Modern Guilt is the eighth official studio album and eleventh overall by American alternative artist Beck. It was released on July 8, 2008,[1] fulfilling Beck's recording contract with Interscope Records, along with Geffen as well.[2][3] The album lasts 33 minutes, making it the shortest album by Beck to date.
Modern Guilt features two contributions by Cat Power[4] and was produced by Beck and Danger Mouse.[5]
A vinyl record of the album, including download codes for the 320-kbit/s digital version of the album direct from the master vinyl, was released on July 22, 2008.[6]
Reception
The album received generally positive reviews upon release, earning a rating of 77 out of 100 on Metacritic.[7] Filter said of the album "Beck is somehow more aware while puffing out his waves of broken poetry as opposed to the casual seed-spitting he has been known to turn to,"[7] and Allmusic said that it was "an effective dosage of 21st century paranoia."[8] Some negative reviews, such as PopMatters, said that the album "lacks the unique resonating timbres one is accustomed to with Beck,"[14] and The Guardian called it "a vanity project".[11]
In December 2008, Modern Guilt was nominated for Best Alternative Album at the 51st Grammy Awards, but it later lost to In Rainbows by Radiohead.[18]
Accolades
| Publication |
Country |
Accolade |
Year |
Rank |
| Q |
UK |
50 Best Albums of the Year |
2008 |
#23[19] |
| Rolling Stone |
US |
50 Best Albums of the Year |
2008 |
#8[20] |
| WERS Boston |
US |
50 Best Albums of the Year |
2008 |
#6[21] |
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Beck, except "Walls" written by Beck, Danger Mouse, Paul Guiot and Paul Piot.
| 1. |
"Orphans" |
3:15 |
| 2. |
"Gamma Ray" |
2:57 |
| 3. |
"Chemtrails" |
4:40 |
| 4. |
"Modern Guilt" |
3:14 |
| 5. |
"Youthless" |
3:00 |
| 6. |
"Walls" |
2:22 |
| 7. |
"Replica" |
3:25 |
| 8. |
"Soul of a Man" |
2:36 |
| 9. |
"Profanity Prayers" |
3:43 |
| 10. |
"Volcano" |
4:26 |
Total length: |
33:33 |
| 11. |
"Vampire Voltage No. 6" |
2:20 |
| 12. |
"Bonfire Blondes" |
2:26 |
| 13. |
"Half & Half" |
3:21 |
| 14. |
"Necessary Evil" |
3:35 |
| 15. |
"Gamma Ray" (video) |
2:54 |
| 16. |
"Youthless" (video) |
2:51 |
| 17. |
"Modern Guilt" (video) |
3:14 |
| 18. |
"Replica" (video) |
3:24 |
Personnel
- Beck – vocals, guitars (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10), bass (tracks 4, 7, 8, 9, 10), electric piano (tracks 2, 7, 8), flute (track 1), percussion (track 1), slide guitar (track 9), marimba (track 7), tambourine (track 8), production
- Danger Mouse – beats (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10), keyboard bass (tracks 2, 6, 7), synthesizer (track 6), programming (track 6), sounds (track 8), production
- Jason Falkner - bass (tracks 1, 3), guitar (track 3)
- Brian LeBarton - synthesizer (tracks 1, 5)
- Chan Marshall - vocals (tracks 1, 6)
- Greg Kurstin - piano (tracks 3, 4, 7), organ (track 3), synthesizer (track 5)
- Joey Waronker - drums (track 3)
- Matt Mahaffey - bass (track 5)
- Larry Corbett - cello (track 5)
- Drew Brown - beat (track 8)
- David Campbell - string arrangement, conducting (all string tracks)
Charts
Commercial performance
The album entered both the Billboard 200 and the Canadian Albums Chart at number four, and gave Beck his first ever Top 10 placing on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number nine. The album has also been Beck's second-best charting album in Australia reaching number 13, behind his twelfth studio album Morning Phase, which debuted and peaked at number 5 in 2014. In the US, the album sold 84,000 copies in its first week.[23] Although successful, this does not match the first week sales of The Information, which were 99,000.[23] In Canada, the album sold over 6,000 copies in its first week.[24]
Weekly charts
Release history
References
- ↑ "Beck's Modern Guilt Album Art & Tracklist". Stereogum. Retrieved 2008-06-12.
- ↑ "In the Studio: Beck Conjures 1960s Brit-Rock Vibe on Danger Mouse-Produced "Modern Guilt"". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ↑ "New Beck Album Due This Summer". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
- ↑ "Beck Set to Release New Album, Stat!". MTV. 2008-05-05. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
- ↑ Reynolds, Simon (2008-03-07). "Danger Mouse producing new Beck album". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
- ↑ "Beck Announces Vinyl Release, Adds More Tourdates". Tiny Mix Tapes. 2008-07-17. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
- 1 2 3 "Modern Guilt Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-09-14.
- 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Modern Guilt - Beck". Allmusic.
- ↑ Modell, Josh (2008-07-07). "Beck: Modern Guilt". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2012-09-14.
- ↑ Grenblatt, Leah (2008-07-11). "Modern Guilt Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-09-14.
- 1 2 Fitzpatrick, Rob (2008-07-03). "CD: Beck, Modern Guilt". The Guardian.
- ↑ Hasted, Nick (2008-07-04). "Album: Beck, Modern Guilt (XL)". The Independent. Retrieved 2012-09-14.
- ↑ Powers, Ann (2008-07-08). "New CDs: Beck, Kerli and Greg Laswell". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-09-14.
- 1 2 Hauner, Thomas (2008-07-07). "Beck: Modern Guilt". PopMatters. Retrieved 2012-09-14.
- ↑ Dombal, Ryan (2008-07-07). "Beck: Modern Guilt". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2012-09-14.
- ↑ Maerz, Melissa (2008-07-08). "Modern Guilt". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-09-14.
- ↑ Anderson, Stacey (2008-07-08). "Beck, 'Modern Guilt' (DGC)". Spin. Retrieved 2012-09-14.
- ↑ "Grammy 2009 Winners List". Mtv.com. 2009-02-08. Retrieved 2013-06-12.
- ↑ Q Jan 09, pg.84
- ↑ "Albums of the Year : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. 2008-12-25. Archived from the original on 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2012-09-14.
- ↑ WERS.org
- ↑ "iTunes Store - Beck - Modern Guilt (Extended Version)". iTunes. Retrieved 2010-09-21.
- 1 2 "Beck's 'Guilt' debuts at No. 4". Entertainment Weekly. July 16, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ↑ Williams, John (July 16, 2008). "Beck's 'Guilt' makes fine debut". Jam!. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
- ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Beck – Modern Guilt". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Beck – Modern Guilt" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Beck – Modern Guilt" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Beck – Modern Guilt" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ↑ "Beck – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Beck. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Beck – Modern Guilt". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Beck – Modern Guilt" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Beck – Modern Guilt". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Beck – Modern Guilt". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Beck – Modern Guilt". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Beck – Modern Guilt". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Beck – Modern Guilt". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ↑ "2008-07-19 Top 40 UK Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ↑ "Beck – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Beck. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ↑ "Beck – Chart history" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for Beck. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ↑ "Beck – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for Beck. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ↑ "Beck – Chart history" Billboard Top Tastemaker Albums for Beck. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ↑ "Beck - Modern Guilt at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved February 27, 2011.
External links
[8]