Customer Reviews

Best of Beck

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When you're dealing with an artist who is not in the traditional mainstream, such as Jeff Beck, a good starter set that tries to tap into each of his various genres with his "hits" from each is a must, imo, unless you've got a lot of money to burn, in which case you could get in touch with me and I could help you...

Anyway, this disc does a good job of that. It showcases him at his best (imo) - when he's left alone with his guitar to provide the vocals - in tracks such as "Freeway Jam," "Beck's Bolero" (a Jimmy Page composition), and particularly "Where Were You," a galactic and breath-taking instrumental solo which provides *the* definitive track of his unique and glowing tone. It also gives a good representation of the few occasions where other artists have taken on the vocal responsibilities, most notably Rod Stewart, who got his first start as a part of the Jeff Beck Group.

It covers a nice mix of his jazz/rock fusion work, more radio-friendly tunes like "People Get Ready" (a favorite of mine even though I'm no fan of Rod Stewart - Beck's guitar's voice blows away Rod's in this elegant and masterfully played cover), and his harder rock covers ("Shapes of Things" and "Jailhouse Rock") that proved to be a prototype for Led Zeppelin.

The only thing I'd ask for in changing this set is including some of his more bluesy covers, specifically from his days with The Yardbirds ('course, he took over for Clapton when the group strayed into pop territory). It's understandable that they've been dropped, however, when you consider the difficulty of the task of trying to include bits and pieces of everything this uniquely talented and varied artist has done.

Jeff Beck is guitar hero of the guitar heroes, and if you're a fan of jazz, rock, techno (this guy basically invented it), or of guitarists in general, it's important to tap into the works of this man and find out why. Don't rush into it with impatience and expect nothing but blaring solos - you won't find much of that here (as David Gilmour of Pink Floyd said, one of the things that makes Jeff Beck great is that he *can* play it loud, but he doesn't need to). Instead you'll need to give it time, patience, and an open mind, and only then you will come to appreciate the true genius of this master of the electric guitar.

This disc provides a solid starting point from which to decide which direction of his you'd like to proceed in should you find one of his styles more to your tastes than others.

My other recommendations for Jeff Beck material:

Three-Pak, any of the albums by The Jeff Beck Group, and his guest work on Roger Waters' "Amused to Death" - that CD being the one that initially turned me onto Jeff with the fiery solos he contributes

British guitar god Jeff Beck has had one of those careers that is not easy to anthologize. He has a reputation for being "difficult," doesn't sign his own songs and only occasionally writes his own material. Combined with the fact that he's had only a very small number of obvious hits, and any single disc anthology is going to seem inadaquate. Nevertheless "Best of Beck" (the name perhaps an attempt to cash in on the popularity of the "other" Beck?), is an excellent collection for casual fans who want an introduction to his music.

The songs range from the late 60s through the late 80s, and vary widely in sound and style. Beck's early collaborators included Ron Wood and Rod Stewart, who appear on four tracks from "Truth" and "Beck-Ola," still his two best albums. By the later period, he was teaming up with the likes of Terry Bozzio (of Missing Persons!) for two more well chosen selections ("Where Were You" and "Two Rivers"). In between there are collaborations with synthesizer guru Jan Hammer ("Blue Wind"), an ace Beatles cover ("She's a Woman") and his successful mid-80s reunion with Stewart ("People Get Ready"). There may not be much consistency in this collection, but the music is nevertheless mostly excellent. On the downside, the CD booklet is fairly limited, containing only the barest of information about the artist.

Overall, an excellent single disc anthology that draws from a diverse and only fitfully successful career.

Jeff Beck is the kind of guitarist that most rockers would love to be able to emulate. He is truly a virtuoso up there in the ranks with the best ever but he tops them all in his unique approach. No one fills a space better than Jeff. And this cd shows his influence over 40 years of rock and roll brilliantly. He has always been fearless and he's never been boring or predictable. Almost every song leaves the listener with a "how did he do that?" impression. I highly recommend this collection to anyone unfamiliar with his incredible contributions to the art of rock music and to his many fans who just need a "Beck fix" from time to time.

I must admit that I'm not big on jazz-rock fusion, which is the territory most readily claimed by Jeff Beck. I'm more into traditional/country/folk rock of the Stephen Stills/Neil Young/Dave Mason variety. I'm not completely unfamiliar with Jeff's work, but tend toward his more traditional work with The Yardbirds, and even owned 'The Jeff Beck Group', perhaps his most commercial LP, on vinyl in the 1970's. Sitting on the fringe of the jazz-rock fusion movement, I've perused and owned works by artists such as Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, but find Jeff's work the most appealing. Nevertheless, compared to many of the writers here, I'm lucky to know my Jeff Beck from my Beck, so take my advice for what it's worth.

This album has some great numbers on it, the majority of which are jazz-rock instrumentals. There is no question that Jeff Beck is one of the great guitarists of the modern era, regularly coaxing complex and creative sounds from his instrument. Among my favorites are the live recording of 'Blue Wind', 'Plynth', the familiar (though I'm not sure why) 'Freeway Jam', and the opening cut 'The Pump'. There is an instrumental cover of The Beatles' 'She's a Woman', though it is so heavily interpreted that it is difficult to hear The Beatles' chords coming through. This music is great for seeking escape into another dimension, exploring alternative aural passages, and trying to follow the intricate workings of Beck's mind taking form on his fretboard. For whatever reason, I find it great cruising music in the car.

There are several songs offering lyrics, such as Bob Tench's raspy, energetic delivery on 'Going Down', and Rod Stewart's inspired cover of The Impression's 1965 hit 'People Get Ready'. There are covers of The Yardbird's 'Shapes of Things' (if one can 'cover' ones own work...), and Elvis' 'Jailhouse Rock'. The cover of 'Shapes of Things' is more flamboyant than it's predecessor, and I think I prefer the more basic rock version, though this is interesting, too. 'Jailhouse Rock' probably should have been left to Elvis. It's just too simple and familiar of a song to be getting the Beck treatment.

What remains on the 14 track disc has its moments, and there are no poor performances, but I tend to skip them over to feast on the cream of this crop, with tracks 1, 2, 3, 10 and 11 always featured on the menu.

The Best of Beck is an abridged account of Jeff Beck. It covers his entire career after he left the Yardbirds.
Many of his best songs are included such as, The Pump, People Get Ready with Rod Stewart, Freeway Jam from Blow by Blow.
Where were You from Guitar Shop is also included and one of his best ever. You also get Going Down from the second version of the Jeff Beck Group.
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat from Blue Wind is also included.
Jeff Beck has numerous other songs that are not included on this album.
If you want the real deal get Beckology.
Beckology is much more extensive and includes his best songs from the Yardbird days.
There is nothing wrong with this album, its just that there is so much more that is not included.
If you want the Best of Beck in a nutshell then this is for you.

Jeff Beck has always been his own worse enemy - his releases have historically been too far apart, he sometimes turns a deaf ear to his immense gift for guitar nuance (preferring to rely on its snarl), and at the time when he could have proven himself to be the guitar behemoth he's long been regarded as, he tends to shrink away from the opportunity. This is a decent introduction to his fruitful Epic years, covering the best of There And Back, his early Beck Group material and Blow By Blow - arguably the greatest rock instrumental album of all time. It won't do much for the hardcore faithful - only one cut from the outstanding Rough And Ready album, and two from the immensely successful Blue Wind. "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" could have have been culled in favor of the poised and evocative "Max's Tune", or "Cause We've Ended As Lovers"...well, you get the idea. Beck wouldn't sustain a 'Greatest Hits' collection since his name is associated with so few proper 'hits', his diehard faithful have all of this anyway...so it's kind of down to the "Cuts That Should Have Been Hits But Weren't". The music is outstanding, of course, but any 70's - era fan who buys this in place of replacing Blow By Blow or There And Back on CD should be ashamed. As one of the reviewers mentioned, he's a very tough case to anthologize.

Simply,the best.If you want to investigate further the track listings in the booklet will help you.All aspects of Jeff's career are covered."Goin' Down" is an incredible jam,Jeff could've been a real showoff but he knows when to hold back."People Get Ready" is his reunion with Rod Stewart. This is simply the best. Enjoy !

There's been so much written about Jeff Beck's legendary abilities on guitar that it's pointless for me to try to add something here. I'll simply say that this CD includes a brief essay by none other than Vernon Reid of "Living Colour" fame; Vernon pretty much says it all.

I'll just say that the version of "People Get Ready" that's featured on this record is worth the price of admission alone. Recorded in 1985, Rod Stewart shines on this one like he hadn't since the early seventies, and J.B.'s rhythm and lead guitar is at once amazingly powerful and incredibly tasteful. Rod's voice and Jeff's guitar blend seamlessly and yet they overpower, but not in a bad way; rather, they unite to make this one of the most beautiful hymns you'll ever hear, especially considering the guitar-bass-drums arrangement one encounters so rarely whilst singing hymns in church.

Other tracks are amazing too; just check out Rod and Jeff showing us how it's done on "Jailhouse Rock". There's some cool instrumentals too; "Beck's Bolero" is here (as it most certainly should be). All in all, a great CD.

This is a great introduction to Jeff Beck. From the mid to late 60's to the late 80's a large chunk of the mans career is covered. Many different styles are covered from blues based material down to more Jazz-Rock based stuff such 'Blue Wind' recorded with the the Jan Hammer group in 1976 and 'Goodbye Pork Pie Hat' recorded a year earlier. Whatever style he plays Jeff Beck always lets the soulful side of the guitar come through. There is a much more comprehensive 3 CD boxed set available called 'Beckology', but if you're really unsure about whether to take a chance this is as good a place to start as any.

The song, "People Get on Board," with Rod Stewart is, alone, worth the price of the album.