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The keyboards and bass are just sort of so-so, but the guitar orientation and tasteful drumming have made this a long time favorite.I also think that a previous review was incorrect in suggesting that Jeff uses a "wah" pedal. Anyone who is attuned to artistic guitar work should appreciate this album.
Admittedly, I have not heard all of him, but I have been listening to this album for over 20 years. It has stood the test of time.
Of all the Jeff Beck music that I have heard, this is the best album that I have heard. So subtle and yet so tasteful.
As a former guitar player, I have a very high appreciation of the guitar work on this album. Both the foreground and the background.
And the drumming is also excellent. To my ears, it is a "volume" pedal, which can be easily mistaken.
This is a brilliant piece of jazz-rock-funk fusion from the height of the period. This disc is one of many career highlights whereby Jeff is finding new sounds, putting his playing in different contexts and challenging himself to create something new.I think the Jeff Beck Group would have been a formidable band for the ages had Rod Stewart and Ron Wood stuck it out just a little bit longer.but each of them went on to create wonderful things anyway, so no harm done. What can you say about Jeff Beck. He was tapping before Eddie Van Halen, using the blower well before "Frampton Comes Alive", pioneering psychedlic rock with his first Yardbirds' track "Heart Full of Soul", using Chet Atkins-style fingerpicking ala Mark Knopfler(Dire Straits)/Lindsay Buckingham(Fleetwood Mac), using the wah pedal in a unique way (different from Clapton/Hendrix) and experimenting with heavy rock sounds (on songs like "Plynth, Water Down the Drain") before Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin. Rod's voice is classic, Ron Wood does the two-guitar attack very well with Keith Richards & The Rolling Stones-imagine what he and Beck might've done in that vein if given the time.The highlights for me on THIS album are as follows: Jeff's interpolation of the Beatles' "She's A Woman" using the blower, the frenetic intensity of "Scatterbrain" which is vaguely reminiscent of the classical piece "Flight of the Bumblebee" (but has a crazy time signature like "Blue Rondo A La Turk" from Dave Brubeck), the feel-good "Freeway Jam" which is just about the perfect soundtrack for motorin' down the highway, and the funky masterpiece "Thelonius" (by Stevie Wonder) which is so down and dirty that I believe it is illegal in 10 states. "'Cause We've Ended As Lovers" by Wonder is obviously a great ballad also-but it's received heavy airplay over the years and can be found in multiple places now (including the "Secret Policeman's Other Ball" soundtrack from Amnesty International, the "Beckology" box, the "Best of Beck" compilation, "Live at Ronnie Scott's", etc).Enjoy.
All I can say is Jeff Beck ROCKS. One of the best guitar players of all time in my opinion. And this is one of his best works.
Blow by Blow - The CD is what I remember from the past, which is what I was wanting. After listening to the CD, I realized that I used to LOVE the LIVE version of some of these tunes. and so, I bought the Jeff Beck/Jan Hammer LIVE CD.Blow by Blow is a studio recording which I find a little "dry" when compared to the energy of the LIVE CD. But it's still Jeff Beck.
Jeff Beck was the warm-up act (ha). I used to own the vinyl LP of this album, later the CD, then it was stolen. At the end of the concert both guitarists jammed for a half-hour together and blew us all away. I must replace it. I saw a concert of John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra back in 1975 when "Visions of the Emerald Beyond" was just released. I think that collaboration rubbed off on both of them for subsequent albums. What a night.
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