THERE & BACK

When I played my Jeff Beck LP's Wired and There And Back yesterday evening I was a bit disappointed about this album. I hadn't heard it for many years and I still had the idea from the past that the quality was almost similar. The start of There And Back is excellent and very exciting with Star Cycle featuring spectacular sequencing by Jan Hammer, a powerful and propulsive rhythm-section with a catchy beat and distinctive Jeff Beck guitar work with fiery and biting runs. Halfway Jan Hammer delivers flashy synthesizer flights and we can enjoy some great duelling between Beck and Hammer. But then .... Too Much Too Lose with that disco-like pumping beat, horrible! Next the songs You Never Know (funky bass and catchy beat, halfway great interplay and finally heavy guitarplay in a very dynamic atmosphere) and the mellow The Pump (slow rhythm and howling electric guitar runs), another contrast by Jeff Beck, also to be found on the following compositions: dynamic in El Becko (sparkling piano intro, an exciting accellaration and excellent guitar work, from slide to heavy outbursts) and Spae Boogie (great drumming and biting guitar along delicate Fender Rhodes electric piano drops) and mellow in The Golden Road (slow synthesizer solo and fiery elctric guitar solo) and The Final Peace (soaring keyboards and sensitive electric guitar with subtle use of the tremolo-arm). A good album with lots of exciting and dynamic jazzrock but some tracks are not my cup of tea.

After recording and extensively touring the excellent "Wired" album Jeff Beck dropped off the face of the earth and more or less sequestered himself on his 70-acre estate outside London to devote his time to restoring his beloved classic cars. In fact, it was four very long years before he would emerge to make another LP but the wait turned out to be worth it. "There and Back" in many ways is even better than "Wired" and the extended vacation he took didn't seem to diminish his abilities in the least. This time around he got Ken Scott to co-produce and enlisted the help of a different crew of talented professionals to support him and provide new jazz rock/fusion material. Jan Hammer still has a substantial role here but he's not the dominant force that he was on previous projects.

"Star Cycle" starts with some swirling, cosmic synthesizers and Hammer, in his percussionist persona, combines real and electronic drums for the rhythm track. (Programmed drums were just starting to fascinate musicians about that time so it's not surprising that they were experimenting with them on this song.) Jeff slays you with a hellacious guitar solo to prove that his self-imposed sabbatical didn't cause him to lose a step. The catchy melody will roll around in your head for a while, too. Both virtuosos go at each other towards the end but I have to say that Jan's lively synthesizer playing, as good as it is, has difficulty keeping up with the blazing Beck here. Next Hammer contributes "Too Much to Lose," featuring another memorable melody line performed by Jeff over Jan's ethereal keyboards and surprisingly authentic bass lines. Simon Phillips supplies an irresistible groove as Beck launches into a slinky guitar ride overhead. It's a very cool tune but at 2:57 it's over before you know it.

The last of Hammer's participation is on his "You Never Know," a not-so-subtle disco dance song. His synthesizer lead is spectacular and Jeff soars at the end but overall the tune is way too busy and starts to get on your nerves long before it's over. I think it was time for Jan to move on and evidently so did Beck because, from here on out, Tony Hymas takes over from Hammer. Up next is the charismatic Hymas/Phillips number "The Pump" that always makes me visualize the shiny new silver Porsche slowly backing out of the garage in the movie "Risky Business" (and, therefore, the sexy Rebecca De Mornay but that's a whole 'nother subject. Yowza!). What a perfect song for the moment. The music is sleek, elegant and yet exudes tremendous kinetic power as Tony layers cavernous, deep keyboard elements to create space for Jeff to stretch out and do what he does better than most. Play guitar.

JB's backing band for the remainder of the album consists of Phillips, Hymas and bassist Mo Foster and they rival any group Beck has ever assembled. The Latin-flavored "El Becko" starts with a fantastic piano flourish from Tony and then they all fall into a hard rocking tempo where Jeff uses the slide to great effect. Hymas' tasteful piano work really adds an energized dimension to the sound and Beck's lead at the end is as fierce as a wild animal in pursuit of its prey. After that firestorm the slower "The Golden Road" is a welcome change of pace. Tony delivers a soulful lead break on the synthesizer before some great dynamics come along in the arrangement to keep things interesting. Jeff's emotional solo is breath-taking.

The turbocharged "Space Boogie" follows and it's a Katy bar the door barnburner as Simon Phillips does his best Billy Cobham imitation and pile drives this song from beginning to end. He's flat-out amazing on this cut. Hymas' piano ride is hot, hot, hot but Beck's guitar is literally smokin' like a chimney. When JB plays with this much passion and enthusiasm no one can touch him. He's in a league of his own. If you ever need a jumpstart to your day this is the tune to cue up. The album comes to a close with the fitting "The Final Peace" which is the most progressive song here. Tony sets a beautiful mood and atmosphere, allowing Jeff to display his amazing technique as he seems to caress the guitar neck, creating heavenly notes and inflections. There are no drums and no discernable melody as such, just a free-form composition rising out of two extraordinary musicians inspired by the power of music.

Sometimes when an artist's fans have to wait several years for new material the result can be disappointing but this is one album that isn't. JB marches to the beat of a different drum, that's for sure, but his prog guitar stylings have never been more striking than they are on this album. If not for the cluttered and overly noisy "You Never Know" this would be a 5-star masterpiece. As it is, it still rates very high on my pleasure scale. 4.4 stars.

A brief dissent

Back in the day, debating the merits of the "big 3" guitarists was always one of the many heavy issues discussed at keggers. The drinkers preferred Clapton for his simple, laid back approach and easy to approach songs. The stoners said Jimmy ruled, because, well, Zepp'lin.man. And the anal guys who worked in music stores, fancied themselves guitar "teachers," and never had much fun knew that Jeff Beck was God and the other two were hacks. I've never been able to understand the appeal of Jeff Beck as an artist myself despite his technical prowess. As with the other albums I've heard over the years "There and Back" is such a chore for me to get through. I always feel like I'm listening to flash for the sake of it, or some practicing musician showing off rather than producing truly memorable songs that would create a special album. On this album it is pasted over what is for me some pretty dry, mostly boring, period synth-heavy fusion. To look to the positive the last two tracks have some redeeming qualities. "Space Boogie" does shake free of the canned sound and get into a more naturally jammy place. And I can't deny there are some truly gorgeous leads over the melancholy "The Final Peace" that I found pretty touching. Obviously there is much talent on display here and I realize I'll be a lonely voice going thumbs down on this critical darling. I can occasionally be impressed by Beck's technical finesse but I am rarely moved by his music. Beck is a great guitarist, but is he a great artist who makes fantastic albums? I'm not so sure. While most fans won't bail on Beck until "Flash" I did find a few critics willing to. In 1980 David Fricke wrote that the Hammer compositions are " formulaic, terminally predictable exercises in cosmic Mahavishnu-style virtuosity, lazy MOR fodder or neo-Funk-adelic jive. Throughout most of side one, Beck practically has to fight Hammer's solo-mad ego for playing room..the Hymas-Phillips songs are as skeletal as Hammer's are overbearing.. a disappointingly static record from a consummate riffer whose specialty was always leading the pack. These days, Jeff Beck seems content to be a spectator, watching the parade go by." Wilson and Alroy add that Beck sounds "like a dispassionate studio player guesting on his own record." My opinion is that despite some nice moments, this one is for the fans of Jeff Beck and I couldn't recommend it any wider. 5/10

3.5 starsreally!!!

Last worthy Beck album before the atrocious 80's and the really ugly Flash, TAB is still much in the line of the previous JR/F albums of his preceding albums. Among the musicians here, we find one of the last noticeable appearances of Ainsley Dunbar, after his quitting the Journey upon musical difference, but also cultural ones (being the only UK member and his antics not pleasing Steve "Arse" Perry)

Star Cycle is a typical start to a late 70's Beck album with the usual Jan Hammer-type of keyboard intervention and somehow, you can almost hear the Miami Vice theme that Hammer will make a fortune on much later in the decade. While Too Much To Lose would be more at ease on the BBB album, the following You Never Know has a Stevie Wonder-funk-type of rhythm and some rather limit-pleasant soloing. The following (and closing side A) The Pump is a very pedestrian affair (beat-wise anyway) where Jeff soars easily to the skies, brushing up the clouds.

El Becko is probably the album's best known track, not only because of its superb, but because it was the one with the hardest riff around, adding a bit of beef to an album needing it. Indeed with the following Golden Road, there is a total lack of energy and is way too lame to belong here: it's probably a remnant of the BBB era that Sir George Martin forgot to put on his atrocious arrangements on, but GR ends better than it started. Finishing the album with a Space Boogie, that was obviously meant as a wink to his Freeway Jam, the album ends on the slow spacey Final Peace, where Jeff pretty well improvises over quiet keyboards space layers.

Well TAB is the lest of Beck's classic album, the last also to feature the usual JR/F he had gotten us used to, but the succession of tracks proposed here sounds a little too repetitive

The third and final of Jeff Beck's solo fusion albums, "There And Back" is probably the bronze winner of the three. After "Wired", the material on this album seems a little formulaic. It opens with "Star Cycle", a funky, Jan Hammer- led fusion song (think "Led Boots") which is not bad in itself - it's quite good, actually - it's just not new enough to be stellar. The next two songs follow in the same footsteps, mellower fusion tracks with simple melodies that are good vehicles for jamming. Good, and especially the guitars - Beck is in fine form through the whole album - but not masterpieces. Side one ends with one of my favourites from the album, "The Pump". A slower, more ballad-like song that focuses more on the guitar is an excellent platform for Beck to deliver an emotional fastball; his playing is very atmospheric and quite beautiful. Definitely a top-notch accessible fusion number.

As with "Wired", side two opens with an uptempo rock-oriented track. "El Becko" is more cut-and-dry rock and roll than "Blue Wind" was on the last album but it's still a strong track with plenty of interplay between guitar and piano. "The Golden Road" drags along at a near-comatose pace before the next spectacular track picks up the pace again. "Space Boogie" is a marvelous virtuoso performance especially in the rhythm section. Written in 7/8 at breakneck speeds, it's mildly reminiscent of "Scatterbrain" from "Blow By Blow" but it's still fresh and original and makes for one great song before the album draws to a close in "Wired" fashion with the sparse, spacey "The Final Peace".

A three star rating is fair for this album; Jeff Beck fans will likely gain a lot more from it but that should be expected. For anyone who isn't a devout follower they'll hear some pleasant jazz fusion and a couple of high quality but not necessarily memorable moments.

After the one / two punch of "Blow By Blow" and "Wired" which exhilarated fusion lovers in the mid-1970s, fans would have to wait four more years for the followup THERE AND BACK which didn't emerge until the summer of 1980. Apparently JEFF BECK spent the next few years after "Wired" rehearsing with members of Return To Forever for a festival that never came to be as well as touring sporadically on his own. Perhaps the stress of fame had taken its toll as was the fact he was having tax issues in his native UK.

Another album, another lineup and this time not even Max Middleton was part of the new cast of members. Given Middleton's key role in forging the by then classic BECK sound, it proved impossible to replace him so Jan Hammer who only appeared on one track on "Wired" was asked to join in as was newbie Tony Hymas as second keyboardist. Also new to the music scene was drummer Simon Phillips and session musician bassist Mo Foster. Despite the long gap between albums and a complete shift in musical tastes of the public at large, THERE AND BACK still managed to peak at #10 on the Billboard chart as well as crack the top 40 in the UK.

Noticeably less original or inspired than either of the previous works, THERE AND BACK is basically business as usual for the now established fusion path that catapulted JEFF BECK to the status of guitar god. The duties of songwriting had been relinquished with Jan Hammer and Tony Hymas writing seven of the eight tracks. Hammer dominates side one while Hymas takes over for side two. This lopsided approach offered two completely differently experiences resulting in an album that felt disjointed. BECK himself only contributed as co-writer for the closing "The Final Peace." The result of this new blood taking the resign resulted in a watered down push towards accessibility that ushered BECK into the synth-rich danceable 80s.

The album opens with a noticeable Jan Hammer contribution with an 80s synthesizer riff that reminds me of the theme to the TV series Miami Vice which Hammer would score a #1 hit with in 1984. This 80s friendly approach provides the underpinning of THERE AND BACK with BECK simply soloing over some of these synth-rich musical motifs. Likewise the drumming had been de-jazzified and tamed down into danceable musical chunks. The two sides differ substantially with the Hymas penned side reaching smooth jazz territory with some occasional upbeat moments of danceable rhythms. The second side is really a bizarre hodgepodge of ideas that don't really gel together cohesively. There are moments of psychedelia, boogie-woogie piano and even hard rock albeit in a Eddie Van Halen gone nuts on the drums kinda way.

All in all despite best efforts THERE AND BACK was a huge step down for BECK. Clearly there was no second "Blow By Blow" in him. His rise to the top was fleeting and it was all down here from this point out made all the more clear with his universally panned 1985 followup "Flash" which found him flailing around in the new wave 80s like a fish out of water. Despite the disjointed nature of THERE AND BACK there are plenty of excellent musical moments on this one. Sure it may not be up to the standards of the cream of the crop that came before but THERE AND BACK is by no means a horrible album to experience. It's just not that great either. Every aspect of what JEFF BECK poured into "Blow By Blow" and "Wired" had been dumbed down to fit into an era where jazz-fusion guitarists just didn't jive.