Odelay (1996)

RIDING on an exciting mix of cool samples, weird noises and tasty live instrumention, Odelay sounds both old and new - it is of its time, rich with the sounds of the past and years ahead all at once. After abandoning an initial recording session, Beck hooked up with the Dust Brothers, best known at that point for The Beastie Boys' ground-breaking album Paul's Boutique. Their sample-friendly approach took the roots laid on Mellow Gold to dizzying new heights. Odelay is a free-wheelin' blend of country licks, hip-hop beats, rock riffs and beatnik poetry that spawned hit singles Devil's Haircut, The New Pollution and Where It's At?, as well as hot album cuts including the noisy electro-rock of Novocane, the world-weary pop-folk of Jack-Ass and the cut-and-paste alt-country of Sissyneck.

< p>Midnight Vultures (1999)

THE Nigel Godrich-produced Mutations (1998), which added tropicalia and bossa nova to his palate, again showed Beck was impossible to pigeonhole. To take it a step further, the scruffy Californian stunned everyone by releasing Midnight Vultures - an album that throbs with funk and oozes sex. The opening triple-threat of Sexx Laws, Nicotine & Gravy and Mixed Business set the album's agenda as a good-time party album. But even when Beck dabbled in different genres such as electro (Get Real Paid), hip-hop (Hollywood Freaks) and psychedelic rock (Milk & Honey), the groove was still thick and the beats were still fat. The clincher is Debra - the best piece of faux Prince you've ever heard.

Seachange (2002)

JUST when it seemed there was no new ground to cover, Beck re-teamed with Godrich and made Seachange - a folk-heavy break-up album that saw Beck lay bare his soul with frightening honesty. A beautiful and moving album, it's a cinematic collection of country-tinged ballads inspired by the end of a relationship. Light on stand-out tracks (although Paper Tiger and the Springsteen-like Guess I'm Doing Fine are great) Seachange is more about capturing the sound of a breaking heart and the moments of enlightment and hope that can be found when picking up the pieces. Those few who still thought of Beck as a smirking slacker were proven wrong once and for all.

Guero (2005)/The Information (2006)

THESE two albums feel like distillations of Beck's career and could have easily been a double album. Guero saw Beck and the Dust Brothers back together, leading many critics to declare it a return to the Odelay sound. As soon as it was finished, Beck dived straight into the studio with Godrich again, creating the multi-layered The Information - a record which touched on the honesty of Seachange, the groove of Midnight Vultures and the oddities of Odelay. Guero has the better singles (E-Pro and Girl), but The Information is not to be dismissed - it's a real creeper. Together the albums feel like Beck taking stock and, for perhaps the first time in his career, looking back instead of moving forward.