Beckology (Jewel) [Box set]

Jeff Beck | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 24, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000062FB
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #187,668 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Guitar Deluxe!, April 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Beckology (Jewel) (Audio CD)

This three CD set is a great but not perfect representation of guitarist Jeff Beck's exciting mix of blues, rock, jazz and funk. Like a tomcat on the prowl he, scratches, cries and wails, always landing on his feet with his impeccable sense of time.

The first CD starts out with several tracks from the Tridents, Beck's pre-Yardbirds blues group. Beck was well on his way to defining his style in this group with surprising accomplished slide work on "Trouble In Mind" and the sonic blasts on Bo Diddley's "Nursery Rhyme." The bulk of Disc One highlights his work with the Yardbirds. In addition to the hits, "Heart Full of Soul," "Over Under Sideways Down" and "Shapes of Things," two numbers, "The Nazz Are Blue" and "Jeff's Boogie, " showcase his brand of blues. The "Nazz Are Blue" features Mr. Beck on vocals! Four of the Yardbirds songs are from a live BBC taping, including " You're A Better Man Than I." The disc ends with three cuts from the start of his solo career including the silly but fun "Hi Ho Silver Lining."

Disc two consists of songs from both incarnations of the Jeff Beck Group and songs from the heavy, sometimes leaden, Beck, Bogart and Appice (BBA.) The first six cuts feature Rod Stewart on vocals, including the hard to find, "I've Been Drinking." Unfortunately, there is only one song from the post Stewart album, Rough and Ready, with Bob Tench on vocals. The version of "Blues Deluxe" is a live track by BBA, not the Rod Stewart version from the Truth album.

Disc three starts with the sublime tribute to Roy Buchanan, "Cause We've Ended As Lovers." Having been written by Stevie Wonder and produced by George Martin for Blow By Blow, it's no surprise that this track is five minutes of sheer aural ecstasy. Only one other song, "Diamond Dust," is taken from Blow By Blow. It is baffling why two ballads were used when there was so much great funk on the album. The version of "Freeway Jam" is a live version and while it is not as sleek as the Blow By Blow version, it is fun listening to Beck and Jan Hammer try to break the sound barrier. The 1984 hit "People Get Ready" is also on here, with Rod the Mod on vocals,once again.

The rest of Disc three is a mixed bag from Beck's eighties work. Some of it leans toward a techno sound and other tracks are retro. Some of the techno tracks sound forced as if he's trying to keep up with the guitarists he originally influenced like Van Halen, Steve Vai, and Joe Satriani. But the remake of "Train Kept A-Rollin" holds up and his slide work on "Sleep Walk"(you'll know this oldie when you hear it) is reminiscent of his early work with The Tridents. The set concludes with two solid numbers from the 1989 album Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop with Terry Bozzio and Tony Hymas.

Too bad some of his mid-eighties work with Mick Jagger and the Honeydrippers is not included. But overall, Beckology, compiles a generorus overview of 25 years of unique sound explorations by one of music's premier electric guitarists

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Make no Mistake--This Is the Original Beck!!!, September 8, 2003

By 

chris meesey Food Czar (The Colony, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Beckology (Jewel) (Audio CD)

Released in 1991, this box set pretty much covers Jeff Beck's entire recorded career, from the Tridents treatment of the old chestnut, "Trouble In Mind" to highlights from Guitar Shop, which was probably his best solo album. Some fans might complain that there are too many Yardbirds tracks here---well, not this fan! In my mind, you can never have too many Yardbirds tracks, and every last one here is a keeper, from the Eastern sound Jeff got from his guitar on "Over, Under, Sideways, Down," to the pseudo-Gregorian chants of "Still I'm Sad." Also welcome are the numerous Jeff Beck Group tracks, particularly the ones featuring Rod Stewart. Rod the Mod may have had a stellar career, but saved some of his best work for Beck. (Who do you think Rod asked to give his induction speech to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?). I wish there could have been more BBA tracks, particularly live ones, because the two that are offered here are basically both "Blues DeLuxe" medleys. Still, both are excellent. Most of the choices from his solo albums are apt, including one of the best recordings of "Wild Thing" you will hear anywhere. Maybe a few more tracks from Guitar Shop and a few less from Flash would have made the set even better. But, enough quibbling. There's plenty of great material here you will want to listen to over and over while pondering this question: Was Jeff Beck the model for Nigel Tufnel in the Spinal Tap movie??? Enquiring minds want to know!!!

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Buy Jeff's albums instead of this box set..., December 8, 2001

By 

Prago "bored & on the net" (Newark, DE United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beckology (Jewel) (Audio CD)

Jeff Beck is my mind, is arguably the greatest guitarist today. I saw him this year (2001, as we speak), have heard his new album and he sounds as fresh as ever. He broke ground in the 60s, 70s, 80's and now today mainly cause he never stuck to one thing. He kept experimenting all the time and often succeding in it. With a very ecletic career (spanning from the Yardbirds and present), it would be difficult to capture it all in a box set.

But this doesn't mean this 3- disc box set could have been better assembled. While Disc 1 contains some Tridents stuff and some of his early solo singles as "Hi Ho Silver Lining,", Disc 1 uses 3/4 of his content to the Yardbirds. Sure, some of Jeff's work with Yardbirds was needed, but do we need almost a whole's disc work of it, since there's a lot more to Beck than the Yardbirds? Above all, there are plenty of Yardbirds greatest hits for those who need it.

Disc 2 is the groups. Jeff Beck Group 1-2 and Beck Bogert and Appice get adequate and somewhat fair treatment. I would have taken a few out and added a few in. But overall, an alright job.

Disc 3 sadly dedicates a few tracks to what was arguable Jeff's best period from "Blow by Blow"-"There & Back". Only a couple of tracks are there (some which weren't the most important of the period) and yet so many essential tracks are lost, denying a listener to what made that period wonderful in Jeff's career. Strangely, "Flash", Jeff's worst album, gets more than what we need to hear.

Not to mention, we miss some of Jeff's guest work with Stevie Wonder, Donovan, Tina Turner, Mick Jagger and the Robert Plant-led Honeydrippers. And some tracks of that never-released Motown album cut with Cozy Powell is missing as well. I know it would be impossible to get all that is worthwhile there, especially to satisfy a hard core fan as myself. But let's face it, hard core fans as me were going to be the main buyers here and should we get something we didn't get anywhere else.

Those who are casual fans may only get a taste of Beck here, but to fully experience the magic of Jeff Beck and what made him a great player, they are recommended to start with his invidiual albums.