Customer Reviews

Freeway Jam: To Beck & Back

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Thanks again to Jeff Richman and Tone Center some of todays guitar greats come together and give their jazz takes on Guitar God, Jeff Beck.
This is one of many Richman-Tone Center label collaboration tribute albums they have done for other great musicians including Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk, John McLaughlin and more.
This is by far the best of that collection yet.
Along for the ride is Steve Morse, Eric Johnson, Mike Stern, Walter Trout, Greg Howe, Warren Haynes and more.
This is a great complilation and wonderful tribute to one of rock's greatest guitarist.

Jeff Richman has the ability to reshape guitar greats music in a way that shows what impressive compositions they had created. "To Beck and Back" is another triumph. Steve Morse is a master at tributes as testified with his "Major Impacts" discs and he again nails the "Beck Style" on Freeway Jam. Steve Lukather and Larry Carlton did a definitive take on The Pump but Warren Haynes adds bluesy emphasis for a fresh listen. Has anyone ever attempted a remake of Beck's Bolero? Eric Johnson does a good job. An all star cast throughout, Mike Stern, Greg Howe, Walter Trout, John Scofield, Adam Rogers, Chris Duarte, and of course Jeff Richman make this a "Five Star" highly recommended disc.

Jeff Beck is one of the truly distinctive guitarists in rock and fusion history. His approach and technique is unmistakeable. Most of the guitarists on this disc are also renowned in their own rights. However with a few high energy exceptions (Steve Morse's Freeway Jam) this disc is like listening to a medium scale cover band at a sports bar. I would suggest that listeners stick to the original catalogs of both Beck and the participating guitarists.

Jeff Beck deserves more credit for his work as an instrumental rock-fusion guitarist than the recordings on this album suggest. While the performances of both the rhythm section and featured soloists are technically superb, a review of the liner notes reveals that the basic tracks were recorded at a single location, with each of the soloists recording their part at a different studio, presumably to make the project more feasible from a logistic perspective. However, what this results in is a lack of energy and interaction between the soloist and rhythm section, and ends up sounding like a who's who of guitar performing with "music minus one" backing tracks. For a truly inspiring cover of Beck's "The Pump", check out Larry Carlton and Steve Lukather on No Substitutions: Live in Osaka instead.

Nadie puede dudar en que Jeff Beck es una referencia ineludible para comprender la evolución de la guitarra en los ultimos 50 años, a sabido dejar su huellla en el rock, blues y la fusión, por lo tanto se ha convertido en una influencia para muchos de sus colegas incluso contemporáneos con su obra.
En este tributo, aparecen vertientes que van desde la interpretación más blusera de Walter Trout, hasta el lenguaje jazzistico de John Scofield o Mike Stern, pasando por el tan personal sonido de Eric Johnson y la poderosa interpretación de Warren Haynes.
Un tributo que mantiene la esencia del "sonido" Beck pero con la personal interpretación de cada guitarrista invitado.

Of all the artists to add to this tribute, Ray Russell would have had the most to offer. He also possesses that special something that Jeff Beck has. If you have ever listened to his work with Simon Phillips on the Symbiosis album, you'll know what I mean. He's about the same age as Jeff, so they must have lived next door to each other or something to sound so similar. Ray's phrasing is complex, yet spacious enough to let you soar with. I wonder if he was asked to participate?