A Return in Grand Form

Beck returned to the Royal Albert Hall on April 19th and 20th, 2025. It marked his first appearance there in over two decades, and he certainly made it count. I attended the latter of the two.

The shows were backed by the BBC Concert Orchestra and his four-piece band. They offered a rare look at the breadth of his artistry. One part was lush orchestration. The other was an electric performance. It wasn’t a greatest-hits set. It was a reinvention, to be honest. I was sitting there, somewhat gobsmacked.

Opening in Stillness

The evening began with a hush. The orchestra set a serene tone with Cycle before Beck entered The Golden Age, his voice soft and introspective.

Songs from “Morning Phase” and “Sea Change” dominated the first half. Paper Tiger, Blue Moon, Lost Cause, and Round the Bend were each reinterpreted with cinematic sweep. Edwin Outwater conducted the arrangements. These arrangements added depth to Beck’s melancholia. They often felt closer to a film score than a rock concert.

Surprises and Tributes

Tropicalia lightened the tone with vibrant bossa nova rhythms, playful and sharp in its new orchestral setting. Beck’s respect for musical tradition was clear, most evident in his cover of Scott Walker’s It’s Raining Today. The performance was delivered with trembling delicacy. The orchestration shimmered around his falsetto, and the entire hall seemed to float for a few minutes.

Switching Gears

After the orchestral set, the band returned to the stage, and the mood shifted. Guitars replaced strings, and Beck leaned into the funk and grit of his more irreverent side. Devil’s Haircut cut through the space like a blade, while Mixed Bizness brought swagger and groove. It was a second wind — not a step back, but a different transformation.

Minimal Production, Maximum Presence

The show’s visuals were restrained—just moody lighting that suited the grandeur of the Hall itself — but they fit the atmosphere perfectly. Beck didn’t rely on spectacle. His voice, at 54 years old, still agile and expressive, carried the show, veering from ghostly balladry to drawling cool with ease. He never overreached – he let the arrangements speak.

A Crowd in Sync

Everyone in the audience mirrored the concert’s arc — a kind of quiet reverence during the orchestral section, followed by full-bodied movement during the band’s electric four-song set. The energy exploded when Loser dropped as the final song of the night. The contrast with what came before made it even more powerful. It was like… ok, so this is what Beck could have done WITHOUT the BBC Concert Orchestra?!?!

Conclusion: Dualities in Harmony

Beck’s Royal Albert Hall performance was elegant, gritty, structured, and spontaneous. He reshaped familiar material not for novelty but to explore its full emotional range.

What could have been a simple retrospective instead became something more daring: a reinvention in real time. It was one of the best concerts I’ve recently seen.

Chris Garrod, April 22nd, 2025