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Guero

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For other uses, see Güero (disambiguation).
Untitled

Guero is the sixth official studio album and ninth overall by American musician Beck, released on March 29, 2005 through Interscope. It is seen by many as a return to the style of Odelay, mainly because this album, like Odelay, is produced with the Dust Brothers and Tony Hoffer. It also recalls Mutations in places with its Brazilian influences.

The album was promoted with three singles: "E-Pro" was the lead single, with "Girl" and "Hell Yes". It debuted on Billboard's Top 200 Album chart at #2 (where it went gold), and in the UK at #15 (where it went silver). To date, this is Beck's highest charting album and has sold 868,000 copies in the United States, as of July 2008.[1] It has received positive reviews from critics.

Background

An unmixed and un-mastered version of Guero was leaked in January 2005, under the title Ubiquitous. The track listing differed slightly from the officially announced track listing of Guero. The album was released simultaneously in three formats: a standard 13-track CD with none of the bonus tracks or remixes, PlayStation Portable UMD, and a DVD/CD combo pack. The CD included all the below listed tracks while the DVD featured a 5.1 surround sound mix of the 13 album tracks along with abstract, multi-angle videos by visual artists D-Fuse as well as other videos and special features.

The track "E-Pro" was remixed by Paza Rahm and released on the Hell Yes EP as "Bad Cartridge". The EP was released on vinyl, as an iTunes Store download, and in CD format for college radio. "E-Pro" was Beck's first number 1 since his debut single "Loser".

Jack White of The White Stripes plays bass on "Go It Alone". Money Mark, solo artist and keyboardist for the Beastie Boys, plays the organ on "Earthquake Weather". Petra Haden, formerly of That Dog and The Rentals, provides an intricate backing vocal track for "Rental Car". Christina Ricci provides the cameo voice in "Hell Yes".

Güero (pron. IPA ['wero], sounds like ware-roh in English) is a Mexican slang term in Spanish for a pale-skinned or blonde-haired person. Beck cites having been referred to as a "güero" throughout his childhood, lending the title of the album and the track "Qué Onda Guero" [sic]. (¿Qué onda, güero? is Mexican slang meaning "what's up, blond boy?" or "hey, white boy" or "where you going, blondie?". A literal translation is "what wave, whitey?" which is analogous in English to "what's happening?". See List of Chicano Caló words and expressions)

Beck released an album of Guero remixes called Guerolito later in 2005.

The song "Black Tambourine" was featured in the David Lynch film Inland Empire, the trailer for the film (500) Days of Summer, and episode 22 of season 4 of The Good Wife, as well as the 2006 video game Lumines II, and the video game Driver: San Francisco.

The song "Farewell Ride" was featured in FX trailers promoting the final season of The Shield.

The song "Broken Drum" is dedicated to Elliott Smith.

Artwork

The cover art was done by Canadian artist Marcel Dzama.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Blender[4]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[5]
The Guardian[6]
The Independent[7]
NME8/10[8]
Pitchfork6.6/10[9]
Q[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
SpinB[12]

Guero received generally positive reviews from critics, holding a Metascore of 78 on Metacritic. The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[13]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."E-Pro"Beck Hansen, Dust Brothers, Beastie Boys3:25
2."Qué Onda Guero"Hansen, Dust Brothers3:29
3."Girl"Hansen, Dust Brothers3:29
4."Missing"Hansen, Dust Brothers, Vinicius de Moraes, Carlos Lyra4:43
5."Black Tambourine"Hansen, Dust Brothers, Eugene Blacknell2:46
6."Earthquake Weather"Hansen, Dust Brothers, Mark Adams, Steve Washington, Daniel Webster, Mark Hicks4:26
7."Hell Yes"Hansen, Dust Brothers3:17
8."Broken Drum"Hansen4:29
9."Scarecrow"Hansen, Dust Brothers4:15
10."Go It Alone"Hansen, Dust Brothers, Jack White4:08
11."Farewell Ride"Hansen4:18
12."Rental Car"Hansen, Dust Brothers3:05
13."Emergency Exit"Hansen, Dust Brothers4:02
Bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
14."Send a Message to Her" (Bonus track on the DVD, UK release, Australian, Russian release and Japanese tour edition)4:31
15."Chain Reaction" (Bonus track on the DVD, UK release and Japanese tour edition)3:28
16."Clap Hands" (Bonus track on the DVD and Japanese tour edition)3:18
17."Girl" (Octet remix, Bonus track on the DVD)3:54
18."Broken Drum" (Boards of Canada remix, Bonus track on the DVD)5:39
19."Still Missing" (Röyksopp remix of "Missing", Bonus track on the DVD)4:58
20."Fax Machine Anthem" (Dizzee Rascal remix of "Hell Yes", Bonus track on the DVD)3:07

The DVD contains:

  1. Audio visualization videos of the full album in 5.1 Dolby Digital and DVD-A
  2. Photos
  3. Two easter eggs for alternate "E-Pro" and "Black Tambourine" videos. They can be found in the "main menu" and the "speakers" menu, respectively.

Sample credits
"E-Pro"

"Missing"

"Black Tambourine"

  • "We Know We Gotta Live Together" by Eugene Blacknell [1]& The New Breed

"Earthquake Weather"

"Hell Yes"

"Go It Alone"

  • "Outside Love" by Brethren

Personnel

Production

Charts

Charts (2005) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[14] 14
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15] 23
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[16] 16
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[17] 29
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[18] 2
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[19] 4
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[20] 27
French Albums (SNEP)[21] 33
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] 33
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[23] 30
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[24] 5
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[25] 11
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[26] 41
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[27] 26
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 20
UK Albums (OCC)[29] 15
US Billboard 200[30] 2

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[31] Gold 50,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[32] Gold 0^
United Kingdom (BPI)[33] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[34] Gold 500,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Ask Billboard". Billboard. 2008-07-18. Archived from the original on 2008-08-01. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  2. ^ "Reviews for Guero by Beck". Metacritic. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  3. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Guero – Beck". AllMusic. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  4. ^ "Beck: Guero". Blender (35): 112. April 2005.
  5. ^ Browne, David (March 28, 2005). "Guero". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
  6. ^ Lynskey, Dorian (March 18, 2005). "Beck, Guero". The Guardian. London. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
  7. ^ Gill, Andy (March 18, 2005). "Album: Beck". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on October 15, 2007. Retrieved September 13, 2012. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Cashmore, Pete (March 19, 2005). "Beck : Guero". NME. Archived from the original on February 25, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
  9. ^ Mitchum, Rob (March 27, 2005). "Beck: Guero". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  10. ^ "Beck: Guero". Q (225): 114. April 2005.
  11. ^ Sheffield, Rob (April 8, 2005). "Guero". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  12. ^ Wolk, Douglas (April 2005). "Beckola". Spin. 21 (4): 97–98. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  13. ^ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (7 February 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
  14. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Beck – Guero". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  15. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Beck – Guero" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  16. ^ "Ultratop.be – Beck – Guero" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  17. ^ "Ultratop.be – Beck – Guero" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  18. ^ "Beck Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  19. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Beck – Guero". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  20. ^ "Beck: Guero" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  21. ^ "Lescharts.com – Beck – Guero". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  22. ^ "Officialcharts.de – Beck – Guero". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  23. ^ "Charts.nz – Beck – Guero". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  24. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Beck – Guero". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  25. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Beck – Guero". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  26. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Beck – Guero". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  27. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Beck – Guero". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  28. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Beck – Guero". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  29. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  30. ^ "Beck Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  31. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Beck – Guero". Music Canada.
  32. ^ "Japanese album certifications – Beck – Guero" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan.
  33. ^ "British album certifications – Beck – Guero". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Guero in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  34. ^ "American album certifications – Beck – Guero". Recording Industry Association of America.
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