Emotion & Commotion (Amazon MP3 Exclusive)

The Yardbirds' former lead guitarist has consistently been innovative and visionary in his approach to music. It can be said that among rock guitarists, Beck is one of the few who have consistently kept moving on a creative level.

Over the years, Beck has played blues-, hard rock- and jazz-fusion music. His "Blow by Blow" LP from 1975, produced by George Martin, is one of the definitive instrumental rock guitar albums ever recorded. More recently, Beck has channelled his talents towards edgier music, using synthesizers and electronic devices besides keeping busy with quite a few side projects).

Although a true guitar icon, Beck has not pursued the archetypal "rock star" career, alternating moments of highly visible musical activity and sometimes long periods spent under the public's radar. In some ways, Beck's talents have been still more appreciated by his peers than by his faithful rock/blues/fusion aficionados. Beck has exerted a tremendous influence on successive generations of guitarists.

This is Beck's first studio solo album in seven years (although he has contributed to quite a few side projects). At 65, it is remarkable that he can fully reach the same musical heights once achieved by "Blow by Blow" (1975), for example. The new CD also features, quite prominently, a big classical orchestra. In keeping with recent trends in music, Beck has chosen to work with different musicians for this CD.

Jason Rebello is Beck's main collaborator here whilst Pete Murray takes care of the orchestral arrangements. The album is co-produced by Steve Lipson and Trevor Horn. Among the other musicians, regular Beck collaborators Tal Wilkenfeld (bass) and Vinnie Colaiuta (drums) are at the forefront. The album also features contributions from a trio of female singers, all singing in different styles. This gathering of talents around Beck contributes to the varied musical textures to be found here.

The material mixes two classical music pieces (one of them an opera), two pieces associated with the late, great Jeff Buckley, a version of "Over the Rainbow" as well as some originals written with or by Rebello.

Beck's guitar work is, as usual, highly tasteful but also veers more towards the economical, expressing lots of emotions whilst using relatively few notes. Beck can, of course, get flashier and conjure cranked-up rock sounds whenever he wants. His electric guitar tone is perfectly suited to the various musical moods explored here. If he wants, he can also conjure cranked-up rock material including flashy parts.

Listening to the completed work, I get the impression that the featured tracks are flowing together so seamlessly that it recalls me of a "concept album" of sorts (although this expression is pretty passé by now, the music is certainly not).

The opening track, Benjamin Britten's "Corpus Christi Carol", is a classical piece that Jeff Buckley also recorded. The piece is a short but beautiful mixture of Beck's atmospheric and plaintive guitar blending well with the orchestration.

"Hammerhead" follows in heavy jazz-rock mode. It mixes an incredible energy level with the contribution of the large orchestra. Jeff Beck plays a funky intro featuring some wah-wah pedal action before the full band and the orchestra get into the action.

"Never Alone" is very attractive. The track features synthesized voices inspired by Beck's recollection of the Swingle Sisters' acapella vocal style.

The gentle cover of "Over the Rainbow", a 1939 composition from Howard Arlen and E. Harburg, again showcasing the orchestra, stays clear from any excessive sensitivity. Beck's guitar is supremely melodic on this version of a "Wizard of Oz" song.

The cover of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You" features soulful vocals masterfully handled by the talented Joss Stone. The repetitive rhythm figure features an arrangement that harks back to an early pop style. Beck solos tastefully over these bases.

The original "Serene", co-written by Beck and Rebello, is a relaxing tune. Opera soprano Olivia Safe sings on this track. Her wordless vocals mesh well with the orchestra. They also enhance the ethereal melodies of Jeff Beck and make them sound both airy and dreamy. The track is also noticeable for Wilkenfeld's bass runs.

"Lilac Wine", a James Allan Shelton tune from 1950, also covered by Jeff (and also by Elkie Brooks and Nina Simone AO) sees Imelda May handling this torch song with ease whilst Beck's guitar tone imbues the proceedings with a spacey touch. The track segues, uninterrupted, into a short (2:56) but delightful guitar and orchestra version of "Nessun Dorma" [which is an aria from Puccini's "Turandot" opera]. Who would have expected this? But, obviously, Beck has put his heart into this work and the results are, again, amazing.

Joss Stone again delivers the goods, letting her voice loose on "There's no Other Me" which features heavier, more distorted guitar sounds played over a rocking rhythm section.

"Elegy for Dunkirk" features vocals by Olivia Safe. Safe's vocals are much more prominent on this track than on "Serene". Here, like on other tracks, the guitar playing displays subtle influences from modern jazz guitar players like, say, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell and John Scofield.

To sum up this review, I will say that Jeff Beck has made an album which is among the best he has ever recorded. The eclectic choice of material is superbly served by musicianship and arrangements of the highest calibre.

The CD is relatively short at about 40 minutes but, on the other hand, the recording and the mastering are of audiophile quality. More specifically, the guitar sound is highly refined - sumptuous might be a better word indeed! The dynamic range has not been squashed by heavy-handed compression and is well preserved. This quality has become a rare commodity in our "pro-tools" age.

It is great to be reacquainted with Jeff Beck's work through such a quality album from an artist at the top of his creative and instrumental powers.

I bought this album with some trepidation having thought 'Jeff' was one of Beck's weakest albums but I need not have worried. Completely different and astoundingly so, this is an album of wonderful extremes from the full shred of 'Hammerhead' to the achingly beautiful 'Elegy for Dunkirk'. If it is marred at all it is by the voice of Joss Stone who seems to be trying to do a very poor impression of Tina Turner. This is almost made up for by the stunning voice of Imelda May who, as Jeff himself points out, deserves a much wider audience.

The substantial use of orchestration as well as an opera singer may not please the Jazz-rock fans but for me it works superbly with Jeff's guitar perfectly attuned to the overall sound.

It is also one of those albums which gets better with every play. It is a very brave and bold statement from a guitar legend who refuses to be categorised - well done Jeff it is a truly astonishing album!

I have always admired Jeff Beck. As a builder of guitars , I marvelled at his unbelievable dexterity, and, above all, his ability to create and coax tones from an (almost) standard Stratocaster.
He did however, for me, seem very self indulgent, playing not for the listener, but himself. Dischord and uninvolved melodies abound in Jeff Becks music. Eclectic styles clashed with stunning virtuoso, but boredom was never far away...
This album, 'MOTION AND COMMOTION' belongs in a different category.

Listening to 'ELEGY FOR DUNKIRK', the hair on my neck rose, similarly for 'LILAC WINE' and 'NESSUN DORMA' a concert favourite.
Beck never tries to intrude, never seeks to dominate the tracks, but simply plays in that effortless and marvellous bending blues orientated style, that nobody else comes close with. At times there were echoes of Marvin, but unmistakeably Jeff Beck. Along with Marvin, he is recogniseable after a single bar or two, and it is all in the fingers.
'OVER THE RAINBOW' is pretty, and 'I PUT A SPELL ON YOU' supports Joss Stone, with Beck adding some beautiful notes. Only 'HAMMERHEAD' jarred a bit, for me, when all other tracks were meant to be listened to with the lights out, and a comfortable chair to sit in.

This is, for me, his most mainstream album, and his most listenable. It jumps in to my all time top 10 albums, it is simply stunning - I just wish I had a fraction of his incredible ability to make a guitar sing. Wonderful.