Beck's Japanese eight-song B-sides collection
Stray Blues is a short but sweet reminder of all the different sounds and styles he's capable of embodying and combining. It's especially refreshing after the somewhat forced, funk-soul-brotha vibe of
Midnite Vultures to hear reflective, stoner-folk epics like "Totally Confused" (which features three-quarters of
That Dog on violin and backing vocals), "Brother," and "Feather in Your Cap" next to noisy workouts like "Lemonade," the deadpan hipster-hop of "Clock," and a surprisingly straight mariachi version of "Burro." His groovy,
Odelay-style pastiche is in full effect on the '60s pop send-up "Electric Music and the Summer People" and the rambling, ultra-psychedelic cover of
Skip Spence's "Halo of Gold," which originally appeared on the
Spence tribute
More Oar. Impressively, most of these songs were recorded years apart from each other and with different musicians, but
Stray Blues holds together nearly as well as any of
Beck's proper albums, proving that he's at his best when he's at his most eclectic. The album's Japanese-only release (and corresponding priceyness) is frustrating because
Stray Blues deserves to be heard by more people than just die-hard fans (who may already own most of this material anyway). Not only is this collection a reminder of
Beck's impressive diversity but of how necessary a domestic B-sides collection is to his discography. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
