Jeff Beck

Where Miles, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Weather Report approached fusion from the perspective of the jazzbo, Jeff Beck approached it from the perspective of the hard-rock guitarist. Released in 1975, Blow by Blow was a radical departure for the former Yardbird. It's a record whose influence cannot be overestimated. Though its artistic merits have always been debated, Blow by Blow singlehandedly exposed an entire generation of rockers to progressive-flavored jazz grooves, chords, melodies, etc.

Jeff Beck seems finally to have figured out that he is not going to replace the great Sixties
group which bore his name and featured Mickey Waller, Rod Stewart, Nicky Hopkins and
Ron Wood. After some trying moments with a couple of abortive bands whose principal
purpose was to give him someone to play with, this all-instrumental album points a newer,
healthier direction for the man whose playing is more emblematic of the Yardbir... More >

Never before have I been fully convinced that Beck could improvise long lines, or jazz it up with a modicum of delicacy, or for that matter get funky. But he still has absolutely nothing to say. It's not that he's jettisoned the vocalist--lots of jazzmen say plenty without words. It's that he's a technician and nothing more, making music guaranteed to excite only one group of listeners--those who respond to complaints about content the way atheists respond to visions of the Most High. (Grade: B-)