Customer Reviews

Shapes of Things

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Made in USA in 1998, Serial# A-32983, Playing Time 51:10

This CD lifts tracks from JB's work as a "leader", from his first solo effort (1968's "Truth"), to his fourth (1972's "Jeff Beck Group").

All the versions are full-length, and you can hear why his playing has influenced some many other guitarists. The only instrumental track is "Rice Pudding".

This represents a nice introduction to his first few albums, before his venture into the "Beck Bogert Appice" power trio album.

If you're curious about the music he made after leaving the YARDBIRDS, this is a great place to start. I'm sure you'll want the complete albums afterwards, so you might want to skip this all together and take a plunge: go for the "Truth"...

While it is by no means definitive, this budget-line compilation does deliver a well-selected assortment of Jeff Beck gems at a low list price. Concentrating on the post-Yardbirds to pre-Jan Hammer stretch of Beck's career ('68-'72), the CD mixes some rousing numbers from his heavy metal period (the "Truth" and "Beck-Ola" albums featuring rooster-crowned Rod Stewart on vocals) with some of his slightly more jazzy-progressive forays on the two Jeff Beck Group LP's (self-titled and "Rough & Ready"). Beck achieved an impressive growth spurt in the four-year period represented here; wisely dropping Stewart to concede the Power Trio + Preening Big Hair Vocalist Contest to former Yardbird bandmate Jimmy Page, and moving on to explore more innovative guitar territory (which later became known as "fusion"). An excellent, low-investment primer for the neophyte Jeff Beck fan who may be curious about his younger days.

This CD contains some of Jeff Beck's best early (60s/70s) stuff. There are quite a few songs featuring Rod Stewart on vocals. If you are looking for Jeff's more techno sounds of Blow by Blow, you will be disapointed with "Shapes Of Things". You might want to check out "Who else?" or "Guitar Shop". This is classic Jeff Beck.

I received "Shapes of Things" by Jeff Beck and was surprized because it contained none of the songs on the "Listen Tracks" in the description. What I got on my "Shapes of Things" were songs that were more like Yardbird songs. There was no copywright date. Looks like a bootleg of some sort.