* (..... and Rod Stewart )
Chart entered : 7 March 1992
Chart peak : 49
Another sixties survivor makes his farewell here. In November 1966 Jeff was fired from The Yardbirds after missing a number of gigs and having heated arguments with his bandmates. He had a trio of solo hits including perennial knees-up anthem "Hi Ho Silver Lining" in 1967 which has embarrassed him ever since; well you recorded it mate. He then formed The Jeff Beck Group which included Rod Stewart on vocals, Ronnie Wood, Jet Harris and Nicky Hopkins. They recorded two albums before collapsing under the weight of the egos involved. In December 1969 he suffered a fractured skull in a car accident which put him out of action for two and a half years. He reformed the group with different players and released two albums which did good business in the States but nothing here. A one off single with Stewart , "I've Been Drinking" in 1973 was his most recent hit single prior to this one.
The song was originally a hit ( in the US ) for The Impressions in 1965, a consciousness-raising anthem in a gospel setting. Jeff and Rod's version was originally recorded for Jeff's 1985 album "Flash" on which Rod guested. It was released as a single and reached 48 in the US charts but did nothing here. It was re-issued now to promote the "Beckology" CD Box Set. You probably don't need me to tell you what it sounds like. Rod croaks his way through the song in his usual style while Jeff's expressive guitar bleeds all over it in the style initiated by Parisienne Walkways. Fans of Jeff's guitar tone doubtless found much to admire here; to my ears it's a lazy AOR number waiting to soundtrack a Pepsi commercial . What producer Nile Rodgers really thought of two rich white guys tackling this soul classic would be a far more interesting listen.
Jeff went on to soundtrack an Australian mini-series about Vietnam, Frankie's House , later that year. He also played guitar foil to Roger Waters on his 1992 album "Amused To Death" In 1993 he released "Crazy Legs", an album of Gene Vincent songs in tribute to his first guitar hero Cliff Gallup who played in Vincent's backing band. Veteran rock and roll producer Stuart Colman was behind the desk. It scraped into the US album charts at 171.
In 1999 he released "Who Else" , an instrumental album which delved into electronica and techno. Most of the tunes were composed by long-term collaborator, keyboard player Tony Hymas. It's interesting to hear Jeff's technique applied in a contemporary setting but I'm not sure I'd want to hear it again.
Jeff then parted company with Hymas and was himself the predominant composer on 2001's "You Had It Coming" though it's largely in the same style as its predecessor. The third track, "Dirty Mind" won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental. He picked up the same award for "Plan B" on his 2003 album "Jeff" which continues in the moody electronica vein although it contains more vocal tracks than its predecessors.
It was another seven years before Jeff's next album "Emotion & Commotion". It's a covers album produced by Steve Lipson and Trevor Horn and features guest appearances from the likes of Imelda May and Joss Stone on versions of Lilac Wine and I Put A Spell On You. On both sides of the Atlantic it was Jeff's biggest hit for donkeys years but it's middle of the road and dull; it could pass for a Shadows LP with versions of "Over The Rainbow" and "Nessun Dorma ".
As if in atonement, his most recent album , 2016's Loud-Hailer is a scratchy lo-fi affair on which most of the tracks are vocal with politicised lyrics written by singer Rosie Bones, sounding somewhat akin to Portishead or Moloko. It din't do quite as well as its predecessor but charted respectably on both sides of the Atlantic. It's not a particularly comfortable lesson but you have to credit a guy of his vintage who's still trying to push the envelope.
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