Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
Victim of beating in Kent last week is declared dead at Akron hospital
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Can DNA tests free ex-Akron captain?
Browns' roster nearly devoid of consistent players
Coventry man killed in crash at I-77 ramp
College student mistaken for deer, shot to death
Blogs:
Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Night Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
Browns vs. Lions live …
Akron Zips:
Hitchens leads Zips in second-half comeback
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Robiskie, Harrison inactive
Kent State Sports:
Kent State blown out in second half, loses to Temple 47-13
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Four area football teams play tonight
All Da King's Men:
The Sunday Sanity Challenge
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (69) The Brookings Institute Study on "Bending the Curve" – Four General Strategies
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
A Random Rant on Testing
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
Fresh from induction in rock hall of fame, legendary musician to return to Cleveland
By Malcolm X Abram
Beacon Journal music writer
POSTED: 01:12 p.m. EDT, Apr 08, 2009
Of the five performing artists inducted into the rock hall on Saturday night — Metallica, Bobby Womack, Run-DMC, Jeff Beck and Little Anthony & the Imperials — only one artist's voice doesn't emanate from his larynx or appear on his albums.
For the length of his 40-year career, Jeff Beck's primary ''voice'' has been his guitar and it is one of the most recognizable voices in rock.
Beck, who will perform in a sold-out show at the House of Blues Cleveland on Wednesday, plays lead guitar like no one else in rock, jazz-rock, fusion or blues-rock — all of which are a part of his musical milieu.
The guitarist, who first came to prominence as a member of the Yardbirds, has a compendium of growls, squeals, fret board taps and squawks that often sound as if he's abusing his guitar. But Beck also can display a lovely, light touch and taste, and he has a way with and love for melody that make him arguably the best ballad player in rock.
At the rock hall induction ceremony, after preparing himself by dousing his hands in rosin/chalk and blowing it into the air a la LeBron James, the three-time Grammy winner jammed with grade-school chum Jimmy Page on a medley of his classic instrumental Beck's Bolero and Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song.
For his current tour, Beck takes fans on a trip through his solo back catalog, mixing straight-ahead blues with jazz and fusion and playing a few of his ''hits.''
Beck and his talented group — featuring first-call studio/tour drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, keyboardist Jason Rebello and 21-year-old Australian bassist Tal Wilkenfeld — are on tour to promote the CD/DVD combo Performing This Week . . . Live at Ronnie Scott's an (obviously) live recording made from Beck's 2008 weeklong stint at the famed London jazz club.
For Beck fans and guitar geeks, the 21-song DVD/16-track CD shows Beck is still at the top of his guitar game. It opens with Beck's Bolero from his 1968 slice of classic British blues-rock, Truth; dips into the mid-1970s, when albums such as Blow by Blow and Wired were surprising old fans and garnering new ones; and traipses through the 1980s and '90s, skipping much of his more recent electronic-fueled albums.
The disc also sports a few special guests in singer Joss Stone, who takes on Curtis Mayfield's soul classic People Get Ready, and British singer Imogen Heap, who bellows her way through an almost scary swamp-funk rendition of Muddy Waters' Rollin' and Tumblin' as well as her own Blanket.
Fellow guitar legend and former Yardbird Eric Clapton (Page can be seen in the audience, bringing that group's three guitar gods under one roof for a night) takes the stage for Little Brown Bird and a toe-tapping take on Willie Dixon's You Need Love (which is also the lyrical basis for Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love and the Small Faces' You Need Loving).
While there is plenty of Beck to satiate fans, the guitarist also gives his band mates a few moments to shine.
Highlights include a lovely take on Stevie Wonder's Cause We've Ended As Lovers, featuring a melodic, Jaco Pastorius-like solo from Wilkenfeld that draws applause from the reserved crowd of Brits and open-armed praise from Beck.
The entire band lays into the circular groove of Billy Cobham's Stratus as if members were mad at it, and Colaiuta's syncopated octopus-armed drumming drives the frenetic version of the serpentine Scatterbrain.
Beck displays his softer side on quieter songs, such as the ethereal harmonic-laden set closer, Where Were You, and the Beatles' A Day in the Life.
On Angel, Beck plays the song's gentle melody in three octaves (the standard guitar neck reaches only two) and while the sight of Beck delicately applying his slide to the strings above the guitar's pickups is a flashy visual and technically quite difficult to keep in tune, the trick not only draws a standing ovation, but it also serves the song.
Beck's time in the Yardbirds has inexorably tied/compared his career with that of buddies/former Yardbirds Page and Clapton. But while Page and Clapton have experienced phenomenal commercial success as rock/blues guitarists, it is Beck's recorded output that is perhaps the most consistently interesting and definitely the most varied.
His early days as a young hot shot in the Yardbirds and his first blues-based solo recordings featuring a young Rod Stewart may not have been a surprise. However, since the 1970s, when he dived into jazz fusion and eardrum-shattering power trios with the Vanilla Fudge rhythm section of bassist Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice, Beck has followed his muse.
Through the pop and instrumental rock records of the '80s and '90s, into the more electronic and dance beat-fueled sounds of his 21st-century recordings, Beck has never rested on his reputation as a guitar god and has yet to settle into a middle-age comfort zone.
Some Jeff Beck albums to check out:
Truth (1968) — Featuring a Stewart and future Faces/Rolling Stone Ron Wood on bass. It is widely considered one of the best of the late 1960s British blues/rock albums and features the hit Beck's Bolero, as well as a fiery rendition of Willie Dixon's I Ain't Superstitious.
Blow by Blow (1975) — This record was a surprise when it was released. It pointed a new direction for Beck. Produced by George Martin, the album is a fine capsule of mid-1970s jazz-rock with the two Stevie Wonder songs, the relative ''hit'' Cause We've Ended As Lovers and Thelonious. In an interesting side note, Beck was originally set to record Wonder's Superstition, which was written for Beck before Wonder's management demanded he take it back and record it himself.
Wired (1976) — The slightly slicker follow-up to Blow by Blow contains Beck's laid-back rendition of Charles Mingus' Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. The album also has up-tempo workouts such as Blue Wind and the hard funk of Led Boots.
Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop (1989) — A trio album made with keyboardist/composer Tony Hymas and drummer Terry Bozio (who, like Colaiuta is another drum alum of Frank Zappa's band). The album garnered Beck his second Grammy (he got his first for the 1985 pop-oriented album Flash). Twenty years later, some of Hymas' keyboards sound dated, but he knows how to write the kind of melodies Beck enjoys playing. Several songs from this album — such as the reggae-tinged Behind the Veil and the crawling Big Block and the aforementioned Where Were You — are still a part of Beck's set lists.
Jeff Beck (2004) — This album garnered Beck his third Grammy, but it's not for everyone. Beck's previous 21st-century output has flirted with techno and dance music, but for this simply titled album, he is fully immersed in electronic beats and sounds. He employs artist/producers such as techno/dance group Apollo 440 and outre guitarist/producer David Torn for a cacophonous combination of Beck's growling guitar and contemporary breaks and beats that work better than one might expect and continue Beck's search for new sounds and settings for his guitar.
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.
Details
• What: Jeff Beck with Davy Knowles
• When: 8 p.m. Wednesday
• Where: House of Blues Cleveland, 308 Euclid Ave.
• Tickets: Sold out
• Information: http://www.ticketmaster.com, 330-945-9400, 216-523-2583
Of the five performing artists inducted into the rock hall on Saturday night — Metallica, Bobby Womack, Run-DMC, Jeff Beck and Little Anthony & the Imperials — only one artist's voice doesn't emanate from his larynx or appear on his albums.
For the length of his 40-year career, Jeff Beck's primary ''voice'' has been his guitar and it is one of the most recognizable voices in rock.
Beck, who will perform in a sold-out show at the House of Blues Cleveland on Wednesday, plays lead guitar like no one else in rock, jazz-rock, fusion or blues-rock — all of which are a part of his musical milieu.
The guitarist, who first came to prominence as a member of the Yardbirds, has a compendium of growls, squeals, fret board taps and squawks that often sound as if he's abusing his guitar. But Beck also can display a lovely, light touch and taste, and he has a way with and love for melody that make him arguably the best ballad player in rock.
At the rock hall induction ceremony, after preparing himself by dousing his hands in rosin/chalk and blowing it into the air a la LeBron James, the three-time Grammy winner jammed with grade-school chum Jimmy Page on a medley of his classic instrumental Beck's Bolero and Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song.
For his current tour, Beck takes fans on a trip through his solo back catalog, mixing straight-ahead blues with jazz and fusion and playing a few of his ''hits.''
Beck and his talented group — featuring first-call studio/tour drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, keyboardist Jason Rebello and 21-year-old Australian bassist Tal Wilkenfeld — are on tour to promote the CD/DVD combo Performing This Week . . . Live at Ronnie Scott's an (obviously) live recording made from Beck's 2008 weeklong stint at the famed London jazz club.
For Beck fans and guitar geeks, the 21-song DVD/16-track CD shows Beck is still at the top of his guitar game. It opens with Beck's Bolero from his 1968 slice of classic British blues-rock, Truth; dips into the mid-1970s, when albums such as Blow by Blow and Wired were surprising old fans and garnering new ones; and traipses through the 1980s and '90s, skipping much of his more recent electronic-fueled albums.
The disc also sports a few special guests in singer Joss Stone, who takes on Curtis Mayfield's soul classic People Get Ready, and British singer Imogen Heap, who bellows her way through an almost scary swamp-funk rendition of Muddy Waters' Rollin' and Tumblin' as well as her own Blanket.
Fellow guitar legend and former Yardbird Eric Clapton (Page can be seen in the audience, bringing that group's three guitar gods under one roof for a night) takes the stage for Little Brown Bird and a toe-tapping take on Willie Dixon's You Need Love (which is also the lyrical basis for Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love and the Small Faces' You Need Loving).
While there is plenty of Beck to satiate fans, the guitarist also gives his band mates a few moments to shine.
Highlights include a lovely take on Stevie Wonder's Cause We've Ended As Lovers, featuring a melodic, Jaco Pastorius-like solo from Wilkenfeld that draws applause from the reserved crowd of Brits and open-armed praise from Beck.
The entire band lays into the circular groove of Billy Cobham's Stratus as if members were mad at it, and Colaiuta's syncopated octopus-armed drumming drives the frenetic version of the serpentine Scatterbrain.
Beck displays his softer side on quieter songs, such as the ethereal harmonic-laden set closer, Where Were You, and the Beatles' A Day in the Life.
On Angel, Beck plays the song's gentle melody in three octaves (the standard guitar neck reaches only two) and while the sight of Beck delicately applying his slide to the strings above the guitar's pickups is a flashy visual and technically quite difficult to keep in tune, the trick not only draws a standing ovation, but it also serves the song.
Beck's time in the Yardbirds has inexorably tied/compared his career with that of buddies/former Yardbirds Page and Clapton. But while Page and Clapton have experienced phenomenal commercial success as rock/blues guitarists, it is Beck's recorded output that is perhaps the most consistently interesting and definitely the most varied.
His early days as a young hot shot in the Yardbirds and his first blues-based solo recordings featuring a young Rod Stewart may not have been a surprise. However, since the 1970s, when he dived into jazz fusion and eardrum-shattering power trios with the Vanilla Fudge rhythm section of bassist Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice, Beck has followed his muse.
Through the pop and instrumental rock records of the '80s and '90s, into the more electronic and dance beat-fueled sounds of his 21st-century recordings, Beck has never rested on his reputation as a guitar god and has yet to settle into a middle-age comfort zone.
Some Jeff Beck albums to check out:
Truth (1968) — Featuring a Stewart and future Faces/Rolling Stone Ron Wood on bass. It is widely considered one of the best of the late 1960s British blues/rock albums and features the hit Beck's Bolero, as well as a fiery rendition of Willie Dixon's I Ain't Superstitious.
Blow by Blow (1975) — This record was a surprise when it was released. It pointed a new direction for Beck. Produced by George Martin, the album is a fine capsule of mid-1970s jazz-rock with the two Stevie Wonder songs, the relative ''hit'' Cause We've Ended As Lovers and Thelonious. In an interesting side note, Beck was originally set to record Wonder's Superstition, which was written for Beck before Wonder's management demanded he take it back and record it himself.
Wired (1976) — The slightly slicker follow-up to Blow by Blow contains Beck's laid-back rendition of Charles Mingus' Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. The album also has up-tempo workouts such as Blue Wind and the hard funk of Led Boots.
Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop (1989) — A trio album made with keyboardist/composer Tony Hymas and drummer Terry Bozio (who, like Colaiuta is another drum alum of Frank Zappa's band). The album garnered Beck his second Grammy (he got his first for the 1985 pop-oriented album Flash). Twenty years later, some of Hymas' keyboards sound dated, but he knows how to write the kind of melodies Beck enjoys playing. Several songs from this album — such as the reggae-tinged Behind the Veil and the crawling Big Block and the aforementioned Where Were You — are still a part of Beck's set lists.
Jeff Beck (2004) — This album garnered Beck his third Grammy, but it's not for everyone. Beck's previous 21st-century output has flirted with techno and dance music, but for this simply titled album, he is fully immersed in electronic beats and sounds. He employs artist/producers such as techno/dance group Apollo 440 and outre guitarist/producer David Torn for a cacophonous combination of Beck's growling guitar and contemporary breaks and beats that work better than one might expect and continue Beck's search for new sounds and settings for his guitar.
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.
Details
• What: Jeff Beck with Davy Knowles
• When: 8 p.m. Wednesday
• Where: House of Blues Cleveland, 308 Euclid Ave.
• Tickets: Sold out
• Information: http://www.ticketmaster.com, 330-945-9400, 216-523-2583
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Canton, OH
Posted 02:15 PM, 04/08/2009
Malcolm,
Excellent article. . .Jeff Beck is great. .He deserves all of the accolades. . .
WADSWORTH, OH
Posted 02:37 PM, 04/08/2009
will be a great show
Akron, Oh
Posted 11:02 AM, 04/09/2009
Jeff Beck = JUST ROCK'S..
Love to listen to his stuff
its the BEST..
Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Posted 10:10 PM, 04/11/2009
Hmmmm...so what exactly was the name of the album with the orange on it???
We just called it the "orange album"....
Just curious!
Be well all and happy Easter!
Lakewood, OH
Posted 11:43 AM, 04/16/2009
Here's photos of Jeff Beck at the Cleveland House of Blues April 15, 2009: http://cleveland.metromix.com/music/photogallery/cleve-lens-jeff-beck/1102241/content
Great show!
