JEFF BECK — Performing This Week... Live at Ronnie Scott's (review)

JEFF BECK — Performing This Week... Live at Ronnie Scott's album cover

Live album · 2008 · Jazz Related Rock

4.5/5 · 2011-05-30
1967/ 1976

If I were to say what is the prog would not be able to give a definition. But I'm sure that I include in this category PFM and Genesis like Pestilence and Jeff Beck. Because yes, for me Prog is also Jeff Beck that plays a sort of Prog Blues/ Hard Rock and from the middle of 70's plays Jazz Rock/ Fusion and today plays a pure mix of Prog Blues, Jazz Rock/ Fusion, Power Metal, Soul, Funk, Reggae and pure Rock! Nevertheless, if I were uio define the music of Jeff Beck I should say: 'Jeff Beck plays guitar. He joined the R'n'R, Blues and Jazz to Heavy Metal, and succeed much better than Page Blackmore and anticipating Eddie Van Halen and Steve Morse! In a certain sense Jeff Beck is the Heavy Metal version of Rory Gallager'. Then I report what Charles Shaar Murray wrote in the sleevenotes of 'Performing This Week... Live At Ronnie Scott's': 'Personally, I love songs and singers too much for 'Instrumental Rock' ever to be one of my favourite genres. What makes the difference is: when I listen to Jeff Beck, I feel like I AM listening to a singer. Specifically: a singer capable of communicating every nuance of lyric. A Sinatra, an Aretha, a John Lee Hooker, a Howlin' Wolf, a Billie Holiday. When Beck plays a melody associated with a vocalist you can hear the lyrics. When he plays a piece which was always instrumental... You can imagine them. In a set almost obscenely with good things, look no further than 'A Day In The Life' or 'Cause We've Ended As Lovers' for documentary evidence of the uniquely vocal and expressive quality Beck brings the electric guitar'!

Said (and wrote) this, I can only stay in love with this live. Live album, even though Jeff is no longer a boy, is one of the best releases of my discography. This because Beck is a pure viruoso (easy for Jeff is virtuosism!) and Vinnie Colaiuta is another musician (drummer) that have these characteristics. Probably, since I love virtuoso drummers, this association (Beck- Colaiuta) is the winning element of this album, for me. If Beck plays with devil in his body, Vinnie Colaiuta is even better. For me the association that springs to my mind is this: a steam engine locomotive that runs fast and powerful to Paradise! If Jeff is a continuous solo... Vinnie is a drums solo made man!

I love 'Beck's Bolero' (a pure Bolero Rock written in 1966 by Jimmy Page), Eternity's Breath and Stratus (two massacre compositions for guitar and drums by John McLaughlin and Billy Cobham for Mahavishnu orchestra), 'Behind The Veil' (a Reggae Rock Blues by Tony Hymas), 'Led Boots' and Scatterbain' (written by Max Middleton... and another two massacre songs for guitar and drums in these versions), 'Space Boogie' (Hymas/ Simon Phillips... That is another massacre song) and 'A Day In The Life (Lennon/ McCartney). The other songs are excellent!

Boys and Girls... Ladies and Gentlemen... This is Jeff Beck... An immortal axeman... One guitar, one voice! And history is rewritten!