Morning Phase
Released February 21, 2014
Recorded 2012–2013
Genre Folk rock
Length 47:08
Label
Capitol Fonograf
Producer Beck
Morning Phase is the ninth official studio album and twelfth overall by American singer Beck. The album was released in February 2014 by his new label, Capitol Records. According to a press release, Morning Phase is a “companion piece” to Beck’s 2002 album Sea Change. Several of the musicians who recorded parts for Sea Change returned to record for Morning Phase.
Upon release the album received critical acclaim and was nominated for five awards at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, winning three: Album of the Year, Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical and Best Rock Album. Along with winning the award, Chris Martin collaborated with Beck to sing “Heart Is a Drum” at the Grammys.
The roots of the album are similar to Sea Change, as well as 1993’s Golden Feelings and 1994’s One Foot in the Grave. Most of the critics noted the change in sound from several previous recordings, and the genre being the same as Sea Change.
Beck’s previous album, Modern Guilt, was released in 2008, and was the final album released under his Interscope Records contract. In the interim between album releases, Beck worked on a wide variety of projects, including new studio material, most of which went unreleased for several years. In October 2012, bassist and frequent collaborator Justin Meldal-Johnsen commented: “I would estimate that there are currently about three or four albums’ worth of material floating around,” and Beck himself said that “I wasn’t sure if I was going to put out a record – or if I should put out a record. It felt like I was standing still, while everything else was in such flux.”
In 2005, Beck began recording material in Nashville for a new album, but it remained incomplete for several years. It was not until 2012 that he returned to continue the project, this time recording at Third Man Records (which, incidentally had not existed at the time of his previous sessions). Two songs from these new sessions, “I Just Started Hating Some People Today” and “Blue Randy” were released that year as a non-album single on Third Man’s Blue Series. Other songs, like “Blackbird Chain”, “Country Down”, and “Waking Light” were reserved for what would become Morning Phase. In the beginning of 2013, he recorded a great deal of the album in his hometown of Los Angeles in three days, with familiar studio and touring musicians Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Joey Waronker, Roger Joseph Manning, Jr., and Smokey Hormel. The next six months, Beck worked with this material for an album release. His father David Campbell contributed orchestral arrangements for the album, as he had done previously for Sea Change, and most of Beck’s other albums.
Track listing
All tracks written by Beck Hansen.
No. Title Length
1. “Cycle” 0:40
2. “Morning” 5:20
3. “Heart Is a Drum” 4:32
4. “Say Goodbye” 3:30
5. “Blue Moon” 4:03
6. “Unforgiven” 4:35
7. “Wave” 3:41
8. “Don’t Let It Go” 3:10
9. “Blackbird Chain” 4:27
10. “Phase” 1:08
11. “Turn Away” 3:06
12. “Country Down” 4:01
13. “Waking Light” 5:01
Total length: 47:08
Personnel
Beck Hansen – producer, vocals, acoustic guitar (tracks 2–5, 8, 9, 11 and 12), electric guitar (tracks 9 and 13), keyboards (track 2), piano (tracks 3, 5, 6 and 13), synthesizer (track 13), organ (track 13), electric bass (tracks 5 and 11), sound collage (track 3), tambourine (track 4), ukulele (track 5), charango (track 5), celeste (track 9), dulcimer (track 11), harmonica (track 12), glockenspiel (track 13), orchestral arrangements (all tracks with orchestral instruments)
Joey Waronker – drums (tracks 2, 3, 5, 8, 12, and 13), percussion (tracks 2, 3, 5, and 9)
Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. – piano, synthesizers, rhodes, clavinet, B3 organ, background vocals
Stanley Clarke – upright bass (track 2), electric bass (track 3)
James Gadson – drums (tracks 4 and 6)
Cody Kilby – guitar (track 4)
Bram Inscore – electric bass (track 4)
Fats Kaplin – banjo (track 4)
Justin Meldal-Johnsen – bass (tracks 6, 8, 9, and 13)
Smokey Hormel – acoustic guitar (tracks 6 and 8), electric guitar (tracks 9 and 12), ebow (track 6)
Stephanie Bennett – harp (tracks 6 and 11)
Steve Richards – cello (tracks 7 and 8)
Roger Waronker – piano (track 8)
Jason Falkner – electric guitar (tracks 9, 12, and 13)
Matt Mahaffey – organ (tracks 9 and 13)
Greg Leisz – pedal steel guitar (tracks 9 and 12)
Matt Sherrod – drums (track 9)
David Campbell – orchestral arrangements, orchestrations and conducting
David Greenbaum – audio engineer
Florian Lagatta – audio engineer
Cole M. Greif-Neill – audio engineer
Robbie Nelson – audio engineer
Darrell Thorp – audio engineer
Cassidy Turbin – audio engineer
Joe Visciano – audio engineer
Bob Ludwig – mastering engineer
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