Beck - Morning Phase

Sea Change, Part 2.

Sea Change holds a pretty special place in my heart. It was one of "those albums" you hear in High School that opens your eyes to a certain aspect of music, and every time you hear it nostalgia takes over.

When I heard Beck was releasing another album in the same vein as Sea Change, I was extremely excited. I heard 30 seconds of one of these songs in anticipation of the album, and that was enough to send me over the top in anticipation.

However, I think my love for Sea Change is working against Morning Phase. I can't help but constantly compare these songs to the strong feelings I have toward the former, and I spend the entire album thinking of listening to the songs I grew up with. It's kind of a bummer, as I can tell the songs on Morning Phase are really great. There are banjos, mandolins, and plenty of reverbed "Oooohs" to make any sentimental music fan get lost in the album's warmth.

But it's not Sea Change.

If you haven't heard Sea Change, I'm sure you could flip a coin and listen to the album that comes up heads. That's the one you will fall in love with. I bet if I had heard Morning Phase years ago, it would have had just as great an impact on me.

But really, why are these albums so damn similar? It's kind of annoying when you think about it. It doesn't really seem like Beck put much thought into this one. He just figured "Sea Change was pretty cool. I'mma do that again". I mean, the album cover for Morning Phase might as well have been one of the alternate album covers for Sea Change. But even more than album art and acoustic guitars, the song "Morning" is the same damn song as "Golden Age". The same song. You can't improve on "Golden Age", Beck. It is the perfect song. Don't add falsetto and try to fool us. It is not working.

See for yourself below. In fact, listen to both and buy the album that holds the song you like more. (It'll be Sea Change, trust me).