There’s a reason Beck Hansen’s fifth major label record “Sea Change,” was included in both “Rolling Stone’s” and “Q” Magazine’s list of 50 Best Albums of 2002, ranked third on “Spin’s” list of 2002’s Albums of the Year and nominated for an Emmy for Best Alternative Music Album.  Every chord is perfectly in place, every achingly sad lyric is quietly affecting and each strum of his acoustic guitar makes up a tight, musical masterpiece that is being called Beck’s “Blood on the Tracks.” 

On his first album in three years, Beck stays true to form in that he doesn’t offer fans a carbon copy of his previous ventures.  Gone is the sonic intensity and Beck’s well known cynical haughty humor.  In its place is a horrifically beautiful post-breakup album inspired by the end of his relationship with stylist Leigh Limon in 2000. 

After the country/pop/hip hop medley of “Mellow Gold,” the Grammy winning “Odelay,” the soulful stylings of “Mutations” and the R&B and rap of “Midnite Vultures,” Beck shelved the oddities and playful lyrics (“hot like a cheetah, neon mamacita”) of his past and re-teamed with producer Nigel Godrich who worked on Beck’s “Mutations” along with bands such as Radiohead and Travis.  The result is an emotionally naked Beck standing before listeners, singing his tale of woe. The album drips with tear-stained heart-on-your-sleeve songwriting. 

“Seen the end of the day come too late/Seen the love you had turning into hate/Had to act like I didn’t even care/But I did so I got stranded standing there,” croons the 32-year old on “End of the Day.”

“Sea Change’s” 12 introspective tracks make up a path of Beck’s pain.  With track titles such as “Guess I’m Doing Fine,” “Lonesome Tears,” “Lost Cause,” “End of the Day” and “Already Dead,” it’s no mystery what this album is about but Beck manages to create a memorable disc about suffering without sounding whiny, bitter or annoying.  As Beck sings about someone who’s “seen the end of the day come too soon” and of the “treacherous road with a desolated view,” musical poetry seems to be lifted from diary pages.  

This record is by far Beck’s most personal.  The direct lines, downbeats and Beck’s pure and honest voice gives listeners an earnest exploration of loss, confusion and yearning.  Anyone who has ever been in a relationship that ended (and let’s face it, that’s the majority of us!) will find a way to identify with Beck’s introverted words. 

“It’s only lies that I’m living/It’s only tears that I’m crying/It’s only you that I’m losing/Guess I’m doing fine,” Beck sings on one track sounding so defeated listeners will want to give him a hug.

The multi-platinum pop artist’s voice is barely recognizable in the 52 minutes of “Sea Change.” His range has dropped and a more mature, serious and sincere tone is in its place, emitting a ‘70s folk rock sound.  At times his voice bleeds with longing as in the album standout “Lost Cause” where Beck sings, “Your sorry eyes cut through the bone/They make it hard to leave you alone.”  The slow strummed, moody “Round the Bend” would fit in nicely on a Nick Drake album.  Actually the entire album sounds more Drake than Beck. 

His voice and subject matter are not the only things fans will hear differently on this testimony of loss.  Beck recorded the album with a full band including longtime guitarist Smokey Hormel, keyboard player Roger Manning and drummer Joey Waronker.  “Sea Change” uses synths, glockenspiels, pianos, clavinets and an array of instruments to create a dreamy sound on each track.  The string arrangement on “Paper Tiger” is not only dynamic, it’s intense and captivating. 

“Sunday Sun” blends a bamboo saxophone, megamouth, tape recorder, beatbox drums and banjos with acoustic slide guitars and drums, creating an adventurous jungle of music. 

The wurlitzer, synth, slide guitar and upright bass on “Lonesome Tears” set the stage as Beck asks “How could this love/Ever turning/Never turn its eye on me?” 

The music and words pair together nicely, complimenting each other rather than overshadowing one part. 

Interesting to note is Beck’s father, David Campbell, a string arranger who has also worked with Aerosmith and Green Day, lends a hand in the beautiful orchestration of “Sea Change.” 

Born Bek David Campbell in downtown L.A., just minutes from where he lives now, Beck altered the spelling of his first name and adopted his mother’s maiden name, Hansen when his parents divorced.  Beck’s mother, Bibbe owns a restaurant with her second husband, artist Sean Carillo. 

You won’t hear much of Beck’s days before he shot into stardom with the slacker hit “Loser” in 1994 as Beck tends to stick to talking about his music and likes his privacy.  He didn’t talk about his breakup with Limon in numerous interviews, rather focused on the music of his latest album and his tour with The Flaming Lips which he finished in December. 

Beck fans need not to worry about him “holding on to nothing/to see how long nothing lasts.”  According to “Time” Magazine he’s already started to work on a record with Dan the Automator, Cornelius and the Dust Brothers that will be in the same vein as “Odelay.”  And “Blender” Magazine reports that Beck said he has many leftover songs from his “Sea Change” sessions and may release another CD within the year. 

On an album that explores failed love and the questions left in its wake, “Sea Change” gives music lovers a genuine, reflective album full of straightforward emotions and memorable music.