Guero

Guero is the ninth album by American musician Beck, released on March 29, 2005, by Interscope Records. It is seen by many as a return to the style of Odelay, mainly due to it being produced with the Dust Brothers and Tony Hoffer. It also recalls Mutations in places with its Brazilian influences.

Guero
Studio album by
Beck
ReleasedMarch 29, 2005
RecordedSeptember 2003–August 2004
StudioThe Boat, Silverlake, California
Length51:52
59:51 (UK version)
LabelInterscope
Producer
Beck chronology
Hell Yes EP
(2005)		 Guero
(2005)		 Guerolito
(2005)
Singles from Guero
  1. "E-Pro"
    Released: March 14, 2005
  2. "Girl"
    Released: July 4, 2005 (UK)
  3. "Hell Yes"
    Released: 2005

The album was promoted with the singles "E-Pro", "Girl", and "Hell Yes", and debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200. To date, it is Beck's highest-charting album and has sold over 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, Slave4:26
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 & The New Breed

"Earthquake Weather"

"Hell Yes"

"Go It Alone"

  • "Outside Love" by Brethren

Personnel
Production
  • Beck – producer (except 11), recording and mixing
  • The Dust Brothers – producers, recording and mixing (exc. 8, 11)
  • Tony Hoffer – producer, recording and mixing (8, 11)
  • Nigel Godrich – mixing (3)
  • Dan Grech-Marguerat - mixing engineer (3)
  • Danny Kalb – recording engineer
  • Mark Branch, Mike Laza - assistant engineers (exc. 8, 11)
  • Jason Mott - assistant engineer (8, 11)
  • Bob Ludwig - mastering
  • Elliot Scheiner – surround mix (Deluxe Edition)
  • Beck, Kevin Reagan - art direction, design
  • Marcel Dzama - artwork
  • Adam Levite - front cover layout, additional art

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[32] Gold 50,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[33] Gold 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[34] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[35] Gold 500,000^

^ 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. Archived from the original on February 13, 2019. 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.
  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. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2005". Billboard. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  32. "Canadian album certifications – Beck – Guero". Music Canada.
  33. "Japanese album certifications – Beck – Guero" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 11 September 2019. Select 2005年4月 on the drop-down menu
  34. "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.
  35. "American album certifications – Beck – Guero". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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