New Jeff Beck album!

[AlChuck]

The new Jeff Beck album is on the shelves in the USA, finally... it's brilliant!!!

[Tweedville]

It is different........Becky is always trying to pioneer new grounds.I know you can't stay in one spot forever,but I really liked the Blow by Blow/Wired era.Does this guy get great tones ,or what?

[effedupstrat]

A man secure enough in his own coolness to keep the same clothes and hairstyle for thirty years! I love Jeff Beck.

peace.

[AlChuck]

He could wear a freakin' army uniform, so long as he keeps playing...

[Tweedville]

"Because We Ended As Lovers....." Say no more.

[AlChuck]

Tweedville,

That is indeed a tour de force...

There's also "Goodbye Porkpie Hat" from Wired, "Where Were You" from Guitar Shop... and "Space for the Papa" on Who Else?... Beck keeps coming up with 'em decade after decade...

[Tom Hicks]

I saw him open for Mahavisnu Orchestra once but my brother met him one night.My brother Mark played keyboards for a local Tx band "First Rush".They opened for Tommy Bolen at Mother Blues in Dallas the night before Bolen died.They were loading out after the gig when a limo pulled up in the alley.Beck popped out of the back and came up to my brother,"Is Tommy still here?".
Bolen and Beck went partying and Tommy died the next night in Maimi I believe.
I still prefer the seminal stuff from the 60s,ala Beck's Boogie,Goin' Down etc.

Tom

[AlChuck]

Interesting story. Jeff must've felt weird having seen Bolin the day before he died.

Speaking of John McLaughlin, I read that JB is supposed to be appearing as a guest with the Remember Shakti, one of McLaughlin's current touring units, during the Montreaux Jazz Festival this coming summer. McLaughlin is playing electric guitar in this outfit. Did you ever hear him and JB play together on that song "Django" from McLaughlin's The Promise? Outstanding, and from what I heard, a first take. When that album came out I caught a brief interview with McLaughlin on NPR's All Things Considered, where he enthused about Beck, "I love Jeff... he's so-o-o-o soulful."

[Tom Hicks]

Alchuck
I appreciate your mention of the Miles Davis standard Porkpie.You also mention Shakti and Django,which strike chords with me.Dare I mention jazz in this abode of the young?

Tom

[robert jaybird]

Actually. goodbye porkpie hat was a Charles Mingus standard that he wrote in dedication to Lester Young.

[Ginzoo]

Tom Hicks,PLEASE bring on the jazz.I was always afraid to mention anything related to it because it might become a dead post within one day or less...

Blow by Blow is what started this whole guitar-junkie-lifestyle for me in the first place.I'm still trying to get some sort of tone that is compareble to that.
Aaaahhhhhh Miles...

[Jim Marquard]

I do wonder, how many young guitarists (under 30) are looking at this and saying to themselves, "Who in the hell is Jeff Beck?" Anyone saying that should immediately go out and buy "Wired" or "Blow by Blow." Once you have absorbed these two wonderful guitar albums you will likely go and buy more Jeff Beck. He is da bomb.

Peace, Jim

[tojoe]

Have you guys heard his new disc "You had it coming" to me this is very british sounding, the disc is a real library of sounds against loops, not so much quantity but quality. I tell you after listening to this you'll never grab a pod. I'm listening to it now for the first time, the track loose cannon is on, no doubt. Another thing the tones are natural and unbelievably he sqeezes out some blues, subdued as always but there and definitley some horitsn riffing going on ...Listen..it's nasty and good for ya..

[AlChuck]

tojoe, that's what this thread was about, his new album...

[effedupstrat]

Back in the day, you could say the word Beck without confusing the young'uns. Listening to the new album now and what can I say, the man is BADASS as always. Just in command of the instrument. I was serious before about the clothes and hair. If you think about it, not only did this guy define an attitude and approach to the guitar, but I think he influenced guitar player fashion as well. The whole jeans and sleeveless tees and vests look. None among us can play that well, but at least we can, and probably still do, dress like that. Now if we can just keep the hair and the waistline, we can rip off "Goin' Down" or "Freeway Jam" on the weekends and be Jeff in our own minds.

peace.

[KaBudokan]

I saw Beck live last year at the Fillmore here in Denver. Best guitarist I have ever seen, without a doubt.

[AlChuck]

...and be Jeff in our own minds

effedupstrat,

That phrase reminded me of a science fiction story I read, oh, fifteen years ago, maybe more? By a writer named Lewis Shiner... ne seems to have music infuse his stuff quite a bit... anyway, the story was titled "Jeff Beck" and appeared in ASIMOV'S, Jan 1986 (I just found LewisShiner.com: http://members.aol.com/maryklew/lsdotcom.html ) and basically some unhappy guitar-playing guy discovers a means by which he can play guitar just like he hears it in his head... he idolizes Beck and so sort of "becomes" Beck. The thing is, once he can play like that, he's still miserable, because he still can't play what he really hears in his head -- it's like the fences moved at the same time as his abilities changed. Sounds kind of goofy in my description but it was actually a very good and moving story.

It also reminds me of a guitarist named Jimmy Sarle who was in a band with me in Long Island, NY in '75 or so. After our group dissolved he auditioned for a local hotshot act... he knew in advance that they had a couple of Jeff Beck numbers in their repertoire. Now this guy was one of those amazing natural players that all the rest of us mortal types always hate -- he could do almost anything with seemingly little effort. He had learned from listening to records and he could cop extremely accurate and soulful "imitations" of Hendrix, Beck, Clapton, Zappa... anyway, he goes to the audition, they're thinking about what to try, and he's acting like he doesn't know anything. The bandleader says, "um, well, do you know any Jeff Beck?" And Jimmy says, "Yeah, a little," all humble-like. "Do you know 'New Ways/Train Train?'" they ask. "I think I can get through it," says Jimmy. And proceeds to play it with them as if he were Beck himself. He got the gig.

I wonder what ever happened to him? I kind of expected to see him on some records some day...

-AlChuck

[effedupstrat]

AlChuck,
Cool, I checked out the page and this guy looks like someone worth looking into. Thank you. What I find is that now I CAN play what I hear in my head. I can see my fingers playing in my mind's eye. The problem is that it is all the same old "me" stuff. I only hear what I already can play, how I already know how to play it. Now I just need to hear newer, cooler stuff in there. Just have to listen to a lot more Beck.

peace.

[AlChuck]

Hopefully the unusually short gap (for Beck) between albums this time will become the norm, and we'll get to listen to more Beck now than before...

By the way, I think I forgot to mention before, Jeff Beck is set to appear on the Late Late Show with Craig Claiborn (CBS) on Thursday, 2/22... a little taste anyway for we poor souls who won't get to see him this trip.

[Wide Awake]

His "There and Back" album from 1980 was a stand-out for me. Tony Hymas on keyboards is amazing on that one.

I lost interest in Jeff Beck when the "Flash" album came out. Matching him with Nile Rodgers just didn't work. Even though the Rod Stewart song People Get Ready is on that one, and that's a great version of that song.

[tojoe]

Well guys I just saw him perform 2 nights ago in a bar up in vancouver, you got to think thats a first for canada. The show was good if not relaxed, I think it was the 3rd date on the tour. He played alot of the new disc "Rollin & Tumblin" sans batten on vocal also Nadia & Loose Cannon among others. He also touched on the Blow & Wired and a Beckola track plus the beatles martin tribute track. He came out strong early set was on fire and mid set he layed back a bit and did a bit of a medley of riffs on the wayout. Seems to be having fun this time, I'll tell you it was neat seeing him in this setting, also believe it or not went back & met him should have polled you guys for questions, I just ended up talkin about an old tele he played and about the Nadia track, had to get out of the way of the Sony execs, anyway I've seen Beck maybe 4 or 5 times this one I'll remember, if you can you got to see him again just to hear him move on the guitar...

[AlChuck]

I'm green... and it's not easy...

By the way, that's not Jennifer Batten singing on "Rollin' and Tumblin'," on the CD, it's Imogen Heap...

[tojoe]

Yeah your right, she did a good job though, never knew she could moan so well, anyway I think her voice was doubled with the recorded voice, that lilt on the end of the lines, by the way the local paper called it one of the best shows to date this year they compared it to the Joel/Elton gig believe it or not, that makes me feel a little long in the tooth..

[Tweedville]

The Beck album with "Going Down" and "Glad All Over.".....'nuff said.

[AlChuck]

Jeff Beck played in San Francisco 2/20 and 2/21; I missed it but the local rag had a good review.

Re Jeff Beck's supposed appearance last night, or this morning really, on the Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn:

I hope nobody stayed up late just for this... I taped it and scanned through the tape this morning and Jeff Beck was a no-show.

I looked at the CBS website this morning. The calendar part still says he was supposed to be on last night and shows tonight's guests as "TBA,", but another blurb just below the title says that he's on tonight. I'll check it out again later.