Truth [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Jeff Beck | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 4, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00004U2G4
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (129 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #151,237 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

At first glance, the first group effort helmed by guitar god Jeff Beck upon his rocky departure from the Yardbirds has more than a few striking parallels with the debut of fellow ex-Yardbird Jimmy Page's Led Zeppelin. But the blues-rock of the Rod Stewart-fronted Jeff Beck Group's freshman effort far outshines Zep's riff and wail, infusing its guitar heaviness with subtle jazz and R&B shadings that foreshadow much of Beck's later work. Kicking off with a drastic, almost mournful rethink of the Yardbirds staple "Shapes of Things" and veering as far afield as Gershwin's "Ol' Man River," Truth was one of the late 1960s' most promising debuts. The laconic roadhouse booziness of "You Shook Me," the blues standard also covered with shrill abandon on Zeppelin's debut, best points up the stark differences between Beck and Page, making one wonder whether the '70s weren't dominated by the wrong supergroup. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description

Jeff Beck, as visionary a guitarist, in his own way, as Jimi Hendrix, certainly heads anyone's list of most exciting rock 'n' roll fretboard whizzes ever. Beck made his name as the second of three hall of fame stringbenders for the equally legendary Yardbirds (following in the shoes of Eric Clapton and preceding the pre-Zep Jimmy Page). Known for his blistering leads and the wild chances he took as one of the first axemen to widely employ feedback during a solo, Beck hit the ground running when he left the Yardbirds in 1967 and would cut a pair of solo albums that didn't miss a beat from the greatness of his previous work.

With future Stone Ron Wood on bass and Mickey Waller on drums, Beck was free to blow the roof off the studio with razor-sharp guitar work on his 1968 solo debut, Truth. The album's ace in the hole, of course, was the rise to fame of gravel-voiced singer Rod Stewart. Cuts like "Beck's Bolero" and the wah-wah infused genius of "I Ain't Superstitious" would show the way, beacon-like, to rock bands for years to come. This edition of Truth is the never-before-released MONO version of the Jeff Beck classic.

An exact replica of this albums is now available on pristine High-Definition Vinyl. Taken from the original analog master tapes, loaded and ready for anyone's marathon rave-up, guaranteed to get quick results. --This text refers to the Vinyl edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

73 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Edition to own:this one is definitive!, June 5, 2005

By 

Philip A.Cohen (Bay Harbor Islands, Florida United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Truth (Audio CD)

Jeff Beck's debut solo album has never sounded better in this mid-price expanded/remaster.As you know,this album was the first full-length recording of Rod Stewart.The group was a supergroup;guitarist Jeff Beck,vocalist Rod Stewart,bassist Ron Wood,Keyboardist Nicky Hopkins and drummer Micky Waller(who later played on some of Rod's best solo albums).For this release,EMI gives you all the expected bonus tracks and then some.You get previously unreleased outtake versions of "Blues DeLuxe" & "You Shook Me"(both remixed from the original multitracks),the original UK mono single version of "Beck's Bolero"(yes,as we're aware,there's no stereo mix of this track,which was recorded in 1966,shortly after Jeff's previous band The Yardbirds had completed their "Roger The Engineer" album,but the Uk single version has a backwards guitar coda which was edited off all album and previous CD releases of the song).Incidentally,"Beck's Bolero" was recorded with Keith Moon,John Paul Jones,Jimmy Page & Nicky Hopkins.Also,you get first-time-in stereo 2005 remixes of "I've Been Drinking","Hi Ho Silver Lining" & "Rock My Plimsoul"(the first version;the single take with Aynsley Dunbar on drums).The new remix of "I've Been Drinking" corrects a problem present on the original mono mix which caused a rejected,alternate lyric Rod Stewart vocal to leak through in the part of the song after the guitar solo.The unwanted vocal has now been 95% squelched.The stereo remix of "Rock My Plimsoul" is fine and musically identical to the mono single,however,it should be cautioned that due to some live-during-mono mixdown guitar & vocal overdubs on the original mono single mix of "Hi Ho Silver Lining",that the new stereo remix is missing one of the three lead guitar parts during the guitar solo,and the high vocal harmonies are missing during the song's choruses.The disc also includes the original mono single mixes of "Tallyman" & "Love is Blue".My guess is that either EMI couldn't find the multitracks for those two selections,or they did find them,but found a sitation similar to the situation on "Hi Ho Silver Lining";that musically identical(to the original single) stereo mixes weren't possible.There's long been talk that EMI funded further Jeff Beck recording sessions after Jeff's contract with EMI had ended,but before Jeff signed wih EPIC worldwide,but that there's uncertainty about whether EMI can legally release the recordings.When Jeff's manager has enquired about the recordings,EMI's Abbey Road Studios tape vault has denied holding them,though compilers who have done projects for EMI have said otherwise.I hope that someday that ownership issue will be resolved.Until then,EMI/UK's new expanded reissues of "Truth" & "Beck-Ola" give us more Jeff Beck outtakes than we'd ever thought we would hear.Jeff has always been anti-nostalgia & anti-outtakes,but his rigidness seems to be softening.He's even cooperated and been interviewed for the (fine) liner notes which accompany both discs.Highly recommended.

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beck's Masterpiece, December 30, 2000

By 

Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Truth (Audio CD)

After leaving the Yardbirds in late-1966, Jeff Beck hooked up with popmeister Mickie Most (Herman's Hermits, Donovan) but had little luck with the UK singles chart. By 1968, Beck enlisted vocalist Rod Stewart, bass player Ron Wood, and drummer Mickey Waller. Their debut Truth would would be the most consistently satisfying album of Beck's career.

The album kicks off with a reworking of the 1966 Yardbird's hit "Shapes of Things" and from there presents a string of blues-based songs that would become the framework for heavy metal in general and Led Zeppelin in particular. The only serious misstep is the inclussion of "Old Man River" from the 1951 musical Show Boat. It may help show us Stewart's range as a vocalist, but it's not much of a showcase for Beck's virtuosity as a guitarslinger. The only other out-of-character tune is Beck's solo rendition of the traditional "Greensleeves." But as he remarks in the liner notes, "Aye that's a lovely 'toon'," and his acoustic reading is a reflective counterpoint to most of the rest of the material contained on the album.

Highlights include "You Shook Me," "Rock My Plimsoul" and the guitar workout "Beck's Bolero," but the standout track is "I Ain't Superstitious."

As a bandleader, Beck could be temperamental and his bands tended to not last for more than one or two albums. [The follow-up "Beck-Ola" featured a diferent drummer plus the addition of keyboardist Nicky Hopkins and would be that group's last.] Beck's post-Sixties work always showed flashes of brilliance and as such I would highly recommend the 3-CD Beckology as a terrific overview, but Truth belongs in any serious music collector's library. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This refers to the UK expanded version, June 14, 2005

By 

D. K Newman (Coronado, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Truth (Audio CD)

I highly recommend this version with the extra tracks. The sound is excellent. I hear a lot more than on the Remastered Epic version. And I really like the bonus cuts. I think I prefer the alternate versions than the ones used for the record, especially Blues DeLuxe. The definitive version!! A must have for your collection.