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On his first
studio album in nearly seven years, the delightfully
unpredictable Jeff Beck astonishes once again with EMOTION
& COMMOTION. “I hate to ruin the surprise by talking about
it, but I think this album will shock people a bit when
they hear it. It’s not what people would expect of me,”
says the multi-Grammy® winning guitar virtuoso.
It’s a bold
statement from a groundbreaking artist who’s inimitable
combination of primal shredding and cool perfectionism has
left an indelible mark on everything from hard rock and
jazz fusion to rockabilly and techno during the past
40-plus years.
Beck adds
another style to that list with an album that complements
the innovative tones he coaxes from his Stratocaster with
a 64-piece orchestra. The remarkable combination shines on
a range on songs, from Puccini’s aria “Nessun Dorma” and
“Elegy For Dunkirk” from the film Atonement to
“Somewhere Over The Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz
and an interpretation of “Corpus Christi Carol.”
Beck says the
idea for pairing guitar with an orchestra evolved from a
version of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 he recorded a
few years ago. “It turned out amazingly well, but I didn’t
want to commit to an entire album of classical music. What
appealed to me instead was the idea of bringing together
these seemingly incongruous styles on different kinds of
non-classical music.”
Beck recorded
EMOTION & COMMOTION late last year at Sarm Studio’s in
London with the award-winning producers Steve Lipson and
Trevor Horn. “Making this record took me back to the
feeling I had making Blow By Blow,” he says
referring to 1975’s groundbreaking jazz-fusion classic.
“Partly because the orchestrations reminded me of working
with George Martin, but mostly because there was a lack of
preparation for both that forced me to be open. From one
day to the next, I had no idea what I was going to do. It
kept things fresh.”
To create the
album’s diverse sound, Beck used a number of musicians,
including appearances by frequent collaborators Vinnie
Colaiuta (drums), Jason Rebello (keyboards), and Tal
Wilkenfeld (bass). The album also features vocal
contributions from Imelda May (“Lilac Wine”) and
Grammy-winner Joss Stone (“I Put A Spell On You” and
“There’s No Other Me”).
Opera singer
Olivia Safe is featured as well, her ethereal voice
soaring alongside Beck’s soulful lead on “Elegy For
Dunkirk.” At times their sounds overlap, becoming
indistinguishably intertwined. “The Stratocaster,
especially with the delicate use of the whammy arm, has an
amazing capacity to simulate the human voice,” he says.
“I’m not trying to out-shred anybody or pull of ludicrous
runs to express my emotions. What interests me now is
trying to sing through the guitar.”
Beck’s
six-string voice takes full flight on “Somewhere Over The
Rainbow,” capturing the exquisite ache of Judy Garland’s
performance on the original. “Her singing is laced with
such raw emotion that it sounds like she’s going to burst
into tears at any moment. If I captured even half of that,
I’m happy.”
In addition to
the orchestral pieces, EMOTION & COMMOTION showcases
several original compositions. For “Hammerhead,” Beck
fires the rocker’s opening salvo through his wah-wah pedal
before falling into the deep groove carved out by the
rhythm section and horns. At the opposite end of the sonic
spectrum, the airy arrangement that elevates “Never Alone”
provides a wide-angle soundscape where Beck’s imagination
is free to explore the high-flying melody.
On this album,
and throughout his career, Beck routinely makes the
fantastically difficult sound effortless. What makes his
playing even more impressive here is that on several songs
he’s doing it with the index finger on his playing hand
completely out of commission. “I cut the tip off with a
chef’s knife right before the last sessions, when I was
scheduled to overdub solos for several songs, including
‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow,’ ‘Elegy For Dunkirk’ and
‘There’s No Other Me.’”
Determined to
complete the album, Beck soldiered on. “I found I could do
quite a lot with the remaining fingers,” he says. “It
forced me to make adjustments; basically relearn how to
play within these new constraints.”
Thankfully, Beck
is regaining feeling in that finger in time to launch a
world tour to support EMOTION & COMMOTION. In February, he
will unite with Eric Clapton for a series of exclusive
shows in London, New York City, Toronto and Montreal. Both
artists will play separately before taking the stage to
perform together.
“We played a few
shows in Japan at the Saitama Super Arena last February
that came off really well and we thought why not do it
again,” Beck says. Other than a few benefits and
festivals, the guitar legends had not previously shared a
stage at a major arena. Ironically, Beck replaced Clapton
in The Yardbirds when Clapton left the band in 1965.
After the shows
with Clapton, Beck will play South Korea, Hong Kong,
Australia and Japan before returning to America for the
U.S. leg of their tour starting mid April and including an
appearance at the New Orleans Jazz Festival on May 1.
For Beck, the
new album and tour follows in the wake of a triumphant
2009 – his most successful year ever. Among the many
highlights were a sold-out world tour; his second
induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; the release
of the platinum-selling Performing This Week… Live at
Ronnie Scott’s, which earned a Grammy nomination for
“A Day In The Life”; and magnificent performances with his
band at the 25th Anniversary Concert of the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame at Madison Square Garden. |
