Categories : Jazz + Blues, Music Reviews, Rock + Pop.
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Rating: 3.5 / 5 Reviewer: Trent Depue |
Well, the man knows his way around a guitar. There’s no denying it, nor is there any denying that for Jeff Beck’s first album in seven years, highlighting those skills was first and foremost on his mind as, with the exception of a handful of tracks featuring guest vocals, Emotion & Commotion is almost entirely instrumental.
Comprising of an eclectic mix of various musical choices, from new material he wrote himself to classical choices the likes of ‘Corpus Christi Carol’ and ‘Nessun Dorma,’ to a movie soundtrack choice in ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow,’ Beck touches on pretty much everything here, and to his credit does a great job bringing it all together, as nothing seems out of place.
Complimenting Beck’s remarkable skill with an axe is, at times, a 64-piece orchestra, which brings an added dynamic to the record. Beck’s take on Puccini’s ‘Nessun Dorma’ is the most dominant example of this and one of the records most captivating moments, while the rocking ‘Hammerhead’ is close runner up.
It isn’t until the fifth track that there are any vocals on the record, and for this one Grammy winner Joss Stone lends her voice to the classic ‘I Put a Spell on You’, though her vocal presence on her second guest track ‘There’s No Other Me’ is a far more commanding. Imelda May and Olivia Faith round out the cast of guest vocalists on ‘Lilac Wine’ and ‘Elegy for Dunkirk’ respectively.
Seven years can be a long time to go between records for any artist, but with Emotion & Commotion it would seem the wait was worthwhile. Jeff Beck’s ability to hypnotize the listener with his masterful guitar stokes is still unwavering, and while this record may not necessarily be the type of record one would always be in the mood to listen to, when you are, it’s a good one to turn to.
