One of the most formative moments of my musical career as an “adolescent male” was when I accidentally bought Beck’s 2006 album Guero instead of Jeff Beck’s 2003 album Jeff whilst not attending grade 11 math at my local HMV. At first, I was so disappointed by my mistake. But, as I let the CD play in my room, I began to realize that I had actually stumbled upon something amazing.
“Loser” had already been a reasonably-sized hit on 1994’s album Mellow Gold, but Beck had not as yet pierced the veil of teenage opacity. “Loser” can pass by under the guise of “another decent rock song on the radio” without warranting further investigation. Guero and the tracks therein are divergent enough from your “typical rock/indie music” to demand your attention and make more active listening a necessity— which is weird, in a way, because Beck’s lyrics are nonsense. 16-year-old me was amazed at how much I liked the intersection of “good musicianship” and “weird sh*t” (an intersection I would visit again when I did eventually get my hands on Jeff Beck’s album).
I feel like this album never really got the attention it deserved. It is a fantastic album, not just in the “listenability” of its songs, but also in “average song quality” and “overall artistic direction.”
This is the kind of Big Hat Energy Beck was projecting in 2006. He has only become more powerful in the years since.
Geuro is solid. There are 15 tracks and at least half of them are good. A further 5 are excellent. This is rare stuff.
The theme of the album also stays consistent, with the “faint hint” of 1960s Clint Eastwood-in-a-poncho-vibes throughout.
Listen to…
The brilliant minimalism of the track works perfectly with Beck’s rap-like lyrical pace. The interplay between the rubbery bass and that one, really high piano note carries what is actually kind of a “bare bones” song with inexhaustible energy.
Some people really, really like this song. I’m not on that level but it is clearly very good. I really like that the track keeps some of the “imperfections” and finger noise from the frets of the guitar, giving the song a really granular and public transportation performance vibe.
This song really gets me. It feels sad. Farewell Ride is a strong candidate for the theme song of my funeral. This is the part of the movie where the “actual conflict” and “big finale” of the film have been resolved and Clint Eastwood is stoically mourning the heroic passing of his loveable sidekick Bonito as he rides back out into the desert. Maybe credits roll. That’s the kind of “bittersweet iconic western scene” that Farewell Ride conjures.