THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: Jeff Beck (Page 1 of 2)

JEFF BECK – There & Back

June 12, 2023 /

One of the saddest things to happen this year was the news of the sudden passing of Jeff Beck. One of the great guitar innovators of modern music.

This album came out in 1980, four years after the release of Wired, and sees Jeff reunited with Jan Hammer on three of the tracks. This is the last of those killer fusion records he did.

Star Cycle starts with that familiar keys sound of Jan Hammer before it’s a typical Jeff groove workout. Killer playing. Too Much To Lose follows and that melody line Jeff plays is so good ,played on top of a great smooth funky groove. Superb opening to You Never Know. Killer interplay between Hammer and Beck, Jeff really gives it the beans. Side 1 ends with The Pump, a slowed down groover that sounds amazing and Jeff’s playing is on another level here. Killer production!

Side 2 bursts in with El Becko, a great fusion romp with some slide from Jeff. The Golden Road starts like some smooth jazz backing track interspersed with crazy Jeff licks. Space Boogie follows and this is one of my favourite ever Jeff moments. Killer uptempo groove from Simon Phillips and Mo Foster, superb keys from Tony Hymas, and then there’s Jeff just laying it down. Monster track! The album closes out with The Final Peace, just keys and guitar.

This is what I will remember Jeff for. That unreal control of feel and tone. I doubt we will see anyone like him again.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

JEFF BECK – Flash

May 20, 2022 /

Forever moving with the times and taking in what’s around him, this album was released in ’85 and I guess this is Jeff’s commercial funky dance record.

Partly produced by Nile Rodgers, seven of the nine songs have vocals, two of which have Jeff himself singing, which was a departure for Jeff and a throwback to his earlier solo albums. The two opening tracks Ambitious and Gets Us All In The End are by far the stand out tracks on the record, as not only does Jeff give it everything in the guitar department, the songs are really good with a great hook and groove. People Get Ready has Rod Stewart on vocals and is positively horizontal in the laid back stakes, but Jeff lays down a superb solo. The instrumental Escape with Jan Hammer is a really cool piece and sounds very Miami Vive. Not Jeff’s best album song wise but he plays some killer guitar.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

JEFF BECK WITH THE JAN HAMMER GROUP – Live

February 28, 2022 /

Bit of an odd album this one. Jeff had just finished recording the Wired album and was set to go out on tour to promote it. He joined up with the Jan Hammer Group to play a show in London supporting Alvin Lee, so this album was recorded and they ended up being on the road for seven months.

This is prime period Jeff, as he is quite new to the rock/fusion thing with the success of Blow By Blow, and he is having a blast playing this to an audience. Freeway Jam opens up the record and is just incredible with Hammer and Beck trading off of each other. Earth is so funky your shoes will groove before you do, and some great interplay with all the musicians. She’s A Woman brings reggae to the mix from the Blow By Blow album, and Jeff is using the voice box (which everyone was using at the time). It also starts the last track on Side 1, Full Moon Boogie, which is a full on jazz/funk workout.

Side 2 starts with a bit of a keyboard fest with Darkness/ Earth In Search Of A Sun. Normal service is resumed with Scatterbrain, again from Blow By Blow, before this album comes to an end with the only track from the Wired album, Blue Wind. I love this point in Jeff’s career and this a really good album.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

JEFF BECK – Blow By Blow

October 4, 2021 /

This album (and the one that came after, Wired) are my two favourite Beck albums. We are in the prime mid-seventies fusion experimentation era, and Jeff lapped this up. A switch was flicked and away he went with some of the most inventive playing of his career. Jeff is one of those players where as soon as you hear him you know it’s Jeff, he has such an original style and tone to his playing. A big bonus to this record was that it was produced by George Martin and it sounds awesome, the separation and placing of the instruments is perfect.

There are some of Jeff’s most popular pieces on this album, namely Scatterbrain and Freeway Jam, both incredible fusion showcase pieces where Jeff and the band really let fly. As well as these two tracks, I love the funk groove of Air Flow which has seventies cop movie written all over it – superb track, and Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers which is amazing and dedicated to Roy Buchanan.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

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