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Jeff Beck - Jeff Audio CD

A fair review of the Jeff Beck "Jeff" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Jeff Beck reviews here, or go back to the Jeff Beck tabs.

Jeff Beck Band: Jeff Beck
Title: Jeff
Rating:
Release Date: 2003-08-05
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: So What 2: Plan B 3: Pork-U-Pine 4: Seasons 5: Trouble Man 6: Grease Monkey 7: Hot Rod Honeymoon 8: Line Dancing with Monkeys 9: Jb's Blues 10: Pay Me No Mind [Jeff Beck Remix] 11: My Thing 12: Bulgaria 13: Why Lord Oh Why?

jeff by jeff beck
However it was a bit different genre than I expected from Jeff Beck. I was generally pleased with the product.


So I wanders in to my local mega music store (now defunct)
I just stopped in on my way home from work, hoping for something interesting to jump out at me. I'm thumbing through the bins in 2003 with no particular purpose and little expectation. It happened so seldom any more to this fiftyish guy who still has a thousand vinyl records pre 1986 and no turntable-when the in store music caught my ear. About the third time it caught my ear it was near the end of the disc and I decided, holy dung, this album is great! Finally something modern I can sink my teeth in to. So I schlepped up to the 70's version of myself at the counter and asked what it was. That figures! Jeff Beck. I have Wired and Blow by Blow gathering dust in the basement. I confess I bought those because it was hot in the circle I travelled in, but personally, it never got hold of me-shocking for a lot of you, I know. All I can say is buy it. You won't find Jeff Beck at your county fairgrounds playing his first 2 albums into the nursing home, like most 70's groups. Beck is an evolving creature. Even if the names in my collection seldom change, I'm glad one or two of them is growing new fruit and not squeezing the daylights out of 30 year old stuff.


Always changing
I've got a fair bit of Becks music over the years, as well as most other notable guitarists like SRV, Tommy Bolin, Gary Moore, Steve Morse, Steve Howe, Robin Trower, Roberet Fripp etc. Jeff Beck still relevant. I think this CD and Who Else shows that Jeff Beck is still wanting to keep updating his techniques & styles after his more commercial successes of Blow by Blow, Wired, There & Back. This newer style is grungy, thick, techno or whatever but top notch as usual and I think proves that some of these older guys can show the younger, flashier jerks that they still have a long way to go to be mentioned in the same sentence as the legends. Worth adding this one to your collection, sound quality great and it's not even remasterd! (what a rip off some of these supposed remasters are, there are albums recorded properly 20 or more years ago, so why dont these remasters sound way better with the technology thats around).


Becktronica
This has about 4 really good songs that blend nicely with everthing from Tommy Guerrero to King Black Acid. So I am an instrumental fan, and this album fits nicely into my collection. I found the tones very interesting, in classic Jeff B form, low on viruosity and high in creativity. He has come a long way from Cream, but it is also back to the instrumental vibe that he was doing back in his stevie Wonder funk phase. .


a real departure
. . from anything, actually.
Summary:
Audio geeks: buy this
Jeff Beck fans: buy Who Else! first, then this if you like it
other music fans: should probably start with "blow by blow" or even "truth" to see Jeff's roots--not what you might expect given this album (and great albums)

First off, The recording quality on this is astounding. The sounds used are well outside of the normal range. With my Dahlquist DQ-10 speakers, I was occasionally confused about where the sound was coming from, because I was pretty sure my speakers couldn't make those sounds.
In short, this album is an absolute must for audiophiles. I use a variety of tracks for testing speakers/headphones/amps/whatever, but I listening to track 8 (Line Dancing With Monkeys) always teaches me more than any other track in my collection.

This is a bold foray into electronica for Jeff. Unlike Who Else!, this really doesn't conjure up many memories of Classic Jeff Beck--which makes it really interesting. The variety of sounds, the way they're put together is pretty darned original as far as I can tell, and of course, the guitar samples are awesome (not surprising considering the source)--just full of nuance. I wish I had bought Who Else! first to ease me into this album, because it was such a shock to my ears, that for a while, I really didn't like it. After getting used to this album, the only thing I really find fault with is the vocal samples. They're not plastered all over the music or anything, but where they do appear, I find them awkward. That's why I only gave this 4 stars.

For those that aren't familiar with Jeff's work--this is techno-ish, but the samples are where fans of his earlier work will recognize him. Jeff is often called one of the most influential/important guitarists of all time (2nd most is probably fair), but his influence has mostly been through other guitarists, not direct to listeners. He's done a lot of groundbreaking stuff, and gone through many phases that sound quite distinct. I think after listening to that stuff you may hear this album differently.


You can see a complete list of all Jeff Beck discography, or go back to the Jeff Beck tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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