Song Reader

This is certainly more than an academic exercise.

As uneven as it is, Beck’s fans will find this experimental release to be an essential one.

Overall ... this still feels like a missed opportunity; a more inspired roll call of contributors could have pushed Song Reader into essential listening territory. As it is, fans might well get more out of playing these songs than listening to them. Then again, that was always the point.

What's most amazing about these all-star performances of Beck’s 2012 sheet-music book Song Reader … isn’t how much they sound like Beck songs but how much they sound like the artists who cover them.

Don’t come looking to Song Reader – The Album for stylistic or sonic invention, though. With rare exceptions here, you’ll need to sift through the chaos online if you’re looking for that sort of thing.

These head-scratching moments mean that, despite the collection's successes, it probably works better as a sheet music oddity than a cohesive album. Then again, for fans who don't read music and weren't able to participate in Song Reader's initial release, this ought to satisfy the curiosity surrounding these songs.

Ultimately, it's a risk-free album of covers: accomplished, certainly, but hardly a novel experiment. There remains a sense that no song reader has taken quite enough of a leap out of their musical armchair.

Ultimately, Song Reader feels adrift and uncertain, like even its creator is unsure of what he wants it to be.

Song Reader is built to stand on its own without using its creator’s iconic status as a crutch. It’s a bold move that most established artists aren’t willing to make, but it works.

For all the eccentric performances and approaches, it’s hard to warm up to these songs. Beck’s best albums are cohesive even with distinct individual tracks. This just seems all over the place, trying the patience of the most dedicated Beck fan.

The idea is clever, and very Beck: a mix of the modern and the antiquated so fluid that you start to see how they're not that different to begin with. The execution feels out of his hands, and really, out of everyone's—just another project whose purpose seems lost in the labyrinth of production.

We've been given a collection of songs that have no passion, have nothing to say and fundamentally provide nothing of any value.

It is feckless. It is almost totally Beckless. It is the sound of a music industry’s neural system cannibalizing itself.