BLOWIN' INDIE WIND Beck Guero

Author: RICHARD LAWLESS

Beck is 35. In rock star years, that's like 62. He's slowed down a bit, taking three years rather than one in between albums and he may not be as crazy as he used to be, but after all, he's still Beck, and he's one of the most important musical figures of the past decade. He doesn't really have to try anymore. Which brings us to "Guero," his eighth album. On "Guero," Beck attempts to recapture the magic of his youth, but finds himself coming up short on the sheer imagination and creative spark that drove his earlier albums.

In his youth, Beck was psychotic and unstoppable. His first official album, "Mellow Gold," was a kaleidoscopic stoner affair, full of more crazy sounds and weird juxtapositions than you could shake a bong at. The official follow-up to "Mellow Gold" was that little album known as "Odelay," which made him a superstar. "Odelay" was more mature than "Mellow Gold," but I use the word mature loosely, as here it only means that Beck moved to a bigger studio ("Mellow Gold" was recorded on a $200 4-track machine) and enlisted the sharp production team of the Dust Brothers, who helped make the Beastie Boys' "Paul's Boutique" the brilliant record that it is. Together, Beck and the Dust Brothers created a powerful album full of ridiculous sounds and damn catchy music. Nine years after "Odelay," Beck re-teamed with the Dust Brothers to try to make another one of those crazy albums jam-packed with the weird samples and off-kilter arrangements that made him so famous.

The problem is, when artists get into their 30s, they tend to lose that creative spark that allowed them their period of brilliance during their youth. Case in point - The Beatles. When they broke up, the Fab Four were in their late 20s. Excluding Ringo, each Beatle made one or two excellent albums right after the break-up, then descended into bland-rock limbo. Not convinced? Look at U2. They haven't made a good album since 1991 - the year Bono turned 31. Beck's spark is sadly fading, as evidenced from the music on "Guero," but it's certainly not gone. And even mediocre Beck ain't all that bad.

The album hits the ground running with one of the most charismatic, explosive tracks Beck has written in years, "E-Pro." What the heck an E-Pro is, I have no idea. Beck probably doesn't either. But that's not the point. The point is that Beck announces to the music world that he's back in top form, with an irresistible fuzzed-out bass riff and a clamoring hip-hop groove that leads to the instantly memorable chorus. Unfortunately, Beck is pulling a Dorian Gray - his bombastic posturing reveals an artist attempting to overcompensate for his lack of ideas. It works on "E-Pro," but the album quickly loses steam after those three minutes.

Much of "Guero," sounds like a watered-down "Odelay" mixed with a smite of the exotica sound that fuelled "Mutations," resulting in plodding drum grooves, decent-but-not-great melodies, occasional samples that try too hard to sound weird and Beck lazily rapping about hotdogs and Mexicans. While Beck used to use his lazy stoner characteristics to his advantage, producing genius-slacker pop gems, on "Guero," Beck just sounds tired and bored. But like I said, mediocre Beck still is tolerable, and a watered-down masterpiece like "Odelay" is still decent. "Girl," for example, is a nice, sunny ditty that begins with video game bleeps and evolves into a straightforward slice of acoustic California pop with pretty background vocals that take a cue from Brian Wilson.

The bottom line is that Beck's still got ideas, and he's still got talent, but he's not nearly as remarkable or gripping as he used to be. And it's not because we're used to him so much as that the initial fire that made his earlier albums so powerful and charismatic has been reduced from a massive flame to a pleasant glow. Which isn't bad for a 62-year-old.