Sea Change (studio album)
by Beck

Album Rating: 83.00
(996/12)

Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - Sea Change

24.09.2002

Beck's pillow cuddling, breakup album. Probably his greatest.

1.Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - The Golden Age 90
2.Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - Paper Tiger 89
3.Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - Guess I'm Doing Fine 76
4.Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - Lonesome Tears 87
5.Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - Lost Cause 92
6.Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - End Of The Day 73
7.Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - It's All In Your Mind 76
8.Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - Round The Bend 81
9.Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - Already Dead 87
10.Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - Sunday Sun 87
11.Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - Little One 80
12.Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - Side Of The Road 78

Ranked in order of preference:

* Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - Lost Cause 92
* Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - The Golden Age 90
* Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - Paper Tiger 89
* Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - Already Dead 87
* Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - Sunday Sun 87
* Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - Lonesome Tears 87
* Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - Round The Bend 81
* Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - Little One 80
* Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - Side Of The Road 78
* Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - Guess I'm Doing Fine 76
* Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - It's All In Your Mind 76
* Beck (SC - USA - Sep 02) - End Of The Day 73

From SomethingSpecial 07/01/2025 12:15

A drastic departure from the sample-heavy, eclectic sound of his previous records, Beck recorded his most honest record to date, considered by many to be his magnum opus. Inspired by the heartbreak of his breakup with his longtime girlfriend, it features an acoustic and chamber pop sound, as Beck bares his soul in a way he had never done before on his studio albums. His voice has also never sounded as powerful, Beck now singing with a deeper, more resonant tone.

From VictorVale 03/22/2023 11:33

Pura poesia, fantástico!

From imacgill 08/14/2022 21:41

Beck experimented with folk rock on Mutations and for his follow up he went all in and made the most beautiful record of his career.

"Sea Change" is just the third Beck album I have come across, and among these three, it is by far the most melodic and most easily accessible. The other two are "Mellow Gold" and "Odelay" and on those two I was challenged on several tracks.

"Sea Change" is a rather subdued album with a strong roots point in both country and folk-music. Along the way I came to think of Nick Drake several times; and also artists Alex Chilton and Kurt Cobain might sources of inspiration for Beck, on tracks like "Side of the Road" and "Little One".

My great favorite song is "Lost Cause". A very melodic and quite catchy song, with evocative background sounds. The track was one of two singles pulled from the album and it did well both in the U.S. and in the U.K. ‘

The second single was "Guess I'm Doing Fine", which is a slightly melancholy and country-influenced song. A nice but also less remarkable song than "Lost Cause".

Among other songs that are worth highlighting is "Already Dead", which is so catchy that you might think you have heard the song before. Lovely acoustic guitar and one of the songs that reminds me of Nick Drake.

"End of the Day" is also very nice - melodic with a nice some quirky theme.

"Little One" was a track that reminded me a bit of Kurt Cobain's more subdued tracks from "Nevermind" and "In Utero".

"Sea Change" has to a great extent changed my impression of Beck as an artist, and he now appears to me far more nuanced than before my meeting with this great album.

From ExTeaSea 09/06/2020 22:20

It's really good for what it is but man I still can't love it as much as most people and two friends seem to. I much prefer fun upbeat Beck over slow sad Beck.. Fun Beck is what makes him Beck.

From teague 07/08/2020 00:06

Love this record. I love the intimacy, the production, everything. It reminds me of On the Beach or Tonight's the Night era Neil Young at times, but with the godly Nigel Godrich producing. It's beautiful.

From Boltzmann 03/06/2020 13:00

Rolling Stones-ish whiny music I love so much from the Stones, but without the same sense of humor it becomes self-pitying, instead of world-weary. Glad he stopped with the childishly aggressive synth sounds though (which were only any listenable when the Dust Brothers led them in the right direction); I think he's closer to himself now, but I've never thought of him as a good songwriter either. Just a bad musician overall, so the fact that he isn't so pretentious anymore doesn't make a huge improvement as it would with other artists. You can downvote my comment now.

One of the best acoustic albums of all time. It's hard to put yourself in the mindset of the Beck fan in the late 90s/early OOs with all of the pivots he can do with his sound- and still excel at them. Here, he cultivates a brittle, delicate sound of heartbreak and somberness along with some soothing, yet interesting, guitar licks. The lyrics aren't very intricate, but they don't need to be. This is a sad album and he wants to evoke the mood rather than the complexities. It may be one or two songs too long, but still great!

90/100

Best Tracks: Golden Age, Guess I'm Doing Fine, Lonesome Tears, Lost Cause, Little One

Beck shows his most vulnerable side in this collection of post-breakup acoustic tracks. You can tell the malaise, yet the disappointment in his voice as he evokes so much emotion in every song. His voice sounds like Eddie Vedder, and I'm unsure of if he actually sings in that baritone range, but he does a great job. The guitar-work doesn't have to be at the forefront, but I think I was just hoping for more of a significant melody from the instrument through these songs. Still a great album though!

Top Tracks: Lost Cause, Lonesome Tears, Sunday Sun, The Golden Age