If you are including downloadable releases and discs you can get from his website, this marks Jeff Beck’s seventh live record in about 15 years. For someone who used to take years off at a time from playing any music at all, this last 15 years or so have been a bevy of riches. That being said, another live record is not essential at this point. Supposedly he is also releasing a studio record later this year, one that he has been working on for years, so this is probably a whimsical stopgap before the real prize comes. By the way, if you want some live Beck and are a little overwhelmed by the choices, Live at Ronnie Scott’s (2008) ***** is still the one to get. For the more hardcore Beckophiles, both volumes of Live in Tokyo ’99 (1999/2006) **** are also essential.
This one stands out from the other recent releases primarily because he has a vocalist band member with him (half of the tunes are still instrumental, though). Jimmy Hall (of Wet Willie semi-fame) handles the vocals, and while a competent classic rock screamer with a tinge of Southern soul (and frequent over-emoter), as with any Beck vocalist other than Rod Stewart, I find that the vocals get in the way of why we are really here…which is to hear Jeff Beck play the guitar. Also, Beck should have delved deeper into the original Jeff Beck Group and Yardbirds songbooks if he was going to have a vocalist. Why not pull out “Plynth,” “The Train Kept A-Rollin,’” “Up Under Sideways Down,” “Shapes of Things,” etc.? (It is cool to get “Superstition” and “Going Down,” though). Instead we get mostly well tred covers like “Little Wing” and “A Change Is Gonna Come,” or tunes that have already appeared on recent live records like “A Day in the Life,” “Big Block,” “Hammerhead” and “Where Were You” that aren’t really improved on to justify their reappearance.
Now this is not a bad listen at all. Beck is miraculously ageless and still sharp on the axe. It is just a bit redundant at this point. I’d say there are two highlights, one of which is a stomping version of Beck’s industrial take on Muddy Waters’ “Rollin’ and Tumblin’.” But the clear peak is a jawdropping run through of John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra classic, “You Know You Know,” which is nearly worth the price of admission alone (and definitely worth the individual download). Beck is in top form firing off laser sharp lines. The song also allows jazz bassist (and longtime Prince collaborator) Rhonda Smith to play a stunning bass solo that matches Beck’s brilliance.
The “+” part of the title are two studio tracks tacked on at the end. Perhaps they foreshadow a harder edge on this next record. Beck’s playing in these tunes remains innovative and surprising, although again the presence of guest vocalists just get in the way.
Dez Rating: *** out of *****
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Dez, been reading your blog for a long time. I have to say I love your insights on music and movies. Anyway if you read this comment, I would like to make some suggestions to improve your music tastes and blog. 1) I think you underestimate KISS's Eighties work, there are some great stuff on Creatures of the Night (title track, I Love it Loud), Animalize (Heaven's on Fire, Thrills in the Night, I've Had Enough (Into the Fire), Under the Gun, Get All You Can Take, While the City Sleeps), Asylum, Crazy Nights (Reason to Live, Bang Bang You); that stuff alone should have been tacked on to their 2014 Induction with additions of members Eric Carr, Vinnie Vincent, and Bruce Kulick, really do not understand how you think those songs are "unlistenable;" they are great melodic hard rock anthems of that era. And second, maybe do a list of bands and artists (suggestion 50) you think should be in the Rock Hall with a blog post for each explaining why they should be in.
Thanks for reading Crock. I can understand liking some post 70s KISS. But that is not why they were inducted into the Hall of Fame. That is based solely on their 70s heyday. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll get on it.
Thanks for understanding Dez. I figure I won't be able to change your mind about the KISS line-up for the Rock Hall. Personally I feel when a band, which has had many members throughout its' history, does get into the Hall of Fame they should be honored for all of its' eras. Sure they will be some bands where the membership becomes too fraught via numbers (i.e. King Crimson-I would suggest put in Robert Fripp and be done with it since it is his band), but I feel the best rule would be if a new member who joined a band, they can only be inducted if they played on two or more albums with one or two of the original members. If the Rock Hall followed this logic then Dio would have been inducted with Sabbath, and Carr, Vincent, and Kulick would have been inducted with KISS. Doing so would have allowed visitors to see a more diverse discography and sounds of these bands, rather than leave their legacies be dictated by Jann "I put publicity, shock, and my political ideology over facts and actual reporting for my magazine" Wenner. But that is just one person's opinion.
Anyway thanks for taking my suggestion of making a list/blog posts on which snubs should be in the Hall of Fame and why. If you want another suggestions for this project, I would add that for each artist/band you list the best albums in their discography, while for bands you list which members you believe should be inducted (i.e. Deep Purple-Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillian, Ian Paice, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Tommy Bolin, Steve Morse).
P.S.
For any hard rock/metal bands you select for the list, I would suggest you use Eddie Trunk's books Essential Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Volume I and II. For each band Eddie highlights he has a good list of which members make up the classic lineup along with additional members.
Thanks for the suggestions. Interesting fiscussion on who should/should not be inducted with any individual band. My rule would be: to be inducted, that person must have been a band member on music made that without such music, the band would not be inducted. In other words, they need to be a band member for music for which the band is being inducted. Therefore in KISS' case, the original four is it.
This might not be a rule without exceptions, though. You gave an example already. While Sabbath was really inducted for their first five records, I still would have included Dio.
As to guidelines for these exceptions? I don't know, some of it is just a smell test. Dio is a towering figure in metal in his own right, he did make music with Sabbath that is very highly regarded...so Dio makes sense as an exception to the general Dez Induction Rule.
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