[tbakeman]

Beck's Sea Change

How do you feel about it? I personally love Beck, and consider Sea Change his magnum opus so to speak. I first heard this album back when I was 16, and listening to this album has gotten me through every break up I've had since. Beck proved time and time again that he can be incredibly creative with his music on other albums, but when he needs to write a truly deep song, Sea Change showed he can do that as well. I'm not saying he laid his emotions on the line as well as Nick Drake or Elliot Smith could, but there is just something there with Sea Change that I just can't get over.

So I'm reading reviews online, and it seems to me that my fellow music lovers aren't as enthusiastic about this album as I am. People are saying Beck didn't write a single original melody or song (The Golden Age ripping off No Surprises, Paper Tiger stolen from Serge Gainsbour, one guy even said all the songs sound like Plastic Ono covers.)

So yeah, I know my BEA community wont let me down.... Sea Change belongs at #218, correct?

[Happymeal]

It's fine where it is (in my opinion).

[Silver]

It and Guero are right behind Odelay as his best album, and it's pretty great. There are a couple unmemorable tracks, but the album is pretty fantastic as a whole.

[junodog4]

I've never heard about the song rip-offs... I'm going to have another listen.
_________________
Finnegan was super bad-ass.

[tbakeman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWN3zb38RXc

So poppy, Beck didn't even want it on the album. Get really high and listen to that post-chorus.

[MrFrogger]

By far his best album, and the only one on my chart.

[Guest]

[undefined]

Honestly I think it's dissimilar to his other work to the point of incomparability. Still, if I were forced to rank his albums it would probably go something like:

Odelay
Sea Change
The Information
Mutations
Guero
Modern Guilt
Midnight Vultures
One Foot In The Grave
Mellow Gold
Stereopathetic Soulmanure
Golden Feelings

[Norman Bates]

It's a wee bit too high at #218 IMO. First, the rip-off Gainsbourg is really annoying (here in France Melody Nelson is very famous, so it was difficult to get past it). Secondly, the songs are nice, but they somehow sound more like exercises than heartfelt to my ears. Nice LP of course, I'm not trying to belittle it, but when I want to listen to some Beck, I'll go for Odelay or One Foot in the Grave first. I like "It's All In Your Mind" and "Lost Cause" very much.

Beck rated from best to least good :

Excellent :
Odelay
One Foot in the Grave

Very Good :
Mellow Gold
Golden Feelings
A Western Harvest Field by the Moonlight

Good:
Stereopathetic Soulmanure
Sea Change
Modern Guilt
Guero
The Information

OK:
Mutations

Barely average:
Midnite Vultures

A fine record and a very interesting artist.

[RoundTheBend]

You know... music is often just regurgitated. Sometimes it bother's me that The Strokes' "Last Night" and Tom Petty's American Girl start very similar... but guess what, who cares, they are both good songs.

As for this album, what I love about it isn't the melody, or that the song is written in this key, but the feeling of loss throughout the album. It is the best "breakup" album ever made. I also like the tone/mood throughout the album. It also has some interesting arrangements/sounds.

This album is in my top 100.

Odelay, while I liked it a while back and it would have made my 100, it just is sometimes annoying to be honest. This album has zero annoying to it.