March 29, 1975 - Jeff Beck and Blow By Blow

Just 5 days after my last release, a new artist joins the library as guitarist Jeff Beck released his first solo album, "Blow By Blow" on March 29, 1975. But who is Jeff Beck? He is from Surrey, England and is regarded as one of the best guitarists of all time. He was also the guitarist for The Yardbirds, a band that has had several great guitarists. I don't quite put him in the best ever conversation, as this album is the only music I have by Jeff Beck, but as I like to say, this one is pretty great. Joining Beck is keyboardist Max Middleton, bassist Phil Chen and drummer Richard Bailey. There is no vocalist as this whole album is instrumental, and it was also produced by the famed George Martin. Of the 9 songs on the album, a third of them are covers as well, as Beck pays tribute to those who inspired him. Let's check out this instrumental album!

Side one kicks off with "You Know What I Mean" which opens with a bit of a weird guitar and bass riff, but once Middleton's keyboards enter it becomes a cool rock beat. Beck adds some nice guitar but it's the cool keyboards that carry the beat. Beck lets loose for a pretty good solo, then it's back to the keyboard-led verse. It's not long before Beck goes off for another extended solo, and it's pretty great as well. This song is just what you want from a guitar prodigy's band: they settle into a nice main beat and then let the main man take it away. Well done! The next song is "She's A Woman" and this is actually an early Beatles cover although it sounds nothing like a Beatles song. Middleton plays some cool organ and there's some guitar effects from Beck that he makes to sound like vocals! It's a cool talk box sort of effect that replaces the Beatles vocals and you would certainly never guess that this was a Beatles song from this version. The rhythm section keeps a solid beat as Beck plays some nice riffs overtop. He plays a nice, slow solo as this song slowly rolls on to it's end. An interesting take on a Beatles tune for sure. Track 3 is called "Constipated Duck", an interesting name for a song. It has some groovy bass by Chen that sounds great as Beck plays along with a similar guitar riff. This short song has a very quick beat and it sounds pretty cool. Beck plays a sweet little solo overtop of this cool beat and this song never let's up for it's whole 2:48, another well done instrumental! Up next is "Air Blower" and this song starts off with another solid foundation as the guitar, bass and drums are all doing great things. Middleton's keyboards take the lead as we hear a quick, pretty cool riff. It's Beck's turn in the spotlight as he plays another cool solo and he alternates lead parts with Middleton's great keyboards. Around the 3:30 mark it gets very quiet as Beck and Middleton both play some great stuff in this new epic part. This cool part segues right into the last song on this side, "Scatterbrain". Bailey starts it off with a nice little drum bit and his solid playing continues throughout the song. Beck plays a really cool guitar riff that goes up and down the whole fretboard and Middleton plays a similar riff on keyboards to great effect. Time for the first solo, and it's a doozy! I think it's his best one so far on the album as he plays some fantastic stuff! After another solid verse, it's Middleton's turn to solo and he also doesn't disappoint with some cool stuff. Then it's back to the speedy main riff, and it might be even better than the solo we just heard! Beck plays another great riff that sounds like it might be the end of the song, but with one minute to go still there is still time for his second solo. He adds some more cool stuff at the end but almost as soon as it began, it starts to slowly fade out and the song ends mid-solo. If you follow this blog, you know this is the worst way to end a song! No to ending songs before the guitarist is finished! Even with this annoying ending, it was still my favourite on the album thus far and this side as a whole was pretty good.

Side two begins with "Cause We've Ended As Lovers", a Stevie Wonder cover that's led by some slow, epic-sounding guitar. Middleton plays some cool keyboards in the background as Beck takes us on a slow ride through this near 6-minute song. The whole thing is basically an extended solo for Beck as about halfway through he picks it up a bit, playing some faster riffs. I like the speedier stuff way better as Beck turns this slow jam into a showcase for his skills. Slow, but steady the whole way through, it's another solid song. The next track is titled "Thelonius" and was another Stevie Wonder song that he never recorded and gave to Beck. Bailey and Chen start this one off with some great bass and drums that form a funky beat. Beck adds some cool guitar as Middleton plays a low, heavy riff overtop. We hear more of the talk box effect in the chorus that almost sounds like vocals as this song is certainly different from the others. It's a cool funky beat and Beck does good job of paying tribute to Wonder. Track 8 is "Freeway Jam" and Bailey kicks it off with a nice drum beat as Middleton and Chen come in to form the backing riff. Beck takes lead as soon as he joins, playing some cool, but not amazing stuff. They segue into a bit of a different riff and Beck really goes off in this next solo. This is more like it, with lots of quick, cool stuff. After another verse Middleton begins a keyboard solo, but with almost no time left in the song, I have a feeling what's coming. And I'm absolutely right: they end the song before he's done his solo. Why is it so popular to only have the first half of a solo? I DON'T GET IT! Just doesn't make any sense. The final song on the album is "Diamond Dust", a cover of a band called Hummingbird, this is the longest song at almost 8 and a half minutes. Middleton starts off with keyboards, but switches to piano, and it sounds really nice. Some strings were added by Martin as well that give the song a very beautiful vibe. Beck finally joins the mix as he begins with some slow, epic guitar that fits the mood well. He slowly escalates his playing to some faster stuff, and not surprisingly the song gets better as it progresses. Middleton gets a turn to show off as he plays a slow, but pretty cool keyboard solo. The strings take lead towards the end of his solo and this song and record slowly fades to an end.

That is the end of "Blow By Blow" and I thought it was a pretty decent album. Jeff Beck plays lots of cool stuff on this album, but there's nothing here that really makes me go "holy shit, he is an amazing guitarist!" I believe that several of the other bands in my library have way better guitarists so I guess I just don't get the hype. It was an album I'm happy to have in my library, but it wasn't good enough to warrant further stuff by Jeff Beck. "Scatterbrain" was the highlight for me, but this is the last we'll hear of Beck. See you in "10 days" for my next album!