Beck Dreams Up a Beauty Meant For Dancing

Watching Beck at the various stages of his still flourishing career is akin to observing a mad chemist play around in the lab, outdoing himself with each spell he casts. "Odelay" got him critical love. "Guero" was its little brother/sequel. "Loser", the ditty that got folks curious about what he had to offer from the jump, fit the slacker vibe of that age delectably. Beck knows how to get toes tapping, but I think his brand new "Dreams" comes about as close as he's likely ever going to get to producing a mainstream ready piece. It's got the playfulness not uncommon in "Odelay" songs like "The New Pollution". Of course that whole collection tasted spectacular to any music lover raised on a steady diet of '70s groove. Beck's one man band aesthetic bursts through the dark veils of the here and now. Previous generations might liken "Dreams" to a hurdy gurdy machine gone psycho. It's apt commentary. Beck never meant a creative collage he couldn't warm up to. Lyrically he's loose as the dickens. His party hour come hithers reach ultimate fruition through the joyful words he utters. Wouldn't you love to see him revive an '80s era aerobics class using this unchained creation as the basis for liftoff. Up front he lures us out of the dream state we were captive to. Not that he shies away from mysterious elements. Maybe that's the side of the street Christian Science monitor walks on. Who can tell. In the last line of the first stanza Senor Hansen gifts us with the spookiest of scenarios. "Get a dog and pony for a judgment day." We live in a dog and pony show world to be sure. There's much excitement for feminine flesh in the chorus. This temptress is making him high. He wants to be free, or so the story seems to go. A dream's powers of temporary escapism come to light in "When nothing's right just close your eyes close your eyes and you're gone. That dream ship isn't jovial some of the time I can tell you from experience. Beck's boiling on the stove bounce makes the voyage worth the inherent risk. The dream universe belongs to Beck. No one can reach him there. Serenity, elusive serenity beats a path to his door. In the musical realm certain artists have been blessed with enough creative synergy to fill two craniums. Peter Gabriel answers to that charge in my book. Beck's cleaned up really nice since "Loser". That song got on my nerves at the time. It still makes me shrug my shoulders in full on whatever mode. "Dreams" satisfies with the celebratory explosiveness Beck has clothed in '70s retro in decades past. You'll loathe waking up from this somnambulist's paradise.