My Non-Review of the New Jeff Beck Album
(from Burt Cohen)
“Charles: I'd love to hear what you think of Emotion and Commotion”. (On 3/28/10, Charles Laquidara wrote):
“Burt:
I listened to the Beck album a few times. Still undecided- Here's why:
“Charles: I'd love to hear what you think of Emotion and Commotion”. (On 3/28/10, Charles Laquidara wrote):
“Burt:
I listened to the Beck album a few times. Still undecided- Here's why:
There is no denying Beck's superlative talent- and his “feel” for the pieces he is playing. It's kind of like the way I felt when Sarah Vaughan sang Broken Hearted Melody and Charlie Parker did Summertime and In the Still of the Night- Great versions of songs by artists who stepped out of their realm of pure jazz in order to appeal to the masses with catchy hits.
I also recall Roy Buchanan's spectacular playing on the song, “The Messiah Will Come Again...” and Jeff Beck doing Girl from Mill Valley. All of these songs are melodically beautiful, but- they either came out as individual songs- or were spaced out on different albums.
This time around, (except maybe for the great version of I Put a Spell on You with Joss Stone), Jeff puts all of these slow, haunting songs on one album, and- unless you are a diehard Beck fan and feel that anything he does would be spectacularly exciting- many fans might find this album difficult to play from beginning to end, over and over- as one might do with his Truth or Beckola albums.
(Personally, I think the only way I could play this album over and over and over and over would be if I were on heroin- or if my girl just dumped me for a short, fat, gay guy).
I'm not denying the craftsmanship here; Jeff Beck is one of the world's greatest guitarists- arguably the greatest- but, just as I could not listen over and over to Frank Sinatra singing an entire album of 14 melancholy torch songs- this CD works for me only if I put it in my iTunes folder and press “random”- mixing it in with Beck's Bolero, Cause We've Ended as Lovers, Rice Pudding and Stroll On.
That's my review- but, of course, I'm not a reviewer! lol (By the way, I Put a Spell on You is this week's Big Mattress Song of the Week- and in itself is probably worth the price of the album..)”
I also recall Roy Buchanan's spectacular playing on the song, “The Messiah Will Come Again...” and Jeff Beck doing Girl from Mill Valley. All of these songs are melodically beautiful, but- they either came out as individual songs- or were spaced out on different albums.
This time around, (except maybe for the great version of I Put a Spell on You with Joss Stone), Jeff puts all of these slow, haunting songs on one album, and- unless you are a diehard Beck fan and feel that anything he does would be spectacularly exciting- many fans might find this album difficult to play from beginning to end, over and over- as one might do with his Truth or Beckola albums.
(Personally, I think the only way I could play this album over and over and over and over would be if I were on heroin- or if my girl just dumped me for a short, fat, gay guy).
I'm not denying the craftsmanship here; Jeff Beck is one of the world's greatest guitarists- arguably the greatest- but, just as I could not listen over and over to Frank Sinatra singing an entire album of 14 melancholy torch songs- this CD works for me only if I put it in my iTunes folder and press “random”- mixing it in with Beck's Bolero, Cause We've Ended as Lovers, Rice Pudding and Stroll On.
That's my review- but, of course, I'm not a reviewer! lol (By the way, I Put a Spell on You is this week's Big Mattress Song of the Week- and in itself is probably worth the price of the album..)”
Comments
Awesome!
Posted by: Jane | March 28, 2010 1:14 PM
Hey - what've you got against short, fat, gay guys? Sheesh....
Posted by: Hadji | March 28, 2010 1:27 PM
Yoour so right Hadji Baba! Lahkindora has alwas been a homofobe in sheeps clothing!!! now the truth is outed!!!
Posted by: Duane Ingalls Glasscock | March 28, 2010 1:32 PM
The live versions on Jeff Beck @ Ronny Scott's are scary awesome.
Posted by: squeak | March 29, 2010 2:38 AM
Wow, you just summed up my feelings for Jeff Beck perfectly. He is the absolute master of hauntingly memancholy! He could send Richard Simmons into clinical depression (just trying to keep with your short, fat, gay theme). That being said who the F... wants to feel hauntingly melancholy all the time. Jeff is one of my all time favorite guitarists but I don't own any of his CDs for that reason. I can listen to him once or twice a year and I am good. Now I am going to drown my sorrow in some saturated fat at Wendy's! Thanks for bringing me down Charles!
Posted by: Bob | March 29, 2010 6:57 AM
Chucka
Cheers to you as a DJ weighing in on an new record release- could you chime in again when the new Tom Petty CD drops or maybe (hopeful) Arcade Fire? Could anyone name a handful of discs- recently released- by a veteran artist or a newbie that you could loop EVERY track & listen over & over? I've heard the new J. Beck disc and at 65 yrs old, the guy still has his chops and rock respect and if he wants to dabble with "Somewhere over the Rainbow" & "Lilac Rain" it's his choice. I like that Slash, J Beck, and even Glen Campbell are multi-resourcing and putting big, quality studio artists in the studio and laying down what you though you'd never hear in the mix.
Speaking of chops- Beck, the guitar wizard, almost cut his career short cutting the tip of his finger off while chopping carrots during the production of this disc.
Joss Stone gives new life to the tired "Spell" w/ J Becks lightning licks & whammy bumps- short record ing time, but nice. Now do check out Fergie w/ Slash treating "Paradise City" to a real ride!
Aloha
Posted by: Duane in NH | March 31, 2010 7:59 AM