Jeff Beck is the most interesting guitar player to come out of the
1960’s. More than anyone that played in the Yardbirds before, with, or after,
he really made his guitar a voice that cannot be replicated. You see people
playing in Led Zeppelin cover bands and people doing Cream covers, and they can
copy their specific guitar tones and styles easily. But nobody ever does Jeff
Beck Group songs, nor do you hear “That guy can play guitar just like Jeff
Beck.” It just doesn’t happen, because it can’t be done. His sound kept
evolving in a more unique way which led him right into jazz-fusion. As while his
peers were expressing their devotion to blues, jazz is what excited Beck and
pushed his guitar playing to the next level, rather than plateauing at a
certain skill level.
This isn’t really a jazz album though - to me it’s the purest
definition of jazz fusion, which was essential for me crossing over from
listening to over-the-top prog rock and punk right into the warm embrace of
jazz. The guitar on this album goes from sounding like several different horns
to being the main melodic force that a singer would bring to the table; but it
is still unmistakably a guitar, a force flying over the rest of the band
instead of plowing through the middle. As much as this album is focused on six
strings, the rest of the band that Beck hired were really at his level if not
higher. Max Middleton (who had played with Beck for years at this point) on
Fender Rhodes and Clavinet, Wilbur Bascomb on bass, and Narada Michael Walden
on drums are all names you might not know because they’ve had their careers
mostly behind the scenes rather than in front of the curtain, but these are the
men with most of the songwriting credits on the album, with six out of the eight
- Jeff Beck doesn’t have a single writing credit on this album, just his name
on the front cover. The other credits go to Jan Hammer, who wrote and plays
synthesizers on the song "Blue
Wind," and right in the middle of the first side, a rendition of Charles
Mingus’ "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," that if you’re not careful might just
cause you to shed a tear. 
Track by track this album is all killer and no filler, clocking in
at a super tight 38 minutes, and it feels like you got chewed up and spit out
by the end of it. The opening track "Led Boots" starts with a slightly off drum groove that
fades in backed by big chords, then punches you with the main bass line and
theme. The guitar comes in and sounds like a fighter plane flying over the
field before a baseball game, spraying all the stuff into the air to make the
colored clouds. It stands the test of time as a great album opener and cements
the tone of the album. "Come
Dancing" keeps the feel going, laying more on the back side of the
beat rather than being in your face. How a song that grooves the way it
does and yet flows seamlessly into "Goodbye
Pork Pie Hat" still amazes me. Their rendition of the classic
Mingus track is something to marvel in. This was the first time I had heard
anything written by the prolific bassist, and to say it changed me is an
understatement. I had no idea it was a jazz classic the first time I heard
this version, to me it was just the best rock ballad I’d heard at the time. The
guitar and keys melt into a stew of sonic pleasure and tone that play to each
other’s strengths unlike anything else. The feedback of the guitar plays a
major role - it is the atmosphere and aroma that take make you want to sit down
and enjoy the musical meal the band just put all of their emotion into. It’s
tough to imagine ending an album after this song - though Mingus did the same
thing, put it on the first side of the record right in the middle - but before
this side is over there is the undeniable bass playing on "Head for the Backstage." The
bass playing on both of those tracks starts along the same path of Larry Graham,
but it took a detour, got lost, and came back with treasure.
Unfortunately the back half isn’t as visceral as the first, but
there is still so much that you can’t deny on this album. "Blue Wind"
starts off side two and it’s got a slightly slower, but way brighter, Deep
Purple feel with its driving energy. On the last few tracks, "Sophie"
and "Play With Me" are derivative of Funkadelic in the best ways, and
"Love is Green" lets you down lightly after you’ve been shaken by the
funk madness.
This album has been my favorite Jeff Beck for as long as I can
remember because there is so much of the human element in it. It’s still easy
to be able to hear how hungry he is, and how he doesn’t want to settle for what
he’s already done. The direction he chose may not have brought him the same
success as his other Yardbirds graduates, but his voice is richer and more
flavorful than every other guitar player out there.
-
Max Kaufman
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