Jeff Beck - Wired

Beck, drummer Narada Michael Walden, and producer George Martin here embark on a potent jazz-rock journey, making stops at the ferocious "Led Boots," the thumb-popping R&B of "Come Dancing," and the hooky "Blue Wind" (written by former Mahavishnu synth player Jan Hammer). Max Middleton's funky clavinet on "Play with Me" and his pulsing Rhodes piano work on "Sophie" add color and rhythmic urgency to Beck's searing guitar, with its unmistakable tone and vocal-like inflections. Released a year after the breakthrough Blow by Blow, Wired generally runs a little hotter, though its low-gear moments--in particular the emotional largesse of Mingus's "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat"--will blow your hair back. --James Rotondi Amazon.com

 A Masterpiece!!!!
Wired is probably one of the greatest fusion recordings of all time. It is a timeless album that I have never stopped listening to since it was first released. January 29, 2008

 Some of the finest elctric guitar playing on record
Jan Hammer plays way too much, as usual, but George Martin's accurate production, Walden's funky drumming, and above all Beck's ferocious playing make this one of the great jazz-rock fusion albums.
Led Boots and Come Dancing are nice riffs that Beck takes way out into the ether. His fingers-only style gets tons of tone out of his ax and gives him a distinct sparkle and attack that is all his own.
The true highlight here, and one of the sweetest guitar solos I've ever heard (of two million or so) is Mingus' Pork Pie Hat. Words fail by far to do justice to Beck's incredible touch and masterful dynamics on this tune. Along with Blow By Blow's 'Cause We've Ended As Lovers, this is his finest moment on record. No other electric player can touch Beck on a ballad. I've spent many a night with the lights out and the volume way up on this tune, and it always takes me to that magic musical place where corporeal worries are far away.
I rate Jimi and Eddie as the top two electric players because they each redefined the instrument. But I give Beck his own place on the next rung. He rarely wrote his own tunes, and didn't add much new technique...but he controlled his guitar and made it speak at times in a way that even Hendrix and Van Halen never quite got to.
After thirty-plus years, Wired still sounds fresh and intense. January 19, 2008

 My favorite Beck record, and one of my favorites ever
Right from the opening thrust of "Led Boots", with its funky drumming and wonderful guitar/clavinet interplay, you should know that you're in for a thrilling, hard-rockin' good time with no regard for boundaries of genre. And if that doesn't capture you, "Come Dancing" - one of the funkiest things ever recorded by a rock icon, complete with Beck's heavy, creative guitar playing (his axe is tuned to sound like a horn), a surprisingly mellow, vaguely country-rock influenced bridge, and great slap bass and electric piano parts - should. The real classic of the record, though, is his cover of Charles Mingus' "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", which transforms in to a vehicle for Beck's emotive soloing with a guitar tone that changes so much, you'd think there were ten or eleven guitarists playing at once. On top of that, he puts so much soul in his playing you'd think he knew Lester Young (the famed jazz saxophonist who the song was originally written as a tribute to) personally. Then it's back to funky goodness on "Head for Backstage Pass", which if you ask me was about five minutes too short - I could listen to Beck trading solos with himself (at least that's what it sounds like, since again he keeps changing his guitar tone) for quite a long time. The jazzy, stop-start "Blue Wind" is also fantastic, a duet with Jan Hammer, who adds memorable drums and synthesized bass while Beck shows us why he pretty much blows all of his competitors out of the water, playing speedy but intelligent passages that never seem like flash for flash's sake - a trap many guitarists with quick fingers fall into, but as far as I know it's never happened to Beck. He's too smart for that, see, and too creative a guitarist. The album dips a bit near the end - "Sophie" is an awkward suite with odd transitions that don't seem planned out very well; "Play with Me" rehashes "Come Dancing". But at the same point, I like both of those songs. They're lesser for sure, but not bad. And the album ends on a high note with the delicate "Love is Green". This wasn't as influential as Truth, and it pretty much follows the laws laid down by Blow By Blow, but it's a better record than either of them, and one of the best of its era. December 17, 2007

 Beck plays Fusion !!
"Wired" is a great album. It's better than I expected. I was hoping for a fusion album, and I got it. I like this album !!! October 19, 2007

 are you ready for brilliance?
While it might not seem like it at first, Beck's "Wired" is actually a little better album overall compared to Blow By Blow. Only slightly better, though. While Blow By Blow is more immediately accessible, and probably a better recommendation for a first time Beck listener, I really like what Beck's doing on Wired.

The first thing someone familiar with Blow By Blow will notice is how the sound is slightly more updated. You can tell we're getting closer to the later parts of the 70's with this album, whereas Blow By Blow felt exactly like a mid 70's rock album.

I think I prefer Wired because Beck isn't afraid to jam a little bit more this time around. Still, his guitar tricks and experiments have returned and contain just as much creativity and distinctiveness that Blow By Blow did.

"Led Boots" is mostly a guitar-heavy rock song, with a little bit of funk thrown in for good measure. Beck's creativity shines through, even though it might take a few listens to realize that. For some reason, it's a harder listen compared to the songs on the previous album. It probably has something to do with the tricky drumming that catches your attention the first time you hear the track.

"Come Dancing" is AWESOME. It's straight-up brilliant. It's really funky, features lots of neat guitar tricks, and it's just a wonderful track. Probably the albums best song.

You probably think "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" is some kind of goofy, throwaway track, judging by the song title. It's actually a slow blues song. Bet you didn't see THAT coming! It's a bit TOO slow at times, but luckily Beck's creative guitar work keeps it from becoming boring.

"Head For Backstage Pass" might remind you of some of the Mahavishnu Orchestra's work on the Birds of Prey album. A very speedy, borderline heavy metal type guitar-dominated track. Good song.

"Blue Wind" was the hit song. Well, a minor hit. I love the main guitar riff with its surfer-like atmosphere (yes, the guitar playing will remind you of surfing) and eventually the song expands into other neat little ideas that only Beck would be able to create. Most musicians wouldn't be able to throw in these little creative touches.

"Sophie" is almost like Beck's idea of a ballad. It's of course, an instrumental (if I haven't mentioned it yet, there's no vocals on this album anywhere) and it's a very atmospheric piece of guitar work. I love it.

"Play With Me" might be the best song on the album, though. Well, next to "Come Dancing". It has a guitar melody that repeats a couple times with some unusually pounding drumming taking place at the same time. It's a pretty unique song.

"Love is Green" is just a quiet, atmospheric little thing. It's not really anything special, but it has its moments (mainly near the end of it). Oh well, it's a really short song anyway.

Jeff Beck once again manages to amaze us with his never-ending creativity. October 2, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...