There is a strong argument to be made about Jeff Beck being the best guitarist in the world, and without a doubt is among the best of all time. He was playing the drums when Stevie Wonder came up with his hit song, “Superstition”, and played in the Yardbirds with Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, to just give a bit of musical history about him. I was introduced to him back in 2010 for his album, Emotion & Commotion, during the height of my guitar lesson days. I’ve been getting into his original stuff more and more over the past few years, and figured I’d give his album with Jeff Beck Group, Rough and Ready (1971) a listen today.
The first track, “Got the Feeling”, starts out with some sweet drums, before that super slick guitar of Beck jumps right in for a swishy wah-wah sound. I’m super blown away immediately with this track. The energy in it is insane. The piano and guitar really get jamming at one point while the drum and bass keep the song lifted up and moving fast from the background. It even gets a little jazzy at some points. I can’t turn this one up loud enough it seems. Beck just dazzles you with the outro to it – awesome.
“Situation” starts out with a really catchy riff that I can’t get out of my head, that is complemented so well by Beck’s (maybe someone else’s?) milky tone he gets going until it gets a little brighter. Wow, the guitar work in this song is insane. So many different tones, it’s hard to keep track of the different textures I’ve heard so far. Wow this song really builds so well, and the solo by Beck is extraordinarily good. You just wonder what he’s going to do to dig himself out of this rabbit-hole he’s gone down musically, and it turns out the rabbit-hole circles back around seamlessly before you even realize what just happened. That keyboard solo is absolutely sweet, it takes its time but when you get there it was worth that time taken without a doubt. Amazing tune.
“Short Business” really has some excellent effects added to some superb playing by the band. Wow, a really great song. The drums really have some great snappiness to them that keeps that energy so elevated, meanwhile Beck and Max Middleton on keys just jam out during the track, and sound like they’re having an absolute blast doing so.
“Max’s Tune” starts out kind of heavy in terms of weight of the song, not necessarily tone, and sounds like it’s going to be quite a musical journey from now until the end. Wow, Beck just hit some incredible notes, and Max on the piano is only further enabling Beck’s playing by giving him such a unique arrangement to jam off of. Now it’s Max’s turn to take that lead a bit, and wow the bass just came in it sounds stupendous. The entire track just fell together in this great jazz-and-blues-inflected groove. This song feels so epic in nature – the drums keep rolling so low and echo-y throughout the background of the song, almost like thunder. And it all just fell together again. After softly taking the jam out into sort of experimental territory, the groove just hits so well after coming back in. This really has been quite an adventure of a song, and well worth the listen.
“I’ve Been Used” starts out with this strange, almost dark beginning, that quickly turns into a strong classic rock jam when the vocals jump back in. You can easily get lost in the dreamy tonality of the guitars, though the crispy tone the bass has brings a really nice contrast to the smooth, silky jams brought by Beck and Bobby Tench. All around a great classic rock tune.
“New Ways / Train Train” has a great energy to it. It’s hard to focus on a particular instrument as I hear the others play next to them and I want to listen to them instead, as I keep getting wowed even more and more as the band keeps jamming on so strong. The energy of the album is so insane to me. The drum break really adds a nice unique part. The band has a part where they try to feel each other out with each member playing scant little parts here and there until they find a groove in a super sweet way and the tune comes together again. Beck really wows at every turn in the album. Wow, I just keep getting more and more into the tune as it goes along. It keeps getting better as the song goes on. It’s hard to keep track of all the solos, but this band sure can play. I didn’t want the song to end because the jamming was absolutely superb.
“Jody” is the song that tugs on my heart strings the most of the album. The piano has some great playing to lay a foundation, and Beck just absolutely kills the solo at the beginning of the song. This album is a great one if you’re a guitar player. Wow that bass line is killer, I’m getting absolutely lost in the song as I listen to it closer. I haven’t the foggiest idea what Beck is doing now, but wow that solo is sweet. Not just technically a wizard on the guitar, Beck could be insanely inventive in his solos and, in my opinion, clearly with the different tones he could squeeze out of a single note on the guitar. Wow that tempo change up really increased the dramatic-ness of the song. And the piano is some classic rock and roll sounding. The vocal performance feels quite personal, I feel like whoever is singing this song really feels what he’s singing. That keyboard solo – wow. The drums are absolutely killer in this track as well, that snappiness just keeps up that energy like no other. Everything fades out as the band continues to jam, almost infinitely it would seem.
Wow, I keep learning more about Jeff Beck and his playing each time I hear him. I really recommend this one looking to get into more of Beck’s playing. It could have been 31 minutes of silence before the last track, and the album would have been worth the listen just for that. Instead, there’s 31 minutes of absolutely insane exploratory soloing and grooving from the band, that would be an absolute delight to hear by itself. The combination is an album that is appreciated as a great musical journey from start to end. Weighing in at 37 minutes, it’s definitely worth the listen if you have the time to do so.
-A