Strip away the samples and funky beats, and you'll find that alt-rock's freakiest hero is a raw, sensitive singer/songwriter at heart. Beck is arguably at his best as a balladeer, a role he tinkered with early on for "Alcohol" but didn't fully realize until 2002's intimate acoustic heartbreaker, Sea Change. Over a decade later, he returned as a tender troubadour on the lush and twangy Morning Phase.