Jeff Beck - Truth

After leaving the Yardbirds as lead guitarist in 1967, Jeff Beck formed The Jeff Beck Group featuring Rod Stewart on vocals and Ron Wood on bass, releasing two albums 'Truth' in 1968 and 'Beck-Ola' in 1969. This long-awaited 24-bit digitally remastered version of 'Truth' is released with 8 bonus tracks. This album was Rod Stewart's first-ever album-length lead vocal showcase as an artist, and is regarded, along with 'Beck-Ola' as a musical touchstone for hard rockers in the years that followed. Collaborators on this album (and bonus tracks) include Keith Moon, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Nicky Hopkins, Aynsley Dunbar and Madeline Bell. Jeff Beck's three singles 'Tallyman' , 'Love Is Blue' and 'Hi Ho Silver Lining' (First Stereo Mix) have been added as bonus track along with 'I've Been Drinking' (New Stereo Mix), 'You Shook Me' (Take One Mix), 'Rock My Plimsoul' (Stereo Mix), 'Beck's Bolero' (Mono Single Version With Backwards Guitar), 'Blues Deluxe' (Take 1 Mix) plus the gorgeous ballad 'I've Been Drinking' (B-side on 'Love Is Blue') which was omitted from the original album. The liner notes have been upgraded by Charles Shaar Murray and feature an extensive interview with Jeff Beck. All tracks produced by Mickie Most. Remastered by Peter Mew at Abbey Road. EMI. 2005 Album Description

 A waste
It is hard to understand why this is titled for Jeff Beck. It really is a poor tribute to early Rod Stewart with Jeff Beck apparently in the background. A waste of money to me. I'm not sure where the "Truth" is. April 8, 2008

 You Must Buy This!
With a sound that could slice through steel, a mod haircut framing his slightly surly face, and a thorough immersion into the Yardbirds' blue-based rock, Beck was one tough muthuh, and he wasn't shy about letting us know that he could play "flash." His pyrotechnical effects on "Truth" would be distracting if they weren't so spot on, almost always lifting the song to new, dazzling heights. It's a dazzling, exhilarating display of power, speed, showmanship, electronic effects, and simple good taste.

This new reissue has all the core elements of the original "Truth," (and here I diverge from the majority of reviewers), some mostly unnessary alternative versions--as well as songs not on the original. For example, it has the sublimely ridiculous, commercial, and pandering "Love is Blue" -Not even JEFF BECK can salvage this syrupy mosh. I believe that record producers were more powerful back then. You get two pretty awful tracks at the end of the album, and two good additons, "The Drinking Song," (later popularized by Bette Midler), and a version of "Beck's Bolero" where the bubbling background guitar contrasts superbly with what today we would call "power chords." It's both more evanescent and straightforward than the original, and worth a couple of dollars extra (though the "complete" Truth sells at about the same price as the 12-song original).

Face it, though, this album is a classic on the basis of three rock classics, a re-working of the Yardies' "Shapes of Things" (Bowie does a more pop, but excellent version on "Pin-Ups"), with Rod Stewart's imaginative pronunciation and Beck's powerfully electric, piercing lead; "Morning Dew," an apocalyptic number applicable to your choice of atom bombs, naplam, or greenhouse gases (Wikipedia will tell you that, indeed, it was a Bomb-inspired song written by Canadian Bonnie Dobson) with its combination of melodic and tempo-dissonant guitar licks as well as Stewart's best singing; and Beck's version of the great Howlin' Wolf's "I Ain't Superstitious," a Beck-fest of wa-wa laden special effects that has never been equaled, with a bass run by the uncredited Ron Wood that was quite influential over the years. These are the standouts, and they're why this album is cherished and being picked up by a new generation.

That popularity is NOT because this is the "Birth of Metal," as some critics, anxious to sell something that doesn't need selling, will claim. This is the high point of blues-based rock, and the glorious, glorified guitar solo (is it only Prince these days who keeps that tradition alive?). The album is too blues-laden to fit the "metal" category, and the playing blows away most metal bands anyway. Besides, "Truth" includes "Greensleeves" and "Old Man River"; the former is a sweet, but not necessary, and the latter is a showboat (pun intended) for Rod Stewart's intense and generally very effective singing.

If you can get past later associations with Stewart (for example, the sickenly Playboy juvenalia of the "French girl" murmurs on his much later and much worse "Tonight's the Night") and his smug self-absorption, you can appreciate the raspy voice and confident swagger that make him a rich man's Joe Cocker. He shows nice restraint during the solos, adding a well-timed exclamation or improv here and there (e,g, "Listen!") which adds to the spontaneity. Stewart shows his R and B chops (and strong influences) on "Rock My Plimsoul" and his solid performances on Howlin's Wolf's "You Shook Me" and 'Ain't Superstitious" are solid performances that appropriately lay out for Beck's insane guitar.

One of my favorite moments occurs during Beck's solo during the live performance of "Blues De Luxe." THe audience politely applauds him at first, but after he tears into an incredibly tight and intense solo, they lose whatever reserve they had and give him the frenzied appreciation he deserves. It's an electirc guitar analogy to John Mayall's harp solo on "Room to Move."

Maybe you need an ego like Beck to play so well for so long. He states that Superstitious was stolen from a Howlin Wolf "riff" (with, we are told, Wolf's explicit permission). Well, really, he pretty much stole the whole song, although it's definitely a Jeff Beck treatment. He implores us to play the longs loudly "for maximum effect," perhaps while having the "Vicar over for tea." The boy is rude--I once heard a story about him screaming at an airplane steward for amother screwdriver (it might even be true), and he rocks like no one else. I'll take Hendrix as my favorite (and the best) rock guitarist, but flashy, stylish, slashing Jeff Beck is not too far behind. Definitely in my top ten rock albums ever; one I play nearly every day at work. February 26, 2008

 The Blues that Came Before...
I've never been able to get into Jeff Beck's later fusion material, but early on he was a bluesy rock n' roller, and this album showcases his talents in that light. Rod Stewart does a great job on vocals, as well, on a combination of original compositions and blues covers. February 2, 2008

 The Real Truth
I was surprised when I heard some of these tracks recently and they sounded good, so I decided to pick up a copy of the whole lp. On the whole it was surprisingly, well here's the surprise, good. The real highlight is the stereo version of Hi Ho Silver Lining. The cleaned up version of I've Been Drinking Again also is a brand new experience. I do wish they had also included the old mono mix with the vocals linking through from a previous take. After so many years, it will take a lot of listens to be used to a cleaned up version of this gem. January 12, 2008

 Getting the Led out before Zeppelin?
The reason why I bought this album several years ago is because I always heard comparisons with this Jeff Beck lineup and Led Zeppelin. Listen to this album and you will see why. I love both bands and that is probably why I love this album along with Beck-Ola. I immediately blamed Led Zeppelin for copying this after my first time listening. I did not want to but could not help it. I still do this day. I liked the Yardbirds the most when Beck was in charge. And I like this band as much as Led Zeppelin though I think they would have been better had they could have kept Ansley Dunbar on drums. This album rocks and is one of the most important albums in the 60s that contributed to heavy rock. Too bad this band did not get the attention Led Zeppelin,Cream,and Jimi Hendrix all had. Its every bit as good and even better in some places. December 4, 2007

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