Sea Change is the eighth studio album by American musician Beck, released on September 24, 2002, by Geffen Records. Recorded over a two-month period in Los Angeles with producer Nigel Godrich, the album features themes of heartbreak and desolation, solitude, and loneliness. For the album, much of Beck's trademark cryptic and ironic lyrics were replaced by simpler, more sincere lyrics. He also eschewed the heavy sampling of his previous albums for live instrumentation. Beck cited the breakup with his longtime girlfriend as the major influence on the album.
Sea Change peaked at number 8 on the Billboard 200, later being certified gold in 2005 by the RIAA. It was met with favorable responses from critics, who considered Beck's transition from eccentric, sonically experimental work to emotional balladry to be successful and convincing. The album later appeared in many publications' lists of the best albums of the 2000s, and it remains one of Beck's best-reviewed recordings.
In 2014, Beck released the album Morning Phase, described in a press release as a "companion piece" to Sea Change, featuring the same personnel who performed on it with the exception of Godrich.
"Lost Cause" and "Guess I'm Doing Fine" were released as promotional-only singles.
Background
Following Beck's tour for his Midnite Vultures album, Beck and his fiancée, stylist Leigh Limon, ended their nine-year relationship. Three weeks before Beck's 30th birthday, he discovered Limon had been having an affair with a member of Los Angeles band Whiskey Biscuit. Beck lapsed into a period of melancholy and introspection, during which he wrote the bleak, acoustic-based tracks on Sea Change. He wrote most of the album's 12 songs in one week, but shelved them. "Songs sit in my head for a while," he told Time in 2002. "I have dozens in there, songs from eight years ago that I've written but never recorded. After a while, I just sort of decide to record them." Beck had also strayed from the songs to keep from talking about his personal life, as well as to focus on music and "not really strew my baggage across the public lobby." Eventually, however, he found the songs speak to an experience (a relationship breakup) that is common, and that it would not seem self-indulgent to record them. In 2001, Beck drifted back to the songs and reteamed with his producer for Mutations, Nigel Godrich. but no songs from those sessions were used for Sea Change. Many songs, such as "Lost Cause", were performed live prior to the album's recording. Another new song, "Evil Things", was also performed and demoed but ultimately not recorded for the album, due to loss of time. Much of Sea Change was recorded live, with extra effects (including bells and strings) added later. "Ship in the Bottle" was released on the Japanese version of Sea Change and later remasters.
Composition
Sea Change is based around a musical suite of reflective, acoustic-based songs that showcase Beck's singer-songwriter side. Despite initial difficulty upon deciding on the name, the title originates from "Little One", the eleventh track on the album: "Drown, drown / Sailors run aground / In a sea change nothing is safe". Although often compared to Mutations, Beck himself regarded the album, in a 2008 interview, as more representative of his 1994 album One Foot in the Grave and "more representative of what I was doing [in the early days]." Beck would later produce and collaborate with Gainsbourg's daughter Charlotte on her 2009 album IRM.
Promotion and release
Before release, retailers worried about the commercial impact of Sea Change due to its sound. Analysts predicted the album would not receive heavy radio support, noting that Beck's reputation, critical acclaim and the possibility of multiple Grammy nominations might offset an uncommercial sound. "Lonesome Tears", "Guess I'm Doing Fine", "Little One", and two versions of "Lost Cause".
Artwork
thumb|All four different album covers released for Sea Change.
Sea Change was released with four different album covers, each version containing distinct digital artwork by Jeremy Blake on the CD and the booklet. There were also different hidden messages (lyrical snippets) written under each version's CD tray.
The original cover art for the album was used as an effigy in the music video for lead single "Lost Cause".
Reception
Critical
In a five-star review, Rolling Stone critic David Fricke wrote that Sea Change was "the best album Beck has ever made, and it sounds like he's paid dearly for the achievement." It was ranked number 17 on Rolling Stones list of the 100 best albums of the 2000s.
Commercial
Sea Change peaked at No. 8 on Billboards Top 200 chart and was eventually certified gold in March 2005. In the UK charts, it peaked at No. 20. As of July 2008, Sea Change had sold 680,000 copies in the United States.
Tour
Sea Change yielded many tours in support, the first of which began as a low-key, theatre-based acoustic tour in August 2002. Each show gave a playful, energetic atmosphere, with Beck telling jokes in between performances, and a surprise appearance by Jack White of the White Stripes at the August 11 show, which MTV News described as getting "a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd of college kids and beatniks." A larger tour was planned for October 2002, The tour began in October and ended in November 2002.
During the touring for Sea Change, Beck varied the set list and experimented with song structures, changing the arrangements each night as a way to break away from predictability.
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