-ized go at "Hell Yes," and the closing new song "Clap Hands" (released last year on Guero’s limited edition set), arguably the best track from Guero’s recording sessions.
When all is said and done, Guerolito should sit comfortably alongside Bjork’s similar remix project, Telegram, as the album in each artist’s respective discography that you never actually listen to.
|
Copyright ©2006 FFWD. All rights reserved.