Who Else!
Jeff Beck

(This review originally appeared on the Classic Rock channel of about.com, Spring 1999)

For my money, no one handles a guitar quite like Jeff Beck. Clapton, Page, Van Halen, Stevie Ray, Hendrix -- they're all world-class players with mainstream hits. Without causing a whole lot of fuss, Jeff Beck chose a path that veered away from the mainstream. In the process, he changed his entire approach to the guitar and the music he made with it.

Dispensing with hits and singers to sing them, Beck integrated his blistering, pickless style within a jazz-fusion framework. Some of the "songs" were originals, often penned by the musicians who accompanied him, rarely written by Beck himself. Others were reworkings of standards, marginal pop hymns and the occasional Beatle tune. From 1975 to 1980, Beck delivered three exquisite albums that showcased his explicit technique -- Blow By Blow, Wired and There And Back.

For the next ten years, however, Beck sunk into the shadows while hotshots like Steve Morse, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai took the reins and cemented an entire guitar instrumental genre. Beck was more content to work on his cars, accepting occasional session work for the likes of Rod Stewert, Mick Jagger and Tina Turner. Flash, a solo album from the mid 80s, was a mishmash of dance n' skat with guest vocalists produced by Arther Baker and Nile Rodgers. Needless to say, it fell short of stirring up the discriminating Beck following.

It wasn't until late 1989 that Beck resurfaced with an all- instrumental album that rivaled his work of the 70s. Joined by drummer Terry Bozzio and keyboardist Tony Hymas, Beck aptly christened his new project Guitar Shop. Beck took full advantage of the new technological advances of the day, many now standardized since his last full blown outing. With Bozzio and Hymas -- outstanding players at the top of their game -- Beck reached beyond the scope of an ordinary jazz landscape, and affirmed that, once and for all, he was the undisputed king of the electric guitar.

It would be another ten years before Beck would release another all-instrumental album. Fortunately, Who Else! clearly substantiates that Jeff is the only Beck who really matters. Co- produced with Tony Hymas, Beck throws a few curves, lots of bouncing rhythms, and even doses us with the addition of a second guitarist. It seems as though Beck couldn't turn a blind eye on this one. As lead guitarist for Michael Jackson, Jennifer Batten has developed a strict style unparalleled by a majority of her male counterparts. A top notch GIT graduate, Batten's suave, rhythmical technique is in complete harmony with Beck's unyielding approach. The result is a full-throttle assault, driven by an in-the-pocket bass and percussion exchange, accentuated by giant chunks of Hymas' hyperspaced keyboard work.

For much of the album, Beck adapts to the changing climate by blending industrial/techno meters, implanted on What Mama Said, Psycho Sam and Hip-notica, within his own maddening nomenclature. Rated consistently as one of the most heart-felt blues players alive, Beck unfurls an impassioned display on Brush With The Blues. Still, Who Else! is also a continuation of an evolving form that can only be attributed to Jeff Beck. Blast From The East and Even Odds (with Jan Hammer) both draw heavily from 70s-era Beck, while Space For Papa is more reminiscent of Guitar Shop. For the melancholy types, Beck isn't without his tender moments. Declan is a stirring Celtic-flavored ballad that the guitarist slides and swells his way through while the CD's closer, Another Place, shows Beck at his most intimate.

These days lots of players fail miserably at recreating the magic that once propelled their careers. Without even trying, Jeff Beck generally steps up to bat with something as topical and invigorating as anything shaking up and down the current trend-o-meter. He remains one of the few veterans on the scene who can genuinely emit a buzz when he even thinks about making a record. With visits few and far between, it would seem that each album weighs heavily upon Beck's mind. More likely, however, he'd rather just rebuild a Model T, and play when he needs the money to buy new parts.

Shawn Perry

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