JEFF BECK

In the late Seventies I stumbled upon Jeff Beck when I was exploring the jazzrock genre, after discovering Jean-Luc Ponty and Al DiMeola, this solo album from 1976 is my favorite one.

Led Boots delivers amazing interplay between a propulsive and fluent rhythm-section, a swinging clavinet sound, fiery guitar and biting guitar runs and halfway sensational Minimoog synthesizer flights by master Jan Hammer.

Come Dancing is a progressive blend of rock (spectacular distorted guitar solo), jazz (Fender Rhodes piano) and funk (bass), topped by a another sensational Minimoog solo.

The bluesy Goodbye Pork Pie Hat featuring a guitar sound that varies from tender and elegant to raw and heavy and biting work on the tremolo arm, Jeff Beck his trademark.

A funky bass, fiery guitar and pleasant Fender Rhodes piano in the swinging Head For Backstage Pass,

Exciting interplay between fiery electric guitar and flashy Minimoog in Blue Wind, the duo Jeff Beck/Jan Hammer sounds like a 4-piece powerhouse, great!

Amazing interplay and strong soli in the dynamic Sophie, sensational Minimoog work in the swinging Play With Me

And finally warm piano and acoustic guitar in the mellow Love Is Green.

What an awesome skills, interplay and musical ideas by these musicians, and what an unique guitarwork by Jeff Beck, wow!

JJeff seemed to become a far more advanced player the older he got hiring MI teacher and Micheal Jackson touring guitarist Jennifer Batten for this album and tour. In my opinion, it was a good move. It's been 10 years since his last album, and many things have changed, the music itself the most. Jeff was never afraid to experiment never wanted to repeat himself and he kept this trend until his death This time he added some techno and electronica touches which sounded amazing in combination with his soulful guitar playing I remember the press underestimated this work and labeled the album as "techno rock" Almost impossible to pick my favorite tune here, it could be "Angel" with his unearthly playing, or "Space for the Papa" which always makes me wonder is there nothing that this man cannot do on guitar? or the epitome of grace "Declan" or flawlessly beautifully mesmerizingly adrenaline-rush-inducing "Brush With the Blues" Great record if you can stand a combination of rock and fusion with techno and electronica stuff. Turn on your stereo and enjoy a great piece of music.

And for his last act before his untimely passing in January 2023, JEFF BECK through the world his oddest curveball yet by ending his career with a most unexpected collaboration with JOHNNY DEPP who has been one of the most successful actors of the last 30 years or so. I'm certainly not up on this guy's career but i had no idea how prolific he has been in the world of music having played with everyone from Aerosmith and Marilyn Manson to Red Hot Chili Peppers and Butthole Surfers. He also formed a supergroup called Hollywood Vampires with Alice Cooper and Joe Perry. Now how did i miss that one? I guess ole JEFF had to get in on the action.

Kindled by a friendship that was struck up as far back as 2016, BECK and DEPP came to the conclusion that they were compatible for a musical collaboration. The result took a few years to come to fruition but finally in 2022, the album simply titled 18 graced fans with an unexpected turn, that being not only a bizarre collaboration but also by the fact that this album would be BECK's final studio release emerging six months before his untimely passing. The album features 13 tracks that features mostly cover songs and a couple of DEPP penned originals. The duo of BECK and DEPP cover most of the instruments heard on this one. BECK plays guitars, bass and drums while DEPP, whom i did not know was a multi-instrumentalist handles lead vocals, guitars, bass, drums and keyboards. Ten session musicians join in.

What sounds like an absolute horrible idea in practice isn't all that bad actually although this won't be the album that keeps his legend alive in the history books for sure. With cover songs of artists that include Killing Joke, The Beach Boys, Marvin Gaye, The Miracles, The Velvet Underground, The Everly Brothers and Janis Ian, you may initially think these guys have gone totally bonkers but the end result is an amazingly consistent album that although not one that will blow you away, comes off as a well-produced nice pleasant album that fits in quite well to the latter albums BECK has released in the 21st century. For DEPP, this album was not only a product of the COVID pandemic but also a distraction from the ugly defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard. While i'd expect this album to lean on the angry side, it's actually a light breezy album with uplifting pop songs crafted by thick atmospheric ambience and of course JEFF BECK's trademark bluesy guitar antics.

Actually the DEPP original 'Sad Mother-F.u.ckin Parade' does ring a tone of bitterness but for the most part this is an album that pays tribute to various artists of the past. While one of BECK's main criticisms is that he's always relied on cover songs to fill up album space, in truth he's actually done so honorably and adding his own stamp for better or for worse, mostly on the positive side. With the heavy atmospheric layers of synths and keys that smother the main guitar, bass and drum sections, 18 feels a bit over-produced but also makes it feel like the most psychedelic of any BECK album. As far as guitar playing is concerned, BECK doesn't offer anything to dazzle the audience but rather tastefully remains faithful to his classic signature playing style. At 78 years old he still retains his chops but this is a light and breezy album often on the mopey side therefore there are no true rockers that offer a chance to just get down and dirty.

When all is said and done i could think of worse ways for a superstar to check out of this world. While 18 will never rank high on best JEFF BECK albums of all time, there's something very nice about BECK checking out on his own terms and an album that was merely created to celebrate a friendship and a mutual love of music isn't a bad thing at all in today's dog eat dog world. Ultimately this is one i missed last year in the calendar year of 2022 but now that i've taken the time to listen to, re-listen to and review every single JEFF BECK studio album, i can't say that this is the worst he has cranked out over his long and fruitful career. Better than expected but ultimately not an essential JEFF BECK album by any means.

After releasing the electronica-based blues albums i affectionately refer to as the "Techno Blue Trilogy," JEFF BECK seemed to have lost interest in releasing albums and engaged in all sorts of other activities whether touring or collaborating with others, BECK was clearly not too interested in cranking out the next studio album. It was six years between 2003's "Jeff" and 2010's "Emotion & Commotion" and likewise it would be another six years before LOUD HAILER would see the light of day. BECK wasn't just sitting on a beach somewhere getting a tan of course. During the six years he worked with Herbie Hancock, Seal, India.Aire, Konono No. 1, Oumou Sangare and set out on a world tour. He also received two honorary degrees from British universities and then worked with Brian Wilson of Beach Boys fame. And then again there was more touring!

As expected LOUD HAILER took BECK into yet more new territories as his incessant sense of exploration never ceased despite reaching the ripe old age of 72 at the time of release. After several releases with a whole army of contributors, LOUD HAILER was a more stripped down affair that featured the sleek lineup of BECK along with Davide Sollazzi on drums and Giovanni Pollotti on bass. What really makes this album distinct is the inclusion of BONES UK electropop guitarist Carmen Vandenberg on board along with the riot grrrl vocal charm of Rosie Bones. Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk rock movement that emerged in the 1990s often performed by all-female groups. While "Emotion & Commotion" was a dreamy flight into an orchestrated ambience, LOUD HAILER is a more direct in your face experience with biting political lyricism and a punkish directness absent from BECK's vocal oriented albums.

In many ways LOUD HAILER is the logical conclusion of the electronica meets the blues style. Although the big beats and techno wizardry are absent (for the most part), BECK's hard rockin' bluesy guitar playing is perfectly accented on this one by just enough electronic backdrops to make it the perfect chimeric conclusion although the primary emphasis sits squarely on BECK's classic blues rock sound. Sounding something like Alanis Morissette meets The Jeff Beck Group, LOUD HAILER is a unique tour de force that tapped into some of the 21st century's musical developments while keeping the business as usual aspect to BECK's playing firmly in the game. The dynamics of this one are interesting as the album features the equal creative input of BECK, Vandenberg and Bones. It's not surprising therefore that this album has a feminine charm absent from BECK's other albums despite his inclusion of women in his previous lineups.

Like many of BECK's later albums, LOUD HAILER is a mixed bag. Some tracks like the feisty opening "The Revolution Will Be Televised" and "Live In The Dark" perfectly embody this unlikely collaboration of female electro-punkers with BECK's traditional blues guitar roots. And then there are clunky duds like the funk-glazed "O.I.L. (Can't Get Enough of That Sticky)" which sounds like a joke in the context of the album. Also the closing "Shrine" drifts off into some sort of country rock. Like many such collaborations that BECK has initiated, the album doesn't gel together as a cohesive unit with various tracks just seeming out of place even if they aren't inherently horrible in their own right. "Pull It" is the perfect example as it harkens back to the techno blues days and would sound more at home on "Who Else!" although offering a stellar blues rock performance.

While BECK's explorations are commendable as are his generosity in exposing the world to newer young talent, i can't say that the execution of some of the later albums was pulled off as well as could be hoped for. In summary LOUD HAILER is a noble effort filled with some fascinating feisty bluesy rockers but the consistency of the album throughout is lacking. Not a bad album by any means but seems to have found the quality control record execs asleep at the wheel. Worth the time for the excellent tracks on board but inconsistent. Sadly this would be the last album released as an exclusive JEFF BECK album before his passing in January 2023.

Seven years passed between BECK's 2003 finale of his techno series, simply titled "Jeff," and his next chapter of returning to no nonsense blues rock with 2010's EMOTION & COMMOTION. If you simply look at BECK's discography you'd be tempted to think he simply took a siesta on some tropical island or had been hanging out with his hot rod collection all that time but during that time BECK opened up for B.B. King, played at the Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival, played with Toots and the Maytals and even appeared on American Idol. His most famous endeavor during those years was his sold-out performance at Ronnie Scott's in London which yielded his most popular live album of his career. This is where he met the 21-year old bassist Tal Wilkenfeld who joined him on this release.

EMOTION & COMMOTION is more emotion and less commotion as it's a back to basic kind of album that finds BECK rewinding back a few decades to rediscover the blues rock that fueled his passions in the 1960s and 1970s before he jumped into the world of jazz-fusion and beyond. This album features 10 tracks at a classic album's running time of just over 40 minutes. Although a few originals are included, EMOTION & COMMOTION is primarily an album of cover songs ranging from the 14th century "Corpus Christi Carol" to the Wizard of Oz theme track "Over The Rainbow." Also included - the Screamin' Jay Hawkins classic "I Put A Spell On You," the James Skelton theater tune "Lilac Wine" and even "Nessun Dorma," an opera aria from Giacomo Pucchini. Clearly an eclectic mix but somehow all evened out with a smooth jazz / blues rock approach which makes this one of the mellowest BECK releases.

Despite a varied lineup of three vocalists, two keyboardists, five percussionists and three bassists contributing to various tracks, EMOTION & COMMOTION has a very unified feel with an unfortunate overproduction that give the album a hazy dream-like effect. Despite the return to blues rock, this isn't the gritty no nonsense type of the old days but rather a smoothed out atmospheric type of return. This is basically an easy listening experience with any notions of COMMOTION reserved for the imagination only. Given the 64-piece orchestra, EMOTION & COMMOTION seems more like a classical tribute to various icons of the past with JEFF BECK sitting in on guitar rather than a BECK solo experience. Even the previous techno blues albums showcases BECK's fiery guitar playing. On this one he rarely lets loose and lets the orchestration steal the show.

Despite Trevor Horn handling the production, don't expect anything remotely in the neighborhood of Art of Noise, synthpop Buggles or 80s Yes. This is an album of intricate subdued glissando where notes slowly ooze into others while vocalists and BECK's guitar blues narrate over the atmospheric dominance. While probably my least favorite album in the lengthy JEFF BECK canon, i cannot deny the subtle beauty of this one although i don't personally glean the desired effects. Perhaps not BECK's brightest day in the sun but definitely not an album to be missed either. On this one it may appear that BECK has finally gone soft but he proves that this was just one more mere stop on his never-ending blues rock journey as the following "Loud Hailer" would find him return to the foot-stomping guitar heft of his earliest works. Overall not a bad album but this certainly isn't one that takes me where i want to go.

After setting the world on fire in the 1960s with the Yardbirds and as a solo act as a part of the hard rock JEFF BECK GROUP, the liberated JEFF BECK stunned the world with his trilogy of jazz-fusion albums in the 1970s however BECK was always looking for new musical avenues to explore and unlike many other old timers never got stuck in a rut. Fast forward to the end of the millennium and BECK was at it again, that is finding uncharted soundscapes to insert his feisty bluesy guitar licks into and after recruiting some young and suitable talent, BECK released another trilogy of albums, this time in the context of industrial electronica meets old school blues guitar rock. Revered by some and loathed by many, BECK was always about pursuing music he found interesting and didn't let public expectations pigeonhole his talents.

"Who Else!" emerged in 1999 just in time for the first Matrix film and given its Nine Inch Nails meets John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers effect very well could've made the cut for inclusion! The album was followed by "You Had It Coming" which streamlined the cross-pollinating effect even more tightly and finally in 2003 BECK released the last of this style of fusion with the silly titled album JEFF. Despite the generic almost self-gratuitous album title, the music continued the electro-blues world into a satisfying conclusion, well at least for those who were as opened minded as Mr JEFF BECK himself! For some reason the music industry ate these albums up and another Grammy was awarded in 2004 for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. It makes me think that that association doesn't listen to a lot of instrumental rock albums therefore by de facto Mr BECK was awarded a sort of lifetime achievement award or something!

Another album, another cast of members. Of course BECK himself handles all guitar duties but the bulk of the album's creation was given to many other hands. The emphasis on JEFF like the previous two albums was placed squarely on the production, engineering and mixing. These were designed to sit side by side by all those cutting edge albums of the time like artists such as The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers and Apollo 440, the latter of whom appears on this album as a vocalist, engineer and producer. The album features eight guest vocalists, a cameo orchestration from the London Session Orchestra, 11 mixers and engineers and a couple drummers, a seat that was filled mostly this time by Steve Barney. Tony Hymas also made a cameo but only as a mixer of one track. The result of all the vocalists rotating gives the album more of a various artists type feel than the more uniform "You Had It Coming."

JEFF pretty much continues where "You Had It Coming" left off. The opening "So What" features the same techno-infused blues rock guitar fusion effects of the previous two albums so any wow factor is completely absent. With the novelty of it all out of the way the focus on the music becomes primary. This album features 13 tracks at a running time of 51 1/2 minutes and is a bit more playful than the previous offerings. With a bit more emphasis on blues guitar riffing, the techno and electronica become a bit more subordinate to BECK's guitar playing rather than him adapting to the electronic wilderness. The track "Hot Rod Honeymoon" sounds like something The Beach Boys would have crafted in their surf rock days only set to the contemporary tastes. "Line Dancing With A Monkey" is more trance than techno with a hypnotic groove with squalling guitar cries emerging. Although the percussion is electronic, they often take on tribal drum circle vibes.

Overall this just isn't as consistently good as "You Had It Coming." JEFF reverts back to what was flawed on "Who Else!" which was basically not enough high energy adrenaline fueled tracks and too many mellow tracks that all sound too similar. This album should've been trimmed down and edited a bit more and it would've been much better. Also i absolutely hate album titles that only use the artist's first name especially when the album at hand is the result of a massive team effort. The album should've been called "Techno Blues Ecstasy" or something more in line to what's offered. All in all not a bad effort but i don't find the vocal tracks to work so well on this one. An all instrumental affair may have served better. Wisely BECK would ditch the techno blues and return to his hard rock / blues rock roots on his next album "Emotion & Commotion."

By the end of the 20th century JEFF BECK had long abandoned his jazz-fusion playing and become a sort of ambassador for the blues by taking the early Yardbirds style blues rock and adapting it to more modern stylistic approaches. Pretty much following the bringing the boogie to a techno party of his previous album "Who Else!," JEFF BECK continued his curveball foray into the world of electronica with YOU HAD IT COMING which according to sources either came out in the year 2000 or early in 2001. Unlike his Yardbirds counterparts who sort of fizzled out and became old fogies, JEFF BECK was still at the top of his game as far as innovating and taking bluesy rock to places no one dreamed possible.

Another album, another lineup with even long term associate Tony Hymas stepping down from duty. Back was guitarist Jennifer Batten who had risen from nowhere and not only played on first two techno-laced blues albums but took on the duty as guitarist for Michael Jackson during his early millennial touring schedules. Also back was drummer Steve Alexander who only appeared on three tracks on "Who Else!" was percussionist-in-chief and same for bassist Randy Hope-Taylor who had only contributed a single track previously. Perhaps Hymas was out because the keyboards had been traded in by an electronic programmer named Aidan Love. YOU HAD IT COMING took the techno-blues hybridization to the next level making this one sound more like a blues-infused Nine Inch Nails or Prodigy.

Sounding like something out of the Matrix film's soundtrack, the thundering "Earthquake" shakes things up from the getgo with a hefty industrial metal groove and techno / big beat electronic percussion. JEFF BECK proves himself to be the most forward thinking member of the Yardbirds by completely adapting his bluesy guitar playing to this seemingly incompatible sounds. The following "Roy's Toy" and "Dirty Mind" showcase BECK's amazing improvisational skills and the musical flow is made all the more eccentric by the stellar engineering, mastering and production. While YOU HAD IT COMING is primarily an instrumental album the two tracks "Dirty Mind" and "Rollin' and Tumblin" feature electropop pioneer Imogen Heap on vocals. The latter track is particularly cool as it showcases BECK's extensive use of slide guitar along with a funky bass groove and heavy well-nigh tribal drumming.

The tracks on YOU HAD IT COMING are surprisingly diverse with each composition taking on a completely different spin on electronica meets the blues. "Nadia" is no exception with an almost Steve Vai sort of ballad style with feisty bigbeat percussion. "Loose Cannon" and "Rosebud" sort of play middle ground and are ultimately the most forgettable tracks but the stream picks up on "Left Hook" which gets all aggro-industrial with heavy start / stop beats and twin processed guitar parts. The drums are particularly cool on this one. "Blackbird" may sounds like a Beatles track but this is no cover. This short minute and a half original starts with chirping birds and is basically a BECK guitar solo as he alternates a blues lick with bird chirps covered by a frosty electronic atmosphere. The guitar is simulating a sort of conversation with the birds. "Suspension" ends in a totally different style. A clean dreamy guitar sequence is backed by a Native American percussive beat reminding me of Mike Oldfield's "The Songs of Distant Earth." Although very similar to "Who Else!," YOU HAD IT COMING is much more consistent and takes things up a few notches. The previous album showed lots of promise and then sort of drifted hither and tither. This one showcases diversity while not losing its edge. All in all a very unusual yet satisfying album that will surely alienate blues rock purists as well as 90s electronica heavy beat worshippers. For those of us who are more adventurous and love surprises, YOU HAD IT COMING delivers on many fronts. BECK displays some extremely satisfying guitar antics and the bass, drumming and ambient parts are quite satisfying as well. This is another unlikely favorite in the JEFF BECK canon.

WHO ELSE! saw the return of JEFF BECK releasing a full album's worth of new material for the first time in a decade following 1989's "Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop but that doesn't mean he didn't just hang around his huge collection of hot rod sports cars, au contraire. BECK took on a series of collaborations starting with Jon Bon Jovi by playing the main solo of the song "Blaze of Glory" in 1990 and then moved on Hans Zimmer's score for the film "Days Of Thunder." Next in line was a cameo appearance as lead guitarist on Roger Waters' 1992 concept album "Amused To Death" as well as a bizarre soundtrack with Jed Lieber for the Australian TV series "Frankie's House." Add some cameo appearances with Kate Bush and Beverley Craven as well as a tribute album to Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps and then you'll start to wonder how BECK had time to come up with any original material!

Never one to rest in his past glories, by the time the 20th century was closing and a new millennium was at hand JEFF BECK had long ago forsaken his title as jazz-fusion guitar god and taken on a new role of the late 20th century as cross-pollinating blues specialist as BECK was taking the blues rock paradigm into some bizarre new territory when many artists in the rock and metal world had abandoned the blues aspects of their origins decades prior. WHO ELSE! is yet another bizarre hybridization of BECK's signature blues rock guitar style commingling with other seemingly incompatible musical genres. In this case electronic music, techno, breakbeat and industrial.

By the close of the decade / century / millennium BECK had indeed jumped into the bizarre world of guitar-based electronica and WHO ELSE! emerged in March 1999. Unlike the mere trio of "Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop," this one featured a total of 11 extra musicians including long time associate Tony Hymas on keys and guitarist Jennifer Batten who at the time was virtually unknown went on to play live with Michael Jackson on several world tours. WHO ELSE! was also one of BECK's longer albums as he (or the record company) preferred to keep the playing time around 40 minutes. This one is just shy of 54. Once again this is an all instrumental album and features 11 tracks. The opening "What Mama Said" starts things off with a bang and is probably the best track on board with a thundering techno production backing with industrial guitar riffs churning about. Clearly BECK was ready for the brave new world lurking behind the odometer of time.

The second track "Psycho Sam" is equally compelling as it feels like BECK has transcended into a cyber-guitarist with a metallic edge that sounds more Nine Inch Nails than anything BECK had cranked out in the past. With heavy techno grooves and a futuristic feel BECK adapts his bluesy guitar licks to alien territory but pulls it off without flinching. The track also offers some tasty Middle Eastern musical flavors and some excellent guitar soloing. Beginning with "Brush With The Blues" which is a live recording, the album takes on slower more traditional blues playing albeit with an electronica fueled ambient backdrop. The track "THX138" named after the George Lucas film sounds like something out of The Matrix movie with a heavy Prodigy type breakbeat sound with a subdued guitar playing that throws in random licks.

Overall this is an interesting album as BECK flawlessly adapts his blues rock guitar playing to a seemingly foreign musical style. Somehow the techno, electronica and blues play together like content children on a baseball field. The only problem is that the album is too long and a few tracks that really just retread already established territory outstay their welcome. By the time i you get to "Even Odds" for example it just seems like filler. There are also a few tracks like "Declan" that seem out of place. This one for example eschews the entire electronica shtick and dives into orchestrated Celtic folk music. Whaaaaat? This is an interesting album that shouldn't be missed but i wish the entire album followed what was laid down by the first half. Oh well another JEFF BECK curve ball nobody saw coming with this one!

3.5 rounded down

Although he found fame in The Yardbirds and made a name for himself in the 1970s as a jazz-fusion guitar god, JEFF BECK was the restless type and never stuck to any particular musical genre for more than a few albums. In the 80s he briefly went new wave before emerging as a blues rock legend again. After a bizarre ambient soundtrack collaboration with Jed Lieber titled "Frankie's House," BECK surprised the world again by releasing a cover album of rockabilly songs from the 1950s.

Credited as JEFF BECK & THE BIG TOWN PLAYBOYS, BECK collaborated with a six-piece British rock and roll revival group the BIG TOWN PLAYBOYS that has been together since the early 1980s. Somewhat of another odd duck in BECK's discography, this one titled CRAZY LEGS after a Gene Vincent and HIs Blue Caps single is an entire album dedicated to Gene Vincent and his early guitarist Cliff Gallup who was BECK's primary influence as a guitar player.

CRAZY LEGS features 18 tracks but considering no track even hits the 3-minute mark, the album is a standard classic album's worth of material at under 41 minutes. Gallup's tenure with Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps was short and only recorded 35 tracks with the group so the track list on CRAZY LEGS was plucked from a mere nine recording sessions in 1956 but for whatever reason BECK didn't cover Vincent's biggest hit of all the 1956 US top 10 hit "Be-Bop-A-Lula."

This is one of those unadulterated tributes where the band doesn't take any liberties to deviate from the originals not even a tiny bit making the album sound as if it were a legit recording mined from the 1950s. Likewise there are no clear indicators that this is a JEFF BECK album other than by name as BECK remains faithful to Gallup's stylistic approach. Overall this is too faithful to be of much interest for JEFF BECK fans but albums like this are usually released to make the fans aware of an artist and not with the intent to outdo their primary influencers.

As an album worth of rockabilly this is a decent album but not something i would choose to listen to a second time. While i do love early rock and roll and rockabilly i'd rather experience music from the actual era including an authentic Gene Vincent album rather than hear a cover band retread the past. I can understand why BECK would want to cast a light on Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps considering they never experienced the popularity of other artists of the era however i doubt even many BECK fans will lose any sleep if they sit this one out.

One of the lesser known under the radar releases by JEFF BECK was his collaboration with keyboardist, composer and producer Jed Leiber on the soundtrack for the Australian A&E Networks television movie mini-series FRANKIE'S HOUSE. The series itself starred Iaian Glen and Kevin Dillon and narrated the gruesome encounters of a journalist photographer capturing the atrocities of the Vietnam War. The four part series was quite graphic and gruesome leaving no violence, horror and gore unseen. Like most soundtracks, the music presented on this release was designed to accompany the visual storyline and yank the right emotional tugs when called for. In that regard it was quite effective.

The series featured four 50-minute or so episodes however this musical release featured 15 tracks that add up to just under 41 minutes. I'm not entirely certain if this release features every snippet of music from the series or just a condensed album's worth. I tried to watch the first two episodes of the series in order to understand the context of the music at hand but i gave up after about an hour in due to the explicit violence that resulted in too many visits from the grim reaper. The series presents a hyper-realistic display of how things played out during that horrible conflict. The realistic depictions are too real for comfort.

Without the context of the film the musical presentations are somewhat abstract actually. This one features a bizarre mix of JEFF BECK offering his best boogie rock and bluesy licks either in snippets or in the case of a couple tracks like "Hi-Heel Sneakers," bonafide rock and roll tunes along with Jed Leiber conjuring up dark ambient sounds, gloomy atmospheres and depressive drones on his keyboard selections. Whoever thought of mixing depressive ambient music with more upbeat blues guitar was on to something because the contrast is quite effective in conveying the ups and downs of the war machine. The series features the soldiers alternating between celebratory downtime and unexpected bursts of violence resulting in the bloodiest of death. The music conveys this seesaw effect perfectly.

As far as JEFF BECK is concerned, the music follows in the footsteps of "Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop" with instrumental bluesy rock guitar crafting nice riffs and tasty high and low speed soloing. While BECK and Leiber spend most of the album handing off duties in rotation, often they demonstrate their craft in tandem which offers some of the most memorable moments. Added to the bluesy rock motifs are Southeast Asian folk tones and timbres that evoke the dangerous forests, tense city life and spooky P.O.W. camps that littered the countryside. BECK a master of tone and timbre manipulation himself, offers some fine counterpoints with eerily creepy slow guitar slides and lugubrious reverb. The music offers no percussion other than an occasional heartbeat sort of sound courtesy of Leiber's versatile keys.

The album is nicely broken up into snippets of bluesy guitar, Vietnamese traditional sounds and eerie ambient music with cloudy atmospheres. Considering the music's limited scope in being forced to craft entire mood swings in mere seconds, BECK showcases some amazing guitar playing skills that showcase his status as a guitar god within the context of minimalism. Likewise Leiber proves to be a master of delivering the proper reaction to the visual contents through ambience, atmospheric and occasional organ playing with occasional forays into funk and other styles. The track "Apocalypse" is one of the most terrifying gloomy things i've ever heard and i've heard a lot of downer music for sure.

For me a soundtrack has to stand up on its own outside the context of the film or series it was designed to play over and in that regard FRANKIE'S HOUSE delivers an exhilarating mix of blues rock, progressive electronic and ambience peppered with Southeast Asian flavors. Without getting too flashy, JEFF BECK provides an elegant counterpoint to the other dreary synthesized sounds courtesy of Jed Leiber. While many may find this to be too disjointed for its own good, this is the kind of oddball mix that really works for me. It's like a honky tonk jamboree at the blues club one minute and a depressive dive into atmospheric bleakness the next. My kinda mood swing music as bipolar as the album cover art suggests. A beautiful slice of ugliness that has gone virtually unheard in JEFF BECK's larger canon but certainly one that should be experienced at least once. This is the kind of music i can totally listen to without any reference to the film. In short, i really like this one a lot.