And now on a take off of 'The Prisoner' (which Bill and I are also major fans), and their '#6'....
The sendoff to Cozy Powell, "Another Place", is 'definately maybe' a 2 box Kleenex experience as is the reworked and renamed Euro and SA tour masterpiece "La Veranesse" now called "Angels Strut". The tempo is slow and deliberate and Jeff mixes different finger, hand and slide techniques soaring off into the heavens with ecstacy. Not to go soft on you, Jeff is heavy handed with such things as the Jan Hammer penned "Even Odds" and the single from the Lp "What Mama Said". A funkier and more deliberate "Even Odds" on the Lp is exact and to the point yet allows Jeff to roam subtlety and over the top at points and the melody line from the bridge is most memorable. It should be noted that Jeff was stressing that this time around there had to be a lot of melodic content and that he didn't want just another shred groove without redemption. That's why he chose to start from scratch and basically ditch the fun stuff he did with Steve Luthaker last year. The single, "What Mama Said" is basically the Euro/SA tour "New Tech". Inserted for fun, airplay and uniqueness, a dialogue bit from the old sixties comedy movie "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" in which Dick Shawn asks about 'What Mama Said'.
"Brush With Blues" gets it's own paragraph. First of all it is a first. Jeff has never put a live track before on a planned (contract fulfilling, hah!) studio release of new material. (Anyone emailing about "Blues Deluxe" from 'Truth' please take two steps to the rear. Also, BBA Live In Japan, w/Jan Hammer and Beckology don't count.) Secondly, if there is a live blues track out there that is more genuine and heartfelt than this one I've yet to find it. Remember part of the beauty of this number is that is is not classic twelve bar but an interesting art-deco-club-jazzy blues with a twist...and a roar. Final bonus is that it is from one of the last three German gigs, so it is a different version than the German video we all have (or should).
Before we launch the new JB record into outer space, I pay homage to my personal favorite on the Lp, "Space For The Papa". Hints of 'Guitar Shop' and 'Stand On It' aside, I didn't think from the live shows that it would be my first choice but as in many cases, going back to read the book after you've seen the movie can be very rewarding. While some of the previous live versions provided much room for experimentation after Jennifer Batten counted down and launched the spaceship Jeff, it's obvious that in this version, recorded during a soundcheck at one of the last three German dates last summer, that Jeff spent a good deal of care with the fingerings and slides and bends on this particular tune. Each phrasing rings out in it's own bold and unique style. Perfecto.
No master is complete without his support. No one is adept as at writing offbeat time signatures that can blend into rock n' roll as Tony Hymas. He's the big brother part that keeps challenging Jeff to come out with daring cutting edge stuff that makes a who else rather that a who cares! Since Jennifer Batten has been on the Beck scene, unheard of things are happening in Jeff's career. He finally came out with a record. He's behaving himself with the other half of the odd couple (Sony). He's playing better than ever before. He's doing extended touring. Who knows, maybe he'll even consider getting Rod to come onstage at one of his show's for an encore. (Rod will be in Toronto on a day off when Jeff plays there we have learned.)
This first three comes courtesy of Michael Einhaus. Michael says both of the Fillmore posters are available in the U.S. at Artrock in San Francisco or Psychedelic Solution in New York City. Thanks again!
If the name Beck now conjures a young, Southern California slacker-rocker and not the legendary English guitarist, Jeff Beck has only himself to blame. It's been more than five years since his last release and a lot longer than that since he had anything resembling a hit.
``It's really embarrassing,'' the guitar star Beck says. ``When I look back and see how little I've done, I almost feel I'm not really a professional. But I feel it's better not to play unless you're 100 percent sure you want to.''
Now Beck, 54, is back with a new release, ``Who Else!,'' an ironic title considering that most under-35 music fans think of Someone Else when they hear his name. He's also on a tour that lands Saturday at The Orpheum, his first since performing on a twin bill with fellow guitar star Carlos Santana four years ago.
Speaking from a London rehearsal hall, Beck makes the process of recording and touring 1999-style sound like a major inconvenience. ``First you've got to get the damn record done,'' he says sounding both amused and cranky. ``That's the biggest stumbling block, having a record you're reasonably pleased with and you're gung-ho to play. You have to put the tour together, which is a major operation. You've got to plan it a year ahead of time. I won't bore you with the details. But it took a concerted effort by me.'' He laughs. ``I hope you all appreciate it.''
Certainly his fans do. Beck has earned his place in history several times over. First, he made his mark as the most adventurous of the Yardbirds' triumvirate of guitar gods, which includes Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. Next, he formed his own Jeff Beck Group, which launched the careers of singer Rod Stewart and current Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood and, more significantly, forged a style that countless hard rock and heavy-metal bands have fed off since. Then, in the mid-'70s, he unleashed his own influential take on jazz/rock withalbums such as the landmark ``Blow By Blow.'' But starting in the '80s, Beck's live and recorded appearances became increasingly sporadic. In an uncharacteristic burst of productivity, he put out two offbeat albums in 1983: ``Frankie's House,'' the soundtrack to a cable TV miniseries about the Vietnam War, and ``Crazy Legs,'' a tribute to Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps and underappreciated guitarist Cliff Gallup, in particular. After that, nothing.
``I've been extremely down,'' Beck says. ``Depressed, I suppose. And nobody wants to hear anyone playing depressed. Relationship stuff happened. I wanted to learn to be a pilot. The instructor was a woman. I almost had my license when things went very wrong. Enough said.
``Then I started to restore this big old ancient house. Let me tell you, you need to be a multimillionaire to restore ancient houses. ``It seemed all this stuff was going on at once sucking great chunks of my life away,'' he says. ``I needed a push musically, somebody to encourage me to make a move.'' That somebody was Tony Hymas, Beck's longtime keyboardist. Hymas had written a bunch of tunes, many of which ended up on ``Who Else!,'' mixing unusual time signatures, offbeat rhythms, jazz and world beat flavors with rock. In turn, Beck introduced Hymas to a new style he wanted to explore: electronic dance music.
``I layed some Chemical Brothers and Prodigy on Tony and said, `Look, these people are massive. We can't go on dreaming about jazz-rock forever.' I shoved Tony in this direction and, presto, he comes up with some really wild stuff.'' ``Who Else!'' kicks off with two tracks that sound like Beck and his guitar turned loose in a techno-fueled dance club where electronic drum beats rule.
``That's almost exactly what happened,'' Beck says. ``I would go to these clubs and think, `Listen to that groove. If only I could put some guitar on top of it.' You can't get away from the excitement and energy (techno) generates, but there's precious little else. It's just drums, bass and silly noises. I'm thinking, `I belong on there.' '' Beck offsets the heavy beat tracks on ``Who Else!'' with more thoughtful tracks on which he demonstrates his distinctive touch and tone as well as an original, invigorating approach to such often-static forms as the blues and Celtic music. With its drastic shifts of style, not to mention its lack of vocals, ``Who Else!'' is exceptionally idiosyncratic - and most likely an exceptionally tough sell. You get the feeling Beck wouldn't have it any other way.
``I could get a stereotypical rock 'n' roll singer and then maybe we'd have a hit record,'' he says. ``But then I'd be just like everybody else. I wouldn't feel the slightest bit special. I just try to justify my walking out onstage with my guitar. If nothing else, I know you're not going to be able to go up the road and hear stuff like I play.''
Jeff Beck performs Saturday night at The Orpheum, Boston. The show is sold out.
In this era of studio-ized electronica, boy bands and videogenic singers, it's rare to find a six-string, cream-colored electric guitar monopolizing the spotlight at a rock 'n' roll show. But put it in the hands of guitar legend Jeff Beck and it's a solid reminder why the guitar has been ``youth culture's weapon of choice during the last 50 years,'' as Rolling Stone said recently in an issue devoted to Guitar Gods. It's been ages since Beck headlined his own show here so the sell-out guy-fest of 2,700 at Massey Hall was stoked. In fact, if the NATO forces had missed their overseas targets and nailed the storied building at Shuter and Victoria a large chunk of the city's musical community might have disappeared. Beck didn't disappoint.
Lean and energetic, the 54-year-old British axeman confirmed his consummate musicianship with dazzling, heart-racing licks and blistering runs that most guitarists only dream of during the explosive two-hour instrumental performance. Backed by his new band, Jennifer Batten (Michael Jackson's former guitarist), bassist Randy Hope and drummer Steve Alexander, Beck focused much of the show on songs from Who Else!, his first album of original material in 10 years. The cuts included the moody, Celtic-flavored ``Declan'' and concert-opener ``What Mama Said,'' updated with rave-club rhythms and computer voices. But none of the newfangled effects detracted from Beck's precise and passionate playing, particularly on crowd-pleasing covers of the Beatles' ``A Day In The Life'' and Stevie Wonder's ``Cause We've Ended As Lovers,'' from 1975's classic Blow By Blow. At one point Beck, a man of few words, grabbed the microphone as if to say something to the crowd. Instead, he pushed it back wordlessly and laughed. His whammy-bar crescendos, sweetly plucked notes and molten-riffing said all that was needed to be said.
A car accident later that year sidelined Beck for 18 months. Beck thrived during the mid-'70s, when the double album Blow by Blow set a new standard for instrumental rock recordings. From 1977 to 1980, however, Beck dropped out of the public eye. Beck re-teamed with Stewart in 1985, when their version of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready" became a radio hit. Alas, a tour hastily derailed when the two stars couldn't get along. During the 14 subsequent years, Beck released three albums of new material -- one in 1989 and two in 1993. But as the century closes, 54-year-old Beck has found inspiration in ambient, electronic and techo styles that have dominated the music scene of his native England during recent years.
His forward-looking instrumental album Who Else! was released on March 16, and he brings his live at to the Murat Theatre on Tuesday. "I'm looking for some reassurance that I'm not wasting my time," Beck said during a recent telephone interview. "Obviously, through being so little onstage and so unprolific in the recording studio, it would help if this tour was a mild success. Just some mild interest would be enough for me." There's an easy-to-detect urgency in Beck's voice when he talks about opportunities that lie ahead. And he's quick to dispel the suggestion that he has deliberately missed opportunities of the past."Not willingly. ... Continuing problems crop up," he said. "I suppose I got what I've deserved and it's only me to blame for all the good or the bad."
When Beck does tackle a new project, he has a history of trying something new. He's immersed himself in blues, jazz-rock fusion, rockabilly, Asian and now electronic genres. "Whatever goes, goes," Beck said. "I'm never going to stand on one island and stick a pole in it and say, 'This is me forever.' " Electronic leanings... Frankie's House and Crazy Legs, two albums released in 1993, illustrated the divergent ground Beck is willing to explore. Frankie's House, the soundtrack for a cable-TV miniseries set during the Vietnam War, featured Beck's interpretations of traditional Asian koto music. On Crazy Legs, Beck re-created 17 songs from the catalog of rock 'n' roll pioneer Gene Vincent. "If I'm accused of musical promiscuity or whatever, then so be it," Beck said. "But it's a legal deal. The guy who's allowed to make mistakes in the name of experimentation -- that's really what my job is."
For the most part, Who Else! is a fast-paced ride that showcases aggressive playing by Beck. "Right back from the Yardbirds, I've kind of had an eye for adventurous music," Beck said. "Being born during the latter part of (World War II), I suppose I've suffered some kind of bomb damage that I've tried to use to effect. It's a sort of post-war disturbance, I guess." The album opens with a pair of withering, futuristic rave-ups, "What Mama Said" and "Psycho Sam." Beck then pays tribute to his roots with "Brush with the Blues," an emotive track recorded live during a 1998 tour of Germany. "I thought about the Blues a lot, because I didn't want it to sound like an add-on," Beck said. "After two barrage-of-tech numbers, a dramatic drop of energy level could have the best effect." In concert, Beck said he plans to incorporate Who Else! songs with material from throughout his career. "(Who Else! is) about half the package," Beck said. "The rest of it is just charged rock 'n' roll. We've got the most kick-ass stuff we could get our hands juxtaposed with some nice ballads. It should be pretty good." The shapes of things Beck's membership in the Yardbirds earned him a spot in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. One of the band's defining moments was a memorable cameo appearance in director Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow Up. "Four days of my entire life back in 1966 -- and they come back to haunt me," Beck jokingly said of his part in the influential art film. "But it was great, there was no doubt about it." While the Yardbirds' performance of instrumental number "Stroll On" earned rave reviews, Beck said his Blow Up experience was slightly tainted. "I guessed, in my little kind of cunning way, that we were the second choice," Beck said. "When I was asked to smash the guitar, I knew straightaway that the director or producer wanted Pete Townshend (and The Who). But we weren't in a financial situation to turn that down." Historically, the Yardbirds will be remembered as the group that can count guitar gods Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Beck among its alumni. Beck replaced Clapton in the band's lineup, and Page joined the group shortly before Beck's exit. During the Beck era, the Yardbirds gave rock 'n' roll a new edge with hits such as "Heart Full of Soul," "Over Under Sideways Down" and "Shapes of Things." Page later assembled Led Zeppelin from the ashes of the Yardbirds, who often are credited for "inventing" heavy metal. "I don't really think the youth of today give two hoots about it," Beck said of any role he had in metal's evolution. "If it's not important to them, I wouldn't go on about it. I certainly won't be standing up, beating my chest to say I invented this, that or the other."
Jeff Beck did have much use for the microphone onstage at Roseland on Friday night. After two approaches, he told the sold-out crowd he had forgotten what he was going to say, later, he named the band members and offered thank yous. But his guitar was his true voice, and still every bit as brazen and subtle, wayward and exalted as it has been since he sliced through British blues in the 1960's.
Since the mid-1970's Mr. Beck has been leading instrumental bands, re-emerging with an album every three to six years. His pieces, many of them composed by his longtime collaborator Tony Hymas, are built on blues forms or tape loops, hard-rock stomps or hovering melodies, off-meter vamps or Middle Eastern scales. Mostly they provide open space where his guitar can wrangle or snarl or peal.
His solos are the sound of supreme confidence: not aggressive or necessarily flashy, but casually assured that every impulse will pay off. He's an iconoclast by reflex, using his guitar to make a tune persuasive, then attack it without mercy. He states a melody and claws it apart, bending and distorting notes or breaking into high, swerving tangents; he fights the beat, runs circles around it, then flies above it with siren cries. He doesn't flaunt the speed that's in his fingers. Instead he keeps listeners hanging on every phrase, awaiting the next pause or streak or curve. Every so often, as in "Angel" from his new album, "Who Else!" (Epic), he allows a melody to sing, proving he's not a thoughtless vandal.
Mr. Beck has updated his music technologically. The band was occasionally supplemented by a programmed beat or a repeating sample, though Randy Hope-Taylor on base and Steve Alexander on drums also pounded out hefty boogie riffs. Jennifer Batten, on second guitar, sometimes transformed her tone to sound like keyboard parts.
Mr. Beck's own approach hasn't changed much more than his shag haircut. While he has added the speedy fretboard-tapping technique of Allan Holdsworth and Eddie Van Halen to his tactics, he is still steeped in the blues, with its slides and jabs, its rough boogie chords and its insouciant filigrees. His set had only a few lapses; an overly reverent run-through of "A Day in the Life" and some clichéd guitar-synthesizer tones - breathy chords, pseudo-Celtic pipes- from Ms. Batten. But for the most part, Mr. Beck was living proof that at least one guitar hero is too ornery to be obsolete.
DETROIT _ If Jeff Beck wasn't the original guitar god, he was certainly in the pantheon of deities. From 1964-66, when rock's first guitar-godhead myths were being written, Beck was one of the three axe-wielding poobahs in the Yardbirds who pushed rock guitar to new, more turbulent levels of expression _ the others being Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. (Remember, this was pre-Hendrix: Are You Experienced? didn't erupt until '67.)
Not surprisingly, Beck _ who will perform tonight at the Fox Theatre, only the second time in 10 years that he's played Detroit _ is one of the deities being worshiped in Rolling Stone's current "Guitar Gods" issue.
Indeed, Beck's breathtaking guitar heroics _ like his otherworldly feedback and distortion, and the high drama of his swooping, air-raid siren solos _ have rarely been matched in the ensuing 35 years of rock-guitar history. (Except, of course, by Hendrix, Clapton and Page.) But his newly released Who Else! adds to the luster of Beck's eccentric legend. Who Else! is an all-instrumental album that's directly hot-wired into the ambitious, funky-jazz-rock vibe of Blow by Blow and Wired, his seminal mid-'70s fusion discs. And on a few tunes, he comes up with a trendier, electro-torqued brand of fusion by lashing his dive-bomb guitar theatrics to throbbing techno-house beats.
On tracks like "What Mama Said" and "Psycho Man," Beck transcends the generic techno-thump grooves with his signature, note-shredding crescendos. And on the live "Brush With the Blues," "Angel" and the traditional Irish tune "Declan," Beck's luscious guitar tone and eloquent phrasing speak with the emotional immediacy of a human voice.
Tonight's show will be mostly devoted to the new songs, although Beck has promised some high-wire rearrangements of tunes from his deep catalogue _ reaching as far back as those groundbreaking, mid-'60s days with the Yardbirds. " `Beck's Bolero': We're gonna kick a_ on that one," he boasts in the bio material with the new disc. "It'll bring the house down." Bet your own house on it.
There was a time when the mere mention of his last name identified him to rock fans worldwide. But those times have passed. "I got this e-mail from a girl who asked me how it could be that she was my biggest fan but hadn't heard about my new album," says Beck -- Jeff Beck, that is, the Beck who first changed rock history with his guitar playing for the Yardbirds in the mid-1960s.
Jeff Beck is fully aware that, these days, his last name is more likely to conjure the Beck of "Odelay" and "Mellow Gold" renown than his own. As part of a tour to promote his new album, "Beck: Who Else?" Jeff Beck will play the Rave at 8 tonight.
"I hope that girl and anyone else confusing the two of us doesn't come to any of the shows," added the elder Beck. "If they do, they'll be disappointed." During a recent phone interview from his estate outside of London, Beck, 54, spoke of how his new record was influenced by, of all things, the English techno band, the Prodigy; how his long-designated status as a "guitar god" is both a vice and a blessing; and what a 30-plus-year veteran of the music industry has to do to keep himself in the game -- and sane while doing so. "Why am I still doing it," he says, "still out there competing with all the youngsters? Well, here it is 1999, and I've hardly played or recorded that much in the last decade. And despite my being famous for talking of how often I have to get away from the music business (Beck is known for spending as much time tinkering under the hoods of his vintage car collection as he is with his guitar collection) I still love playing music."
The new album sets Beck's familiar blues-wiz leads atop throbbing, rave-like dance beats -- part of his plan to revamp his guitar-god image, from his signature Stratocaster to his English mod hairdo. But fret not, guitar buffs: both the new techno-fied Beck, as well as the vintage, classic-era Beck will be showcased during tonight's show. "We'll be doing revamped versions of stuff from 'Wired' and 'Blow by Blow,' " says Beck, referring to the groundbreaking albums he released in 1975 and '76. Also included, he says, will be material from his days in the Yardbirds and the Jeff Beck Group (which featured Rod Stewart for a spell) along with more recent, explorative guitar compositions that marked '80s and '90s Beck albums such as "Flash," "There and Back" and "Crazy Legs."
Regarding current genres and artists, Beck says, "me and rap don't get along too well" -- yet his voice seems to warm to the mention of rapper Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, who did a remake of "Kashmir" for the "Armageddon"soundtrack with one of Beck's contemporaries, former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. Beck is one of the few guitarists whose name, back in those guitar-obsessive days, as much as merited mention within the same breath as Jimi Hendrix's. Beck's feelings about Hendrix range from respect for his talent to amazement over his lingering myth and legacy. "The fact that Jimi was cut down so early, to have that suddenly ripped away is such a downer. It was such a jolt, an instant hole his death created. He wound up becoming canonized, and now he's sort of the presiding spirit and leader of the guitar-god image. "I remember jamming with him at the old Scene Club in New York. He whispered so much when he spoke and talked in code a lot of time. But we didn't have any problems communicating musically. He was a jam fanatic and I wasn't, but he'd get me up for it whenever we shared the stage." On the ultimate guitar-nut stoner hypothetical: Hendrix vs. Eric Clapton: "Hendrix was more of a Buddy Guy type, more of a blues player, and then just when he convinced you he was a bluesman, he'd rip out incredible power riffs. I think Eric's more of a riff king, while Hendrix took more outrageous risks, which Page, myself and Eric didn't tend to do. You're talking about a black blues genius compared to a bunch of white heavy rockers. "The white players of that era have a tribute-like, almost reverent tone to their sound. There's an attention to detail, an overly clean sound, that usually distinguishes them. Even by Cream, I was hearing a very controlled quality in Eric's playing."
One of the reasons Beck never achieved the renown of contemporaries like Page and Clapton is because he rarely sang or aligned himself with groups featuring strong vocalists. But don't expect to hear his pipes any time soon. "Look, I'm 54, so I'm not going to take singing up at this point. I don't like the sound of my voice in a room, let alone over a 10,000 watt P.A. system. "And besides," he adds, "I sort of like to think I have a knack for singing and speaking with my hands."
If there existed a rock guitarist's bible, its "genesis" chapter might read: "In the beginning was the Beck. And Beck looked upon the face of rock and saw that it was dull. So Beck madeth the fuzz-tone, and it was good. Then Beck molded distortion from the darkness and separated feedback from the howling sustained note and was pleased. On the seventh day Beck rested and restored vintage cars." Guitarist Jeff Beck didn't singlehandedly invent the sound of the modern rock guitar, but during his short stint with the Yardbirds, he unleashed so many innovative sounds - miasmic clouds of distortion, sitar-like fuzz satoris, wildly warped sustain tones - that he's regarded as a guitar god. Throughout his episodic career, Beck's virtuosity has sometimes been more impressive than the music it adorns, and that's true of his new LP "Who Else!," a mixed bag of electronica, blues and schmaltz.
But the encyclopedic fretwork is phenomenal. -Rick Reger Apr. 3: 8 pm (SOLD OUT)
As a bunch of air guitar-playing, middle-aged men with '80s haircuts descended upon the Chicago Theatre, some might have wondered which Beck. But only the most myopic musical iconography would place the sold-out crowd there for the alt-rocker. Saturday night, the stage belonged to inventive guitar legend Jeff Beck.
Beck's visit in support of his latest CD, ``Who Else!,'' found the 54-year-old genius in a playful mood. Lean and black-clad, looking pretty much as he did in the 1970s--complete with the hair--Beck captained a musical celebration. During Beck's 90-minute set, classical pianist Andre Watts came to mind. Both men are about the same age, living legends renowned for dazzling technique. And both control their instruments with economical, direct gestures that make you wonder where all that sound, all those notes are coming from. Beck's playing always flowed with songlike expressiveness. You expected astounding guitar pyrotechnics, but his musicality was scintillating. Opening with the techno-rush of ``What Mama Said,'' Beck started slowly, reveling in the song's melodic structure and rhythm rather than spraying solos all over the place, the temptation of lesser guitar deities.
Beck elevated his droll new material through musical insight. ``Psycho Sam'' burbled menacingly, ``Space for the Papa'' included a brief snippet of the classic ``Beck's Bolero,'' and ``Brush With the Blues,'' brought an impossible series of coos, vocal shrieks and skirls from Beck's instrument. And rather than relying upon effects pedals, Beck made it all happen with fingers, imagination and magical manipulation of his cream-colored Stratocaster's vibrato bar. At one point, he even used a folding bottle opener to tickle what absolutely had to be more than the usual six strings.
A languid cover of the Beatles' ``Day in the Life'' became a noisy, distorted tour de force, while mid-'70s rippers such as ``Led Boots,'' ``Blue Wind'' and ``Because We've Ended As Lovers'' found new life through Beck's rough, contemporary boisterousness. His crunchy distortion ruled the roost.
Bandmates Jennifer Batten on guitar, an excessive Steve Alexander on drums, and the slick, steady Randy Hope-Taylor on bass were just hanging on for dear life while having the time of their lives playing with the King. At the end, a well-earned encore of ``Big Block'' found Beck literally on his back, legs in the air, guitar balanced on the bottom of his feet as Batten played it. And through the grins all around, you thought that guitar heroes come and go. But exuberance, virtuosity and pure fun never go out of style.
In the 1960s, the British blues-rock band the Yardbirds birthed the careers of three legendary guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. Of the three, Beck has had the least notoriety; he's never had a top-40 hit after embarking on a solo career in 1968, whereas Clapton has become a pop celebrity and Page a hard-rock icon. Meanwhile, Beck has had trouble keeping a band together, has had notoriously finicky relationships with vocalists and is an indifferent songwriter, frequently relying on outside material.
His post-Yardbirds albums (with "Truth" and "Blow by Blow" the notable exceptions) are strikingly erratic. The recent "Who Else!" isn't a major improvement: Full of mind-boggling moments in an arid, neo-techno setting, it presents a virtuoso talent in search of a little bit of soul and sympathy from his collaborators and producers. But Beck is an absolute monster on stage, as he proved again Saturday at the Chicago Theatre. If Clapton embraced the deep blues and Page the indelible riff, Beck commandeers pure sound. He put on a display of six-string showmanship that left everyone--including his competent band--in the exhaust fumes of his Stratocaster. And he did it without the help of effects pedals or even a pick; thumping the strings with his right thumb, tickling them with his fingers, wielding his whammy bar like a sculptor would a chisel, the 54-year-old virtuoso shaped huge blocks of sound into astounding Technicolor pretzels.
Though the band members were no slouches--bassist Randy Hope-Taylor laid down a thick, steady bottom end, drummer Steve Alexander busily sprayed shrapnel like a Tony Williams wanna-be and guitarist Jennifer Batten pulled out a package of '80s tapping techniques--they were mere window-dressing for Beck's pageant of tone colors. The trouble is, since the Yardbirds, Beck has never worked with any one particular ensemble long enough to achieve a genuine interplay. And so, as is the case with jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, Beck simply had to zoom past his backing musicians to achieve transcendence.
Occasionally, as with "Blast from the East" or "What Mama Said," the guitarist spun variations on Batten's buzzing rhythm. And his set list favored songs built on solid riffs, such as the snake-charmer motif that propelled "Psycho Sam." But these structures only momentarily contained Beck, who didn't so much play his guitar as tame it, so extreme was the volume level. This gave even the ballads, such as Stevie Wonder's "Cause We've Ended as Lovers" and the Otis Rush tribute "Brush With the Blues" a cavernous grandeur. Without a vocalist to state the melodies, Beck struck individual notes with bell-like clarity, then corrupted them to achieve a singing poignance, or in many cases an otherworldly roar. At its best, the music trembled with unseen violence, threatening to shatter at any moment as Beck dove into "THX 138," "Big Block" and the avant-garde ascensions of the Beatles' "A Day in the Life." He spoke little and indulged the audience in a game of call and response on "Freeway Jam," but none of that was necessary. His solitary splendor was enough.
Jeff Beck is a charter member of the rock guitar-god pantheon. He first ascended in the mid- 1960s with British psychedelic blues band The Yardbirds, following Eric Clapton and preceding a pre-Led Zeppelin Jimmy Page in the group's storied line-up. Then he cut a pair of classic albums with singer Rod Stewart, and released "Blow By Blow" and "Wired," landmark mid-'70s instrumental fusion albums that cemented his reputation as one of rock's premier six-stringers, a master of controlled guitar histrionics. But Beck is a reticent guitar hero. In recent years he has recorded infrequently; the word was he'd rather restore vintage automobiles at his rural estate in England than make new music. Neither of his most recent albums, the 1993 soundtrack "Frankie's House" and the Gene Vincent tribute "Crazy Legs," contained fresh compositions. So merely by its existence, Beck's new "Who Else!" is significant. That the album smokes as it veers from pulsing electronica to sedate electric blues to an Irish folk number makes it all the better. And during a phone interview before the start of his current tour, Beck seemed more than eager to hit the road; he performs Tuesday at the House of Blues. "I'd rather be playing now," Beck said of his current focus. "The cars are always going to be there. I've learned a few skills, and I can go back to that. But the playing starts to go downhill if you don't pay attention. And we don't want that. You do not want to see me onstage being sad, not happening at all." Joining him in his road band are three players who appeared on "Who Else!": Guitarist Jennifer Batten, who spent five years backingMichael Jackson; drummer Steve Alexander, who logged two years with Duran Duran; and session bassist Randy Hope-Taylor. They'll draw from an arsenal of 22 songs, including most of "Who Else!" and Beck's best from over the years. The vintage material has been overhauled to make it more in line with his recent work. The motivation that finally pulled Beck out of the garage and into the studio did not come from within: He had to be nudged. "I've been nudged until I have bruises," Beck said, laughing. "Nobody wanted to get going more than me. If I had had all the material at my behest, I'd probably be boring the s--- out of everybody. But it just doesn't come that easy. I think it's nice to have a regular tour and have people be fond of you. But it's not really my style to overdo things. And maybe we just make the best of the long gaps by delivering something really different when I do go. I'd rather be in that position than outstaying a welcome." Beck depends on other songwriters and musical collaborators to shape his material. He attributes the long delay before "Who Else!" in part to the departure of his longtime drummer and musical foil, Terry Bozzio. It was not until Beck teamed up with guitarist Batten that he found the enthusiasm for his latest project. Still, it was not an easy process. The first batch of music written for the album was shelved. Also, Beck had intended to release a live album recorded during a German tour last year. In the end, only two live cuts, supplemented by studio overdubs, made it onto "Who Else!" "My dream was shot down when we all sat and listened to the tapes," Beck said. "There wasn't enough ambiance, not enough kick-ass live sound about it. I realized we were hopeless, that we had to start again, or take some of the great stuff and goose it up with (studio) trickery. As long as the guitar (parts) are honest and up-front, which I think it probably is, I think people will forgive any of the loops that they might find distasteful underneath." The first two cuts on "Who Else!" pulse with a techno beat, a result of Beck's interest in electronica. "I always listen to these things in clubs and watch people make idiots of themselves jiving and jumping in the air," he said. "And I think, 'What a wasted opportunity. There's a guitar waiting to be played on these tracks and no one's doing it.' You get some screaming pimple-voice on there, or some inane noises that sound like someone left a machine switched on. But there is some excitement there; there's a lot of great stuff going on out in clubland. I didn't want to miss that energy of the Chemical Brothers."
His reputation as an old-school guitar hero aside, Beck prides himself on keeping an ear tuned to current trends. "I don't sit down and listen to Jimi Hendrix reissues," he said. "People think maybe because I come from (that era), that's all I do. Wrong. I'm listening to stuff that will get me twisted enough to write something that has not been done on the Strat before. That's what my job is, really." To that end, he has embraced the latest recording technology, including the ProTools program, which allows users to snip and sample bits of music and then piece it all together. "You've got all kinds of ways to go in and chop your tune up into a million bits; all of a sudden, you've gone in with one song and come out with another," Beck said. "That suits me fine. I'm not a purist in the sense where we all learn a groove and play it. Whatever it takes will be the law according to Jeff. "I try to use the guitar as a voice, with all kinds of nonsense going on behind me. As long as the central arena is the guitar, then we're pretty much on beam."
Mr. Beck set a high standard for the season with a breathtaking series of solos that not only impressed technically, but hit the audience of more than 4,000 in exactly the right place: the heart. Touring to promote Who Else!, his first CD in six years, Mr. Beck was backed by a three-piece band that deftly supported the evening's most important element: his many guitar moods.
The music was all-instrumental, but Mr. Beck's guitar spoke as eloquently as any singer. He played notes that were rounder than balloons, dense with subtext, conveying both joy and pain. If notes wore shoes, he could dress them in stilettos, then biker boots. Stylistically, he comes across as more of a purist than fellow Yardbirds alum Eric Clapton. Where EC is a showman who plays to the crowd, Mr. Beck is a shy but generous host, is happy to let you witness him as he does what he does.
What he did was simply stunning. Elegant and versatile, he switched from heavy to delicate, even within a single song, such as the heart-rending "Brush With the Blues" from the new disc. He also performed a cover of the Beatles' "Day in the Life" that was oddly minimalist, yet appealing; it was enhanced by a light show that evoked the "evolution scene" from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Looking fit in a white T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal his lean, muscular arms, he exhibited a stage manner that was endearingly humble. When the crowd screamed and cheered, he shrugged modestly and stretched out his hand, as if to say, "What's the big deal?"
The strength of his performance was embodied by the song "Cause We've Ended as Lovers." Among his best-known works, it has a lazy sadness yet is inherently tranquil. Mr. Beck played it straight, then gave it a series of improvised twists and turns that sent the crowd groaning. As the notes eased out into the cool spring night, they got higher and lighter until they soared, like a bird in flight.
Jeff looked great and it seemed like he had a great time on stage - almost rejuvenated in a way. He was clearly enjoying the audience (packed into a small club) and the band. His playing was energetic, alternating between beautiful, long lines on the slow numbers, and total pitbull with a machine gun style on the new tunes - really fierce attacks and ultra distortion. Very fierce and totally macho! The sound system was great and no technical glitches. They played for about two hours, so I've almost had my fill of getting my brains blasted!
Anyway, I envy all of the fans with tickets to this tour - you are going to have a great time. This tour will definitely go down in JB history as one of the greats. Victor Chudowsky, Washington DC
About 2/3 of the way through the show, Jeff tossed his slide into the crowd...what a cool memento somebody got!!!...(rumours outside the show said he gave away the guitar he played on the last encore, but I didn't see it...) I got to see the show from 10th row, stage right, in a venue that holds 2500 or so when it's stuffed to the rafters...I tried to weasel my way into the "meet and greet" that he wasn't doing according to all the event people I pestered), but was politely ejected when I couldn't show my pass...lol...what fan wouldn't have tried?... I managed to locate the new disc about two hours before leaving for the show...thank god I thought to take it with me...almost two hours after the show, Jeff graciously had his van stop while leaving the Tower, so he could sign autographs for the dozen or so fans that braved the cold on just that possibility...
Something else occurred after the show that was really cool while I was waiting...while talking to some guy standing there with me, he mentioned that he had been out front of the theatre about 2 hours before the show, when Jeff popped out to see if anyone was around...(this guy told me that he was one of a couple people just hanging out)...Anyhow, he said that Jeff handed out a few handfuls of promotional picks, and then gave me one...it is inscribed: JEFF BECK "WHO ELSE" IN STORE 3/16/99 on one side, and Fender Medium on the other...(mine is blue, I also saw some red and white ones in this guy's hand)...Not only did I get to see JB in an incredibly intimate venue (on the release date of his new album), and have the stub to remember it with, I also got his autograph (simply inscribed "Jeff") on the CD cover/liner and a JB "pick" dated for the whole event...WAY COOL!!!...
I hope the "larger, more extensive tour later this year" he mentioned during the webcast swings through this part of the country...I'd go to see him again in a heartbeat! One last thing...Although it's incomplete, (as it's compiled from my illegibly scrawled notes and decidedly defective memory) I thought you might be interested in this partial setlist for those who have yet to (or won't get to) see the show...
March 16th, 1999 Tower Theatre Upper Darby, Pa 1) What Mama Said 2) Psycho Sam 3) Brush With The Blues 4) Star Cycle 5)<----this one was from Guitar Shop... 6)<----from Who Else... 7)A Day In The Life 8) Declan 9) THX 138 10) The Pump 11) Led Boots solo here...) 12) Cause We've Ended As Lovers 13) Space For The Papa 14) Angel (Footsteps) 15)<--this one threw me...I'm not sure what it was from... 16)<----from There and Back....(Probably You Never Know, BA) 17) Blue Wind Encores 1) Two Rivers (Probably Where Were You, BA) 2) Big Block 3) Savoy? <----I'm almost certain on this one....my memory REALLY sucks! (Probably Slingshot, BA)Anyway, keep up the great work with the JB sight....
PS. I am all set for the New Orleans Show. I hope you are too. PPs to PS WE ARE!
The band did a beautiful version of the Beatles' "A Day in The Life" with the guitar expressive and gentle and then a furious cacophony in to the bridge. Ms. Batten is as good as everyone has said, and it is a pleaant sight to have Jeff Beck step back and admire her soloing, given his reputation. Toward the end of the show, he played "Because We've Ended..." and on eor two others from the Blow By Blow and Wired days. He encored with a beautiful piece for just the two guitars and left to a rousing ovation. My personal favorite was the third number which was a 12 bar blues, heavily jazz oriented which exhibited a soft touch and chording which one tends to forget in the blaze of the other solos. He's at the top of his game. Thanks for the opportunity to send this and keep up the good work. Dave
What Mama Said Psycho Sam Brush With the Blues Star Cycle Savoy Blast From the East A Day In the Life; Declan THX138 The Pump Blue Wind drum solo Cause We Ended As Lovers Space For the Papa Angel Even Odds; You Never Know Led Boots Where Were You Big Block Sling Shot
What Mama Said Savoy Brush With The Blues Star Cycle Psycho Sam The Pump Blast From The East Slingshot Big Block Cause We've Ended As Lovers Led Boots Angel (Footsteps) Space For The Papa Day in the Life Blue Wind THX138 Declan Where Were You You Never KnowHe played quite a bit of slide, which I haven't heard in recent years (although his technique with the whammy bar is so amazing that sometimes it's hard to tell), and was thoroughly enjoying himself. And the new band excelled in every way. Jennifer Batten (I've heard her CD and she is amazing in her own right) takes a supportive role, but has some room to shine, and provides a unique stage rapport for Beck. Steve Alexander takes over for Terry Bozzio on the drums this time around, and as you may have guessed, is more than worthy. The JB drum chair continues to be a seat of distinction. And Randy Hope-Taylor played bass. Nothing fancy, simply a rhythmic anchor to the madness. Some high points were "A Day in the Life", "Brush With the Blues", and "Where Were You", and in the Connecticut show at the Oakdale Theatre the next day, he quoted the "Star Spangled Banner" in "Space for the Papa" (I think). Seems to have an Austin Powers fetish these days, as well...-- Johnny B
*what mama said *psycho sam *brush with the blues *star cycle *savoy *hip-notica(?) *day in the house *declan *thx138 *the pump>drums *cause we've ended as lovers *space for the papa *angel *even odds *? *blue wind *where were you encore *big block *sling shot
I caught "The Guv'nor" on two nights over the weekend in two very different venues, the smoky, venerable Roseland Ballroom in New York on March 19 and the clean, yuppified Oakdale Theatre somewhere in the middle of Nowhere, Connecticut on the 21st. For those of you who may not have noticed, Jeff does have an opening act, an acoustic-strummin' folkie named Paul Thorn whose PA volume was so low as to be practically nonexistent. Also, his style is completely incompatible with Jeff's, so why bother? A total waste of time. Jeff came out right at 9 on Friday Night with What Mama Said, but this and the next tune, Psycho Sam, were too much for Roseland's acoustics. This band is LOUD and most of Beck's nuances were lost. In fact, Jennifer Batten was higher in the mix than Jeff. Brush with The Blues was next, and the mix was very good from here on in, Jeff's guitar loud and clear. "Brush" was the first big highlight of the night, building up to a solo that was similar in feel to the one on the album but different, definitely improvised on the spot. The amount of freedom and improvisation in the Who Else? material showed a lot of confidence, as well as the fact that over half of the show was new. Nice to know that an old dog like Beck believes in his new stuff and doesn't pander to lunkheads who expect him to do Shapes of Things, Over Under Sideways Down, Hi Ho Silver Lining and Going Down every night.
Of the new songs played, only Angel (footsteps), a pale first cousin of Guitar Shop's Behind The Veil, failed to convince. Everything else was much more intense than on the album, with accentuated dynamics. The harder stuff like Blast From the East, THX 138, Space for The Papa and Even Odds, came across like techno-metal, densely packed and a hundred times heavier than Slayer, Anthrax and Metallica combined. Dynamics played a key role in the set list, the hard stuff almost always followed by something softer. But on both nights Jeff seemed to be more interested in rocking out and very much into having another guitarist to trade off with. Jennifer Batten covers a lot of ground, doubling/harmonizing with Jeff, triggering MIDI synth patches, old fashioned rhythm guitar, and a few solos. Check out the way she handles the ascending keyboard lines in Blue Wind. Amazing!
Jeff approached the microphone twice at Roseland and backed off without saying anything before finally introducing the band near the end of the show. During the last encore (which was Big Block, I think), he ripped all the strings off his Strat at the same time. He'd obviously enjoyed himself.
Sunday's show in Connecticut had a different feel. The audience was seated and from my center 17th row seat, the sound was perfect for the whole show. This time, What Mama Said and Psycho Sam could be appreciated, and every squonk, squeak, honk and divebomb of Jeff's Strat was right there. Brush With the Blues was even better than at Roseland, JB really getting into it. Jeff definitely used a pick for the main riff in Led Boots. Day In The Life is a big surprise in the set, but in Wallingford there seemed to be a slight lack of communication between Beck and drummer Steve Alexander on the "orgasmic" bits connecting the different sections of the song and at the end. It was very nice to hear a few things from There And Back. The monster funk groove and speeded up ending of You Never Know kicked truckoads of booty. Big Block was insane, with the most schizoid guitar solo I've ever heard, incorporating a bar or two of Star Spangled Banner before spinning off into aggressive, angular dissonance. Jeff's mastery of the whammy and crystal clear tone showed in Where Were You. The only complaint I have is that this beautiful tune should be extended a bit. It's too short! Blue Wind finished off the night. In one of few mistakes, Jeff flubbed the main melody badly once, but redeemed himself in the solo. Jennifer quoted the melody of Freeway Jam, but Beck waved her off. Jeff expresses his dislike for perhaps his best-known instrumental in the new issue of Guitar World, so now we know why.
Setlists: Almost identical both nights, but with a few differences. Roseland's show was longer, and Blue Wind finished off the main set (I think), then after Where Were You, Big Block and Sling Shot closed out. In Wallingford, You Never Know was the set closer, then Where Were You, Big Block and Blue Wind as encores. Sling Shot was not played in Wallingford. Also no sign of the rearranged Bolero at either show. Tech observations: Jeff has only one effect onstage, a flanger he used for Led Boots. Other than that, any delay or reverb is from the board. The better acoustics in Wallingford helped accentuate the stereo panning and slapback echo/digi delay used throughout the night. A nice touch, and very well done.
Supporting players: Randy Hope-Taylor and Steve Alexander are technically proficient and rock solid but I found Alexander's solo completely unnecessary and not particulary musical. His tom-toms sound too similar, as if they were all tuned to the same note. Jennifer Batten is a discreet, forceful presence. She never overplayed, effortlessly switched between MIDI and guitar and complemented Beck very well. It's obvious from their interaction onstage that Jeff gets off on what she does. The fans: A little bit more into it at Roseland than Connecticut. Still, Jeff received several standing ovations in Connecticut and at least three hats were thrown onstage. He donned a snap-brim hat and did a brief Gene Kelly (or was it Bob Fosse?) during one standing O.
Lastly, I know I'm preaching to the converted here, but if he's playing anywhere within 500 miles, GO!! You'll be amazed. And Jeff -- please, please, please come back soon with the Allmans, Santana, or all by yourself. Best regards, --Dave Anderson
A brief note on my seeing him,Fillmore West in San Francisco,one tour was 6 nights in a row while he was doing TRUTH,3 nights on another,can't remember how many others there.Almost saw him in Germany in the early 70's,flu stopped me.Long time between Jeff fixes,with Santana in Sacramento a couple of years ago.Having moved to the sticks,I don't always pay attention to who is playing in the outer areas. Great web page by the way,hope someone sends in the song list from the other night! - Frank Hayes,Gras Valley,Ca
We were impressed with his voice. The acoustics were primo for his set and we were curious to hear how they were going to be for Jeff and company! When the curtains opened they started with What Mama Said and it was power all the way!!! The band were into a few bars of the song when Jeff came from behind the amp backline and the crowd went nuts! The set list was pretty much the same as the rest of the tour with Big Block and Where were you as the encore. It took a couple of songs before the mix opened up and your could hear all the parts buts thats typical with rock shows. I have been to many Jeff Beck concerts over the years and I can say that Jeffs playing is the most intense thats its ever been. His drop dead harmonics and whammy use are amazing and the power is there!! A Day in The Life was stunning and when he sneaked in a little Bolero during the set it was met with mucho approval too bad it was just a taste we wanted to hear more of that!What impressed me is how much Jeff and the band were having fun and it reflected in the music. Jennifer really pushes the band and seeing her and Jeff interact was great. She is an amazing player. I have her cds but this is the first time I have seen her live.Great midi work and very dexterious with the pedals and switches! Hey what can I say about Steve Alexander he was smokin on the drums!! Jeff knows how to pick drummers and he was spending a lot of his time playing right in front of the riser getting that good drum vibe. Both Steve and Randy took a solo during the set most excellent!! Randy was setting down solid bass riffs through out the show. The band was super tight and was starting and stopping on a dime breaking up the songs at a amazing pace. The machine gun licks Jeff was pumping out were jaw droppers. He played a lot of slide through out the show and for the people up front he was giving quite a few away! Too bad he didnt toss any up to the balcony! Oh well.
One moment was interesting, during the encore Jeff was playing Where Were You and he must of not liked the Strat he was using because he started walking to the side and threw it down to the stage. Needless to say he had another Strat in hand to finish the song!! Yes the fire is burning still. Well to sum things up it was a great show, the band was having fun and it was cool to see all the fan support which put a smile on the face of Jeff!
P.S. A friend of mine saw Neal Schon in the lobby and said hello and shook his hand. Obviously hes a fan and for those who dont know, he collaborated with Jan Hammer on the Schon & Hammer session. Hmmm. I wonder who else was there? Regards, MusicWard@aol.com
What can you say about a guy who sings with a guitar? Jeff does not use guitar picks, mainly just his thumb. He played the same new white Stratocaster all night, except he did change it out for an identical Strat for a song or two. How he keeps his guitars in tune, is a mystery, because he is all over the whammy bar and slapping the thing for incredible noises. But every note is always perfectly intonated. To understand Jeff Beck, you have to watch young boys at play. They take their toy trucks and cars and make beeping and gear shifting noises. They hold their toy planes and dive bomb them through the air with vocalizations. They shoot their little pals with air machine guns. With little boys, it's all about who can make the coolest noises. That's why you'll see 90% males in the audience at a Jeff Beck show. But this evening, female guitarist Jennifer Batten was holding her own onstage with Beck. She is known for her tapping skills and has been Michael Jackson's lead guitarist. Using a midi device, she played all the keyboard parts with her guitar, and had no trouble keeping up with Jeff at all. Still, there is only one Jeff Beck. Jeff never spoke a word