Customer Reviews

Emotion & Commotion

5 star:		(85)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

"Emotion and Commotion" is Jeff Beck's much-anticipated new release. Clocking in at just about 40 minutes, there is no wasted space on the disc. I will not go through track by track, as the other reviewers have done a nice job summarizing each song. Basically on this album, Beck leaves behind the high-powered techno and electronica flavors of his previous albums "Jeff," "You Had It Coming" and "Who Else" and goes for a more laid-back, worldly groove of classic rock fusion with classical undertones. Besides his amazing tone, these songs are wonderful. The covers are arranged well and tastefully done. Anyone who can transition from the beautiful "Somewhere over the Rainbow" to Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put A Spell On You" and back to Jeff Buckley's "Lilac Wine" and make it cohesive within the album is doing something right. The Beck originals, "Hammerhead" and "Serene" are also well-written.

I recently started listening to Jeff Beck a couple years ago. I admit that I am a newcomer to his music. As a guitar player, I cannot even begin to comprehend Beck's tone and virtuoso skills. I am blown away by what he is able to achieve on his instrument. This album is highly recommended to 1)Any Jeff Beck fan (obviously), 2)Anyone who plays the guitar and wants to understand what is capable on the instrument, 3)Anyone who wants to explore creative and exciting new music, produced by one of the most criminally under-rated musicians of our time. Hope this helps!

NOMINATED FOR FIVE GRAMMY AWARDS. MONUMENTAL HIGHLIGHTS "Elegy For Dunkirk","Corpus Christi Carol","Hammerhead", " Somewhere Over The Rainbow","Nessum Dorma" and "I Put A Spell On You."

"Emotion and Commotion" is Jeff Beck's newest studio album in the aftermath of his gloriously frenetic Jeff CD (2003). This CD is another classic but it's far different than all his previous releases. An Orchesta and three female vocalists play major roles and the CD embraces classical, opera, new age and cinematic genres in addition to Beck's awesome rock, blues and jazz fusion forte.

The opening track is a marvellous interpretation of "Corpus Christi Carol" that features Beck playing sustained single notes that swoop and soar with the stirring hurt of a human voice. The ensuing "Hammerhead" is laden with Beck's arsenal including wah wah pedal, whammy bar dynamics, brawny riffs and knifing solos. Song three is the virtuosic "Never Alone" which has a new age sound that is audibly assuaging. "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" is a major highlight as the guitar weeps and laments with a visceral tone that only Jeff Beck can coax and caress. Joss Stone energetically sings "I Put A Spell On You" accompanied by some stellar funk and blues chops delivered by Beck.

"Serene" is a pastoral and bucolic instrumental that further demonstrates Beck's eclecticism and it's bolstered by great bass playing and atmospheric soundscapes. Next is "Lilac Wine" sung by Irish phenom Imelda May. It's a nice song that imbues the album with some torch and pure jazz. It transitions into the poignant, edgy and ravishing "Nessun Dorma" that fuses Beck's fretboard prowess with the rousing sounds of the orchesta. ("Nessun Dorma" has been an incredible live performance at Jeff Beck's 2010 US concerts without the orchestra.) Joss Stone returns to sing "There's No Other Me", but the star is Beck who delivers some explosive and psychedelic sounds.

The emotive and stunning "Elegy For Dunkirk" closes the album. Beck's riffs and notes are replete with heartrending pathos that ascend to astounding beauty as Olivia Safe's wordless but angelic vocals help to compel the listener to be awed by the grandeur of a song that is almost on a par with the inimitably transcendent "Where Were You."

Note: The Japanese CD has an adroitly austere and melancholic instrumental song "Cry Me A River in addition to the captivating "Poor Boy" that is sung by Imelda May.

Jeff Beck is not a great writer or composer and he's indebted to people like George Martin, John McLaughlin and Tony Hymas who have inspired him. However, no other guitarist can create and generate such a plethora of otherworldy, sensitive and blistering sounds and tones with bare fingers and very few effects. Jeff Beck's a nonpareil guitarist who is invariably revered by his axeman peers ranging from the late Les Paul to Joe Satriani.

(Keep in mind that this reviewer is only a few years younger than the master, himself!)

First off, let me start by saying that I am a huge Jeff Beck fan, but my affection is not clouded by blind adoration. After waiting 7 years to get something new from one of the best rock/electric guitarists on the planet, this album leaves me severely wanting.

First, the obligatory compliments: Jeff plays with a depth of sensitivity that very few others in this genre can aspire to. His technique is simply jaw-dropping amazing. He dynamically bends and twists notes so that they flow more like those of a bowed, rather than a plucked instrument. This gives a lyrical quality to his playing that is nearly vocal in effect. And, as always, his tone is immediately recognizable. Jeff, as usual, uses his vast talent and tool box of skills very effectively on several of the tunes here, focusing on emotional content rather than technical pyrotechnics to communicate with his audience.

This "sparse" approach is, however, this album's greatest weakness since the majority of the songs here are really laid back, mellow, and, ultimately, forgettable. There are a couple of upbeat tracks in the mix between the likes of "Over the Rainbow" and "Serene" where he could have dug in and really boogied. Unfortunately, just as he gets to the point where our ears expect to hear Jeff turn on the after-burner he pulls back. Instead of a "kick a@@" pit bull on guitar we get a polite poodle.

Two tracks in particular follow this trend. "I Put a Spell on You" is an un-inspired and altogether un-original vocal and instrumental arrangement. This is a classic, bluesy song that has the potential to rip out your guts if done with real passion. Unfortunately, it just doesn't come together for me. Jeff's lead barely breaks a sweat and builds no tension and release in the listener. Odd that it is so emotionally flat on an album intended to squeeze as much feeling as possible out of a song.

The second song, "There's No Other Me", ends with Jeff playing a rocking finish but it fades out to silence just when he really starts to get aggressive and musically interesting. Another couple of minutes of guitar soloing would have made the song much more memorable. Yawn!

Lets face it, at just over 40 odd minutes there is plenty of room left to hold more. Why he close to trim even the best tracks to only 3 or 4 minutes is hard to understand. Surely Jeff, at this point in his career, can't be worried about getting top 30 air play (or maybe he is!). If more of these tunes had been developed into full-fledged, soul satisfying masterpieces, this might have been another Grammy nominee for him and a winner for his listeners.

Bottom line is that if you are a fan, then you, of course, must own this album. Otherwise, pick-up any of the many other Jeff Beck albums if you want to really hear why he is so highly praised. When I'm in the mood for some really great guitar music I'll be choosing one of his older albums while "Emotion and Commotion" probably collects dust.

I'd give this CD a galaxy full of stars if that would help further my admiration and love for this man's music. "Emotion & Commotion" is like no other Jeff Beck album ever, but what parallels it does draw are to his most beautiful work from the past, including the now classic "Where Were You", "Nadia" and "Two Rivers".
To my ears, there really is very little "commotion" on this album unless you count the crunch of "Hammerhead". Even that rocker has a full string arrangement, which makes what would normally be a bluesy riff burst with new life and depth. Whether it's age, Beck's increasing interest in classical music, his always present desire to take guitar where nobody else has or even can, or all of the above, "Emotion & Commotion" is a stunningly beautiful piece of music.
With the delicate touch and love of melody that Jeff Beck possesses, he takes the familiar and sends it into the stratosphere. His reading of "Over The Rainbow" is absolutely gorgeous. The remake of "I Put A Spell On You" thumps along quite nicely to balance the CD out, with great vocals by Joss Stone, who also appears on "There's No Other Me."
"Lilac Wine" is a fine torch ballad with smoky vocals courtesy of Imelda May, with Jeff's guitar always at the right place and right time. What makes his playing so superior is his choice of notes. One could play other notes over a similiar arrangement, but nobody would hit the right ones like Beck does. It simply can't be improved upon.
Don't let the word "opera" scare you in some reviews. There is no operatic bellowing anywhere on this CD, much to my relief. The appearance of opera singer Olivia Safe is background melody without the runaway vibrato you'd expect. In fact, her contributions add a wonderful atmospheric touch to "Serene" and the CD closer "Elegy For Dunkirk".
This album is so beautiful, with its orchestral arrangements and Jeff's touch, that I was near tears by its end. My late father used to play old classical music on scratchy beat up turntables when I was a kid, and they were more or less the "greatest hits" of the classical world. Like all forms of music, classical music can be horrendously boring, like so many symphonies over the ages, but when it was done right, it reached right into your soul. I remember listening to "Clair De Lune" by Debussy, the closing section of Edward Grieg's "Morning" and a few others like them over and over, letting the beauty sink into my soul. Popular music doesn't often dig that deep, and in fact almost never does. "Emotion & Commotion" does, though. It's truly music of the cosmos and places Jeff Beck in sole first place as the best rock guitarist ever, Hendrix included, and probably in a very close running to Chet Atkins, the best overall guitarist ever. I'm still stunned by what I've just heard.

65 year old British guitar virtuoso Jeff Beck's new album "Emotion & Commotion" is a largely instrumental work, featuring a 64 piece orchestra on some tracks, and guest vocalists Imelda May on the lush Jazzy "Lilac wine", and a fiery Joss Stone on both the Bluesy "I put a spell on you" and the experimental Soul "There's no other me". Stone repays a favour as Beck appeared on the track "Parallel lines" from her "Color me free" album.

Opening is the mournful hymn "Corpus Christi carol" with majestic theatrical strings. In a similar mould are the upbeat "Hammerhead" (with guitars squealing and growling in turn), the melancholic yet groovy "Never alone", a tender reading of "Somewhere over the rainbow" (with a haunting guitar riff), and "Nessum dorma", all beautiful.

The midtempo smooth Jazz "Serene" is just that, while the beautiful dirge "Elegy for Dunkirk" features Olivia Safe adding some operatic fluorish without lyrics. Her vocals and the guitar intertwine at times till you can't distinguish between them.

It's amazing the amount of emotion Beck is able to wring out of his guitar (though I hear little or no commotion). This is an album that perfectly conveys emotion. Splendid stuff!

This cd has been slammed by quite a few because of the lack of the faster numbers that he has played in the past. If one truly listens to Jeffs past music going back to Beck Bolero, one would realize that this is a continuation of his previous work. Jazz,blues,classical,funk and rock n roll. Although this cd has less rock n roll to it than his previous cds. I have been listening to Jeff for over 35 years and he never fails to suprise me, he expands where he has been before and charts new territory with each release. Some may long for Rod Stewart to join back up with Jeff, never going to happen and it should not. Jeff does not need Rod nor any vocalist. He has 3 on this cd and only one song out of the entire set falls short and that is with Joss Stone version of "I Put a Spell on You", to much keyboard for my taste in the song. It is a rock n roll/ blues song and the keyboard does not do it justice. The rest of the cd is perfect, one can hear the sound of birds(Beck on guitar) on Nessa Dorma if one has a good system and listens. Jeff Beck is one of the best if not the best guitarist that ever lived. If you play guitar try to come close to his sound and you will find how painstakingly difficult it is. For those who do not, and do not find the majesty of his playing on this cd, then you should ask someone who truly knows the guitar and ask them to try to play this. Absolutely one of the best cds of the year and perhaps of the decade.

I am a long time fan of Mr Beck, and apart from a few things on Flash, He has always delivered for me. I didn't know what was coming here, although I heard him in concert in February, and when the string section came out to set up I thought " this will be interesting". Beck does the utmost to appeal to a wide array of listeners here, from classic rock/blues like " you put a spell on me". to Puccini's " Nessun Dorma" He still rocks with the best of them, and for those that can't get enough of that, perhaps he will do an album just for you. But here are some beautiful moments, from "there's no other me " with a great vocal from Joss Stone, to "Elegy for Dunkirk" ( he always includes an emotional end piece, ) variety is first and foremost .Even " Somewhere over the rainbow" which made me think hmm when I read the cd case, is a great vehicle for a master rock guitarist, He still is the man !

3 times and still listenning.....how can anyone who understands guitar playing
emotively not think that Jeff is the best guitar player there's now, and if not;
he's only seconds awy.

I dropped in the CD and was struck by the first cut, "Corpus Christi Carol". Through his guitar and fingers (sans pick), he is singing, vocalizing, or more accurately on this first cut, reciting a prayer. Now, his choice of Nessun Dorma, which I saw prior on YouTube, makes perfect sense to me. Frankly the live, video cuts don't do this studio recording justice. I never knew he was such a "Diva" (said with humor and respect). Sure, I truly LOVE the ripping tunes that I grew up with. The Rock-A-Billy selections he's doing currently with Imelda May and Band are a blast. This is a different Beck. Here, I perceive much more coming from his heart and soul, especially on the rubato, tender cuts. Wow! Very enjoyable. I listened through twice in one sitting. A record hasn't made me want to do that in a while.

I tell my guitar playing teenage sons, if Eric Clapton is Rembrandt, with that incredible tone, yet remaining classic and precise in his runs and fills, Jeff Beck is Picasso, doing things no one ever thought of doing before with an electric guitar. His ability to make the guitar sound like a human voice or a violin or cello, mainly by manipulating his whammy bar, is uncanny.

In this CD, the even-numbered songs provide particularly good displays of that skill. Over the Rainbow, Elegy for Dunkirk, Serene and the amazing Nessum Dorma, the last of which made everyone's jaws drop in the live shows he gave earlier in the year, are all strong achievements in this vein. Hammerhead combines that lyrical touch with some pounding rock-band-and-orchestra riffs that also make for a very strong track.

Of the odd-numbered songs, Corpus Christi and Lilac Wine share the lyrical style and are worth listening to. There is little to complain or praise about Never Alone; it was just a little bland. The two Joss Stone songs also came off as ordinary. With only ten songs on a CD of only 40 minutes, I felt that there should be no blandness or ordinariness, especially given that Jeff's penchant for covers gives him a very large amount of potential material to work with. For that reason I limit my rating for the whole CD to 4 stars.