BECK, BOGERT & APPICE

It's classic! And it's cool!

Wow! If you were there during the glory days of rock music, you must have heard this powerful trio band. In this trio Beck invited Tim Bogert (of Vanilla Fudge) and one of the best rock drummers Carmine Appice. This sounds like Beck wanted to proof to the music industry that with just three people he and the bandmates could create great sound. I would say that BBA faced hed-to-head competition with American powerful trio Grand Funk Railroad at that time.

The album kicks off with 'Black Cat Moan' which represents the blues rock style and contains excellent guitar work by Beck with his sliding techniques. 'Lady' and 'Oh To Love You' are ballads with good vocal line followed then with Stevie Wonder's 'Superstition' which was very popular during my teenage years. 'Superstition' became my favorite track at that time and firstly I was not aware at all that it was Stevie Wonder's. 'Sweet Sweet Surender' is another ballad followed with a rocker 'Why Should I Care'. 'Lose My Self With You' is an excellent song with a showcase of Beck's wah wah.

Overall, this is a very good classic rock album with some blues rock favor. Those who really want to know what the sound of 70s is all about, this album can represent it. Keep on rockin'..!

DragonForce "Inhuman Rampage World Tour" Live in Jakarta, May 19, 2007, Tennis Outdoor. Featuring fastest guitar virtuoso. Be There! Or Die!

If this was a review for a blues-rock site, then Beck, Bogert, Appice would certainly warrant 3 stars. In this case, there is nothing new under the sun to be found here for proggers. Not only is the music not really progressive, it's actually regressive, as this trio seems to be attempting a replication of the ultimate power trio, Cream (sorry to all Rush fans!). Inexplicably, these guys are all top- notch musicians, but they choose here to focus the album on tight songs that emphasize the vocals. When a group like this gets together, I want to hear them cut loose and PLAY! We don't get that here, and whether it made them money or not, it's a bit of a waste of talent.

The highlights: Black Cat Moan, Lady, Superstition, Why Should I Care?, Lose Myself With You, Livin' Alone. Six songs out of nine as highlights? This has to be a solid album, right? Well, there's a gigantic caveat: the vocal parts are mostly forgettable (and don't even expect anything regarding lyrics), and you find yourself looking forward to the instrumentals (read: guitar solos). But these are highlights for a reason: Beck really grinds his guitar on the opener, and all three of the boys really cook for Lady. I also appreciate the cover, Superstition, and if Stevie had sung this version, I would prefer it!

The lowlights: Oh to Love You, Sweet Sweet Surrender, I'm So Proud. The titles should alert you to their quality, as they are slower feature the vocals, and individual virtuosity is almost nonexistent. Any producer should have known that these are the kinds of tunes that this group would not excel with.

Overall, retreaded blues and rock standards, with a few incredible licks from Beck, fat bass from Bogert, and inspired drums by Appice. Unfortunately, they are too few and far between. I'm personally very pleased that Beck decided to go in the fusion direction with later works in the 70s.

After the implosion of the first version of The Jeff Beck Group in 1969, guitarist Jeff Beck had teamed up with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice both from Vanilla Fudge with the intent to record an album however the project was delayed due to contractual issues and when Beck suffered a fractured skull in a car accident in December of the same year, the project was put on hold but not forgotten. In the meantime Bogert and Appice went on to form Cactus. Once recovered Jeff Beck started a completely new version of The Jeff Beck Group and recorded two albums but ultimately that project ended and suddenly the time had come for the 3 Amigos to finally scratch that itch of putting together their own project.

Considered a power trio, the rather dully named BECK, BOGERT & APPICE was formed in 1972 and stuck it out for two years before Beck jumped ship in order to relaunch his solo career that finally launched him into the limelight as an influential guitarist. This power trio only released this sole eponymously titled album and an accompanying live album simply titled "Live" the same year in 1973. For only releasing a single album this trio embarked on an ambitious touring schedule which lasted the entire two years of this collaboration. The band was considered best as a live act with much more energetic performances than this studio album represents.

Following in the footsteps of Beck's earliest albums, Vanilla Fudge and Cactus, BECK, BOGERT & APPICE offered a stealthy mix of blues rock and hard rock with some of the later Beck Group's R&B, funk and soul influences along for the ride. Another feature that was revisited was Beck's propensity for filling up an album's real estate with a slew of cover tunes. A long time favorite, this album features not one but two covers from soul singer Don Nix and others from Curtis Mayfield and Raymond Louis Kennedy. The standout is the Stevie Wonder cover of "Superstition" which was offered as a blessing for Beck's work on Wonder's classic album "Talking Book." The originals were equally penned by all three members. Likewise all three members took turns as lead vocalist.

As a result the album sounds quite diverse and although not unlike The Jeff Beck Group's final "Orange Album" in that regard, this album features a more focused approach with the tracks being placed in the right order and infused with an energetic mojo lacking from the final lineup of The Jeff Beck Group. As it turns out all the members were actually great singers as well as more than competent on their instruments of choice. This resulted in Jeff Beck turning up his guitar playing skills a few notches. While firmly steeped in hard rock and blues with moments of R&B, funk and soul, this BECK, BOGERT & APPICE resulted in a very cool boogie rock album of the era.

Personally i find this project to be far superior to anything that Jeff Beck had accomplished on his first four solo albums. The album is consistent and competent at all levels. Perhaps what keeps this album from ranking higher amongst fans and myself is that it lacks a creative edge over the legions of hard rockers of the same era. While this album would have stood out and would have been utterly brilliant in 1969 when the band first planned this collaboration, for an album in 1973 it seems a bit dated. After all not only was progressive rock and proto-punk band Stooges changing the hard rock paradigm but even boogie-fueled hard rock bands Budgie, Alice Cooper, Montrose, Blue Oyster Cult and a gazillion others were cranking out albums much more inventive and well? interesting. This is an album that's above average in performance but lacks in anything original really. Not bad but ultimately not that great either.

3.5 stars but rounded down