Jeff Beck - Performing This Week...: Live at Ronnie Scott's CD

Performing This Week...: Live at Ronnie Scott's songs A surprise best-seller when it was first released, this mostly improvised pairing of singer/keyboardist/producer Al Kooper with two major guitar heroes of the day sounds fascinating all these years later precisely because of the distance of time--nobody makes records like this any more. The material runs the gamut from folk pop (covers of Donovan and Dylan), to blues ("Albert's Shuffle," "You Don't Love Me"), to heady jams ("His Holy Modal Majesty"), to big-band jazz ("Harvey's Tune"). All the tunes make effective templates for the kind off-the-cuff music-making that in less capable hands might have resulted in simple noodling. In fact, although Bloomfield and Stills don't play together on any of the cuts (Bloomfield played on one side of the original LP, Stills on the other), all three principals get off lots of good licks and producer Kooper has some interesting tricks up his sleeve, as in the over-the-top phasing he lavishes on "You Don't Love Me." The only real disappointment here is that Stills, a far better singer than Kooper, never opens his mouth. Those familiar with the Live Adventures album these two recorded at the Fillmore West know how brilliant they could be on stage, and here's another gem, recorded at the Fillmore East this time and featuring 'One Way Out,' 'It's My Own Fault' (with Bloomfield trading licks with Johnny Winter...Johnny was signed to Columbia after this gig!). Newly remastered & now with 4 bonus tracks, 'Albert's Shuffle' (2002 Remix w/o Horns), 'Season of the Witch.' (2002 Remix w/o Horns), 'Blues For Nothing' (Studio Outtake) & 'Fat Grey Cloud' Previously Unreleased Live Track). Features 12-page booklet with unpublished photos from the recording session, new liner notes by Al Kooper & the Rolling Stone Hall Of Fame review by David Fricke. 60 scintillating minutes! 13 tracks. Colunbia/Legacy. 2003. Includes liner notes by Al Kooper, Michael Thomas. Includes liner notes by Michael Thomas. Full performer name: Mike Bloomfield/Al Kooper/Steve Stills. Personnel: Mike Bloomfield (electric guitar); Al Kooper (vocals, 12-string & electric guitars, piano, organ, ondioline); Steve Stills (electric guitar); Barry Goldberg (electric piano); Harvey Brooks (bass); Eddie Hoh (drums). Personnel: Mike Bloomfield (electric guitar); Al Kooper (piano, organ, ondioline, vocals, 12-string & electric guitars); Steve Stills (electric guitar); Barry Goldberg (electric piano); Harvey Brooks (bass); Eddie Hoh (drums). Reissue ...

Performing This Week...: Live at Ronnie Scott's CD music As the electric guitar ace Joe Bonamassa was so strongly inspired by blues and blues-oriented six-stringers (i.e., Clapton, Johnny Winter), many of his fans would politely pester him about doing a disc of blues standards. Originally done as a lark, the results of such a session were deemed by Bonamassa good enough to be released--hence, BLUES DELUXE, on which he covers some lesser-known songs and includes three originals. Of course, his fierce, scorching guitar is center stage. If axe-men such as Peter Green, Rory Gallagher, and Buddy Guy are your cup of tea, this DELUXE item is a necessity. Recorded at Unique Studios, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Harris Cohen. Personnel: Joe Bonamassa (vocals, guitar); Jon Paris (harmonica); Benny harrison (Hammond B-3 organ); Eric Czar (electric bass); Kenny Kramme (drums).

Performing This Week...: Live at Ronnie Scott's buy CD music When it comes to the pantheon of rock & roll, Jeff Beck is no minor god--the Yardbirds guitarist has spent decades mesmerizing fans with his intricate, unstoppable technique. This 2007 performance, recorded live at Ronnie Scott’s in London, reassures that Beck is still the best: playing to a packed house of diehard fans and celebrities, he breaks off incredible renditions of "People Get Ready," "A Day in the Life," and "Little Brown Bird." The guitar hero is amazing on his own, but the duets included here--with Eric Clapton, Joss Stone, and Imogen Heap--add an extra echelon of electricity and joy. Jeff Beck has had a limitless career for over 40 years, stretching genres and consistently bringing the guitar to new levels. His guitar prowess will be visually displayed for the first time. This corresponding DVD to the Fall 2008 CD release Performing This Week....Live At Ronnie Scott's includes special guest appearances from Joss Stone, Imogen Heap, and Beck's former Yardbird's bandmate, Eric Clapton. Beck's live band includes Tal Wilkenfeld (bass), Vinnie Colaiuta (drums), Jason Rebello (keyboards) and contains a compilation of songs from the multiple nights at Ronnie Scott's. The Blu-ray installment includes an exclusive 7-track rockabilly set.

Performing This Week...: Live at Ronnie Scott's album for sale Jack Bruce must have enjoyed his 2005 get-together with Cream so much that, when Clapton and Baker were unwilling to continue the collaboration, he rang up Robin Trower to renew the brief power trio fling they had in the mid-'80s. The Trower-Bruce pairing had released only two albums, B.L.T. and Truce, and was dormant since 1982, so this 2007 reunion was somewhat of a continuation of the project, albeit one separated by a quarter century. The results impressively continue where Truce left off, as Bruce brings his distinctive croon/moan to bluesy, riff-oriented tunes dominated by Trower's silvery guitar runs. Gary Husband fills the drum slot adequately if inconspicuously, but his contributions are mixed so far under Bruce's vocals and Trower's guitar that they are secondary. The previous two releases called in Trower's old Procol Harum lyricist Keith Reid and Bruce collaborator Peter Brown to write the words, but Bruce and Trower pen these 11 songs without outside assistance. Most tunes such as "Lives of Clay," a barely concealed rewrite of Cream's "Politician" lick, revisit familiar territory, and clearly these guys are not out to expand any boundaries. Bruce, who has had serious medical problems since they last recorded, sounds terrific -- strong and vibrant, even if a few tunes such as the minor-key ballad "I'm Home" seem somewhat clunky. This disc's "So Far to Yesterday" recalls Trower's "Twice Removed from Yesterday" both in its title and general mood. The yin/yang pairing keeps Bruce's more oblique jazz influences in check and does the same for Trower's space rock instincts, yielding a throwback that fans of both artists' previous work should enjoy. Trower's patented Hendrix-styled guitar adds a psychedelic edge to songs that generally stick to a midtempo lope and never blast out with Cream's insistent power, which can be somewhat frustrating to anyone who would like to hear these guys let loose. Still, there are enough strong moments on Seven Moons to recommend it, especially to those who enjoyed the duo's previous work 25 years ago. ~ Hal Horowitz Personnel: Robin Trower (vocals, guitar); Jack Bruce (vocals, bass guitar); Gary Husband (drums).

Performing This Week...: Live at Ronnie Scott's CD music Derek Trucks started out as a young guitar prodigy playing alongside his uncle Butch in the Allman Brothers Band, but began following his own path in the late 1990s. ALREADY FREE is the result of a decade-plus spent sharpening his skills and growing his soul. It's probably his loosest, warmest, funkiest offering to date. While it's not markedly different from the Southern-tinged blues-rock of his earlier albums, ALREADY FREE nevertheless mines an altogether greasier groove. The album leans heavily on an old-school Southern soul aesthetic, and the spirit of both Memphis and Muscle Shoals can be heard in much of the material here, whether Trucks and company are adding some Southern grit to Bob Dylan's "Down in the Flood" or getting down the to the groove of one of their blues-rocking originals. Audio Remasterer: George Marino. Liner Note Authors: John Snyder; Ashley Kahn. Recording information: Bakos Amp Works, Atlanta, GA; Swamp Raga Studios, Jacksonville, FL. Author: Ali Akbar Khan. Photographers: Derek Trucks; Vincent Tseng; Blake Budney; Erica Trucks; Mike Schmelling. Personnel: Derek Trucks (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums); Doyle Bramhall II (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, background vocals); Mike Mattison (vocals, acoustic guitar, background vocals); Kofi Burbridge (vocals, piano, Clavinet, Wurlitzer organ); Yonrico Scott (vocals, drums, percussion); Count Mbutu (vocals, percussion); Todd Smallie, Susan Tedeschi (vocals); Eric Krasno (guitar); Mace Hibbard (tenor saxophone); Paul Garrett (trumpet); Kevin Hyde (trombone); Tyler Greenwell (drums, percussion); Duane Trucks, Bob Tis (percussion); Chris Shaw (sound effects). Audio Mixer: Chris Shaw .

Performing This Week...: Live at Ronnie Scott's buy CD music When Jeff Beck last ventured into the studio it was to cut 2003's Jeff, a deliberately modernist album steeped in electronica, to which 2010's Emotion & Commotion almost feels like a refutation. Working with producers Steve Lipson and Trevor Horn, Beck has created an old-fashioned blues-rock-cum-prog record, balancing the sweeping vistas of a 64-piece orchestra with cool jazz-funk grooves, tarted-up Screamin' Jay Hawkins covers with a pair of Jeff Buckley tunes and a gentle reading of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Joss Stone sits in for two songs, including "I Put a Spell on You," with jazz vocalist Imelda May and opera singer Olivia Safe taking lead on two others, but the focus remains on Beck, who is in a reserved, lyrical mood. Occasionally, the tempo ratchets up -- "Hammerhead," which begins as a `60s riff rocker before quickly heading to Blow by Blow territory; "There's No Other Me," the other Stone showcase -- but Emotion & Commotion remains languid and even dreamy despite the crisp, cavernous Horn production that gives it a feeling of being trapped in 1990. All this is due to Beck, who has chosen to forgo his signature frenzied fretboard blitzkriegs and weave long phrases, his guitar rich, thick, and warm, sounding familiar yet different: he's never sustained this level of grace for a full record, and his soulful playing cuts through the clean sheen of the production, always commanding attention even when he's not demanding it. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine For his first studio album in seven years, Grammy -winning guitarist Jeff Beck returns with an eclectic mix of tracks that find the guitar virtuoso accompanied by a handpicked cast of talented musicians, as well as several songs accompanied by a 64-piece orchestra. Beck recorded EMOTION & COMMOTION late last year at Sarm Studio's in London with award-winning producers Steve Lipson and Trevor Horn. To create the album's diverse sound, Beck used a number of musicians, including appearances by members of his current band - drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, bassist Tal Wilkenfeld and keyboardist Jason Rebello. The album also includes contributions from a trio of singers: Imelda May ("Lilac Wine"), Olivia Safe ("Elegy For Dunkirk") and Grammy -winner Joss Stone ("I Put A Spell On You" and "There's No Other Me"). Audio Mixer: Steve Lipson. Liner Note Authors: Jeff Beck; Steve Lipson. Recording information: Angel Studios; Sarm Studios; Stagg Street Studio, LA. Photographers: Paul Conroy; Ross Halfin; Robert Simeon; John Lambeth; Steve Lipson.