Beck was eager to rock in 2005, as evidenced by the opening of his Guero album. “E-Pro” starts off with heavy guitar, stadium drums, and that funky ass white boy delivery of his that only he can pull off without sounding like a fool. I’m sure this was a hit back then, but why isn’t it still now? The breakdown on it alone is worth multiple spins.
“Que Onda Guero” is one of the funkiest tracks Beck had laid on us in years. It has a bit of that “Loser” feel, with Spanglish lyrics and references to things like Burger King crowns and Latino vegetable vendors. The beats from the Dust Brothers on it help, of course. You can’t go wrong there. They come back for “Girl,” on which Beck plays everything else and sings about his girl “with her cheap sunglasses walking crooked down the beach.”
“Missing” has Beck lamenting the loss of his girl. I don’t know if she’s the same one from the previous track, but he was heartbroken when he wrote it. You might not realize it at first due to the bossa nova beats and smooth groove, but can’t miss it with lyrics like “I prayed heaven today would bring its hammer down on me and pound you out of my head. I can’t think with you in it.”
I’m not sure which is funkier on “Black Tambourine” – Beck’s bass or the Dust Brothers’ beats. Money Mark’s organ work on “Earthquake Weather,” might beat both of them, however. The whole track is a great mix of 1970’s funk, trip hop, and acid jazz. “Hell Yes” is vintage Beck, with lots of quirky rapping, snappy electro-beats, and fun lyrics. I think, and hope, that it’s about a janitor who gets his groove on while cleaning floors in an office building and not giving a damn what anyone thinks.
“Broken Drum” is a lament to a lost friend, with nice lonely piano work by Beck. “Scarecrow” is a near-blues toe-tapper. “Go It Alone” is about Beck deciding he’s better off being a cool loner than getting entangled in a marriage that scares the hell out of him (and that’s Jack White on bass, by the way).
With all these songs about weird and doomed relationships, songs about death were inevitable. “Farewell Ride” is something from a dark southern swamp shack sung by someone with weathered skin and gnarled hands from fistfights and hard work. “I don’t see the face of kindness, I don’t hear the mission bells, I don’t smell the morning roses. All I see is two white horses in a line carrying me to my burial ground.” Good, heavy stuff right there.
“Rental Car” is about going as far as one can on borrowed time, and the closer, “Emergency Exit” is about someone coming to grips with death and feeling relief in knowing kindness and life will go on in their absence.
I seriously have no idea how I’ve avoided this album for eleven years. Guero would’ve been in my top 10 of 2005 if I’d heard it back then. Each track is good. There’s no filler here. Shame on me for missing it.
Keep your mind open.
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