Beck - Guero

Beck kept fans and critics guessing about how he'd follow up Sea Change and in 2005 released the genre-mashing Guero which shot to #2 on the Billboard Top 200-his highest charting album to date. Beck's eighth album saw him reuniting with the Dust Brothers with an assist from producer Tony Hoffer (Midnite Vultures), for a tour de force of Latin rhythms, rhymes, guitars, beats, samples, 8-bit electronics, turntables and vocoder for a fun and freewheeling ride through rock, hip-hop, boss nova, country-blues and soul. Album opener and lead single, 'E-Pro' went to # 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart, while 'Girl,' 'Hell Yes,' 'Go It Alone' (featuring Jack White on bass) and more became instant fan favorites. The album was a hit with critics as well with New York magazine enthusing, 'Beck integrates his personae into a fairly seamless whole, and his knack for synthesizing disparate musical elements (hip-hop, robot funk, blues, country, jazz, garage rock, etc.) extends beyond samples and individual tracks. The songs migrate smoothly from one to the next; there aren't any throwaway numbers to sabotage the album's momentum; the whole thing coheres,' while Rolling Stone dubbed it 'his liveliest and jumpiest music in years.'