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[Beck Finds a Mastered Simplicity in His 15th Album "Ride Lonesome" — A Modern Blues That Embraces Lonely Nights] In the silence of late night, cheap bourbon poured into a glass reflects an amber glow. What makes you want to drop the needle at this hour isn't flashy horn-driven funk or an exciting disco beat. It's just a single acoustic guitar and a weathered voice that sounds like it's recounting the fraying edges of life. Beck has effortlessly vaulted over genre cages and reigned as an alternative rock icon. Come to think of it, this guy has busily transformed himself countless times over a career spanning more than 30 years. Just as he captured the hearts of world-weary youth with the slacker lo-fi folk of "One Foot in the Grave" and "Mellow Gold", he showed off the magic of hip-hop and collage on "Odelay", shook his hips with Prince-like falsetto on "Midnite Vultures", and threw himself into glittering pop on "Colors". He truly is the chameleon of the music world. Yet, for middle-aged guys like us who have tasted all of life's bitterness and sweetness――or rather, who have thoroughly sampled the bitter kind that really sinks into the stomach――there is ultimately a version of Beck we always find our way back to. Yes, that unbearably beautiful, dark, and vulnerable acoustic world he showed us on the rare masterpiece "Sea Change" and the Grammy-winning "Morning Phase". …