There & Back

Jeff Beck | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 1, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sbme Special Mkts.
• ASIN: B0012GMXQK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,933 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Star Cycle

2. Too Much to Lose

3. You Never Know

4. The Pump

5. El Becko

6. The Golden Road

7. Space Boogie

8. The Final Peace

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beck Exploring New Territories, March 2, 2003

By 

Ghost Rider (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: There & Back (Audio CD)

Many reviewers have written that while this album is great Jeff Beck, it's not his best. I tend to agree with that, however this album is definately worth the money.

Anyone familiar with the impressive You Had It Coming (Jeff's newest album) is aware that Jeff is stretching out into electronica territory. With "Star Cycle," he seems to have invented the genre 21 years earlier. A constant keyboard loop is played throughout the song as Mr. Beck executes Jan Hammer's melody perfectly as well as throwing in his usual amazing Beckisms during the solo(s). The next two Hammer tracks feature some great emotional playing by Jeff, but the melodies and Hammer solos do not seem to stack up as well. Perhaps the major fault here is There and Back does not seem to stand the test of time as well as other Jeff Beck albums. Nevertheless, one track that has stood the test is "The Pump." It is probably the standout of There and Back, and features great playing by the whole band. "The Golden Road" is a different story though. The track as a whole is not bad, however I seem to cringe everytime I hear the intro. As we move into "Space Boogie," it is probably the right time to mention that Simon Phillips is an awesome drummer on this album. Simon shines on this track, as does Jeff. The closing track, "The Final Peace," is worth honorable mention. This song features some of Jeff's most emotion playing and is considered by many to be the big brother of Guitar Shop's "Where Were You."

There and Back, while not Jeff Beck's best, is worth your money. You will not be disappointed.

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This album blew my mind, February 8, 2005

By 

June McDonnell "June" (Co. Wexford, IRELAND) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: There & Back (Audio CD)

I got this album on vinyl, and on the first spin I was like "okay, well this is good" but didnt listen to it again for quite a while. The next time I heard it, as if by some delayed reaction, I thought "damn, this is AWESOME!". Jeff's guitar playing has the perfect blend of technique/feel/phrasing, but you expect that on even the weakest Jeff Beck album (not that any of his albums could be described as "weak"), brilliant playing is a given. But here, the leads, the melodies and the backing musicians are just outrageous! Its hard to pick favourite tracks, but I really like "Too Much To Lose", "Star Cycle", "The Pump"... Actually, they're all pretty great! This album is definetly up the the standard of "Blow By Blow" or "Wired", in my opinion at least.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Beck, June 16, 2002

By 

BJGGuitar (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: There & Back (Audio CD)

Ask anyone who knows me, I'm the biggest Jeff Beck fan around. I'm serious. While There and Back is very good and is one of my favorite albums, it's not one of Jeff's best. It is, however, still worth to buy, because after all--It IS Jeff Beck. Anything with his name on is worth having.

The musicianship, however, is very good. Simon Philips is a great drummer and Tony Hymas does some nice keyboard playing. Jeff's playing is also very good, as always. However, I'm not sure I like all the tunes. The Pump, as stated previously, is the standout tune. Nowadays, it's even better when Jeff performs it live. Star Cycle is quite good, and You Never Know is also pretty strong. However, the other Hammer cut is not as strong as the other two.

Space Boogie and El Becko are fun tunes, and The Final Piece is full of emotion. However, some of the others sound a little too cheesy. Maybe it's the production sound, but it just doesn't sit with me.

Overall, this is worth buying, because Jeff Beck is the greatest guitarist ever, and his playing on most of There and Back is no exception. A good album...but not his best. For his best, check out You Had It Coming (2001), Guitar Shop (1989), Blow by Blow (1975), and Wired (1976).