Friday, August 19, 2005

Funky Friday Fusion


When most folks think of Jeff Beck it's in the "classic British blues rock guitarist" tradition. He replaced Eric Clapton in The Yardbirds in 1965, sharing the lead guitar duties with Jimmy Page, and the band went on to it's biggest successes. In the early '70s he formed the Jeff Beck Group - with Ron Wood on bass and Rod Stewart on vocals. That's some serious rock music history mojo. In 1975 he released a solo LP called Blow By Blow. It's a radical departure from the rock stuff - a funkier than shit jazz fusion record, with a reggae-fied Beatles cover (She's A Woman), two Stevie Wonder tunes (Cause We've Ended As Lovers & Thelonius) and several originals, all wrapped up tidily in a fabulous Sir George Martin production. You Know What I Mean kicks off the album in super funktastic style, all wacka-wacka porno grooves. And lots of guitar. Funky rhythm picking, searing melody lines, big solos, it's all there. And did I mention it's funky? Another great sounding remaster.

1 comment:

frankenslade said...

Listening to this cut for the first time in ages, I'm thinking, like the results or not, has any musician advanced his or her style as much as Jeff Beck did over the course of 10 years?