Beck
Photo: Peter Hapak
Over the nearly three decades of Beck’s eclectic, acclaimed artistic existence, the singer-songwriter and producer has found himself frequently working with artists from across the musical spectrum.
His latest joint effort, the track “Odyssey” with French alt-pop act Phoenix, even went so far as to spawn a sprawling summer co-headlining tour (titled, naturally, “Summer Odyssey”) which will stop in Dallas Monday, with opening acts Weyes Blood and Sir Chloe, at Dos Equis Pavilion.
To help get you ready for this bounty of musical riches, we’ve assembled five great Beck collaborations, from various phases of his career, for you to sample.
Beck and Phoenix, “Odyssey”
Beck and Phoenix front man Thomas Mars trade lead vocals on this bouncy, shimmering single, a one-off which all but screams for a full-length follow-up. Beck and Phoenix’s sensibilities complement each other well — his breezy, art-collage style meshes seamlessly with Phoenix’s Gallic cool.
Beck and Charlotte Gainsbourg, “Heaven Can Wait”
Phoenix is not the first French act with whom Beck has collaborated — for her third studio album, 2009’s IRM, Charlotte Gainsbourg (the child of Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg) tapped Beck to produce and write nearly all of her record. He even pitched in vocally for “Heaven Can Wait,” a deceptively jaunty track with some genuinely bleak lyrics (“She’s sliding, she’s sliding/Down to the dregs of the world”).
Beck and Bat for Lashes, “Let’s Get Lost”
Few would expect Beck and the “Twilight” series of movies to have anything in common, but for the soundtrack to 2010’s “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” the singer-songwriter joined forces with Natasha Khan (aka Bat for Lashes) for this evocative, glitchy duet with ice in its veins.
Beck and Emmylou Harris, “Sin City”
An affinity for country and Americana-adjacent sounds has long been a thread winding through Beck’s catalog, so it’s little surprise he was tapped to collaborate with one of the genre’s grande dames, Emmylou Harris, for a 1999 Gram Parsons tribute LP, Return of the Grievous Angel. Beck’s voice is nigh unrecognizable here, but he nevertheless harmonizes beautifully with Harris.
Beck and Gorillaz, “The Valley of the Pagans”
The only surprising aspect of Beck and Gorillaz teaming up is that it took as long as it did to happen. Beck and the Damon Albarn-led Gorillaz joined forces on this track from 2020’s Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, which manages to sound distinctly like a B-side from each artist, but still distinctly its own thing.
Beck and Phoenix at Dos Equis Pavilion, Dallas. 5:45 p.m. Monday. Tickets are $45-$130.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter (@prestonjones). Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
