 |  | Rod and Jeff at their Greasiest! Recorded Loud to be Played Loud! |  |
This is when Rod was a hard rock belter and Jeff was a crazy wildman of the Gibson Les Paul. The energy here makes up for the lousy sound, I think they blew a few microphones here with the volume.
January 31, 2007I must admit I am very biased toward Jeff Beck. There are many fine guitarists, but to me Jeff Beck is the best. With Rod Stewart on vocals and Ron Wood on bass, you've got a supergroup that puts all the rest, to shame. Backed up with the battery of Nicky Hopkins on piano, and Tony Newman on drums, there are no bad tunes on this fantastic album.
While the World focused its attention on Led Zeppelin, the Jeff Beck Group was afforded little attention in its short shelf life. With tunes like "Jailhouse Rock", "All Shook Up", "Plynth", and "Rice Pudding" it's flying by the seat of the pants time. My only gripe is the recording sounds a bit "ragged" around the edges. However, it stands the test of time. I'll take Beck, to Clapton, Page, Holdsworth or Van Halen any day. Buy this CD, and you won't be sorry. And while you're at it, listen to how Nicky Hopkins genius augments their sound beautifully.
January 8, 2007This album is classic beck but its to short.and most of the material is not original.but there are some great led zep style songs but this is much better guitar.and the jeff beck group was out before led ripoff zeppelin.
November 13, 2006On one hand, there's little original material here, but on the other: "The Plynth', perhaps the best thing Beck -or- Stewart have done, let alone done together...and although many find the instrumental "Rice Pudding" to be a bit meandering, I don't, and find it's loose structure to contain some of the best band interaction in all of rock. These two tracks alone bring this project up to '5'.
August 8, 2006 | | Great Sound and Bonus Tracks | |
The main selling point here are the bonus tracks (especially Sweet Little Angel) and the overall excellent remastered sound. I hadn't listened to this record for many years. Upon further review it is a letdown from the first JBG release, TRUTH. All the promise shown on TRUTH doesn't really materialize into a step forwared with Beck-Ola. I understand it was recorded very quickly after months of steady touring. But, the immediate raw sound is actually one of its strengths. The problem I see and what ultimately doomed this original incarnation of the JBG is the lack of quality original material. With no quality songwriting within the band there just doesn't seem to be anywhere else for them to go beyond the loose, jam interpretation of mostly well known songs. One could say 2 cover versions of Elvis Presley songs is at least 1 too many, but there's no denying the power in these interpretations. So, I like the record for what it is, but I can't help but thinking what this band might have been if they could have evolved a bit more along the lines of Led Zeppelin from Zep I to II. Of course, the big difference there is Page and Plant were able to find their voices as songwriters which for me is ultimately the main reason Beck-Ola just doesn't stand up to the quality of Led Zeppelin II. Tis a shame since TRUTH showed so much promise and actually preceded Led Zeppelin I. The good news as we know is both Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart moved on and did some of their best work after Beck-Ola. We'll never know what they might have been able to accomplish if they had been able to spend some time developing their sound in the studio and possibly writing some fresh material to go along with their incredible vocal and guitar power.
May 1, 2006More reviews at Amazon.com ...
(8 reviews)