14-07-2016, 10:09
Jeff Beckâs brand new album, Loud Hailer. Releasing tomorrow, 15 July, but already creating something of a buzz â streaming and links available to listen to via YT and others. Not at ALL what you might expect and a departure from his last offering, 2010âs Emotion and Commotion. JB is apparently Peter Pan!
The album kicks off with him strutting his special brand of blues in gritty, industrial mode, and while doing precisely his own hard rocking thing, he doesnât sound in the least dated. Thereâs a whole lot of nasty guitar going on, and I mean that in a good way! Another one who is a master of his craft, which is a point that must be conceded, whether one likes what heâs putting out or not.
The intent is clearly to make a statement (or a few of them) â the album title an echo of the sentiment behind the words â a literal, anti-establishment shout out, and most of the track titles speak for themselves; âThe Revolution will be Televisedâ, âScared for the Childrenâ, and so on - good timing I suppose, post the Brexit. Rosie Bones is an interesting choice of co-conspirator, and lends a vocal juxtaposition that probably has a lot to do with attaining the contemporary edge. For the purposes of comparison, to me, she sounds similar to Lily Allen with a generous helping of Joan Jett thrown in for good measure. I have reservations about a few of the political plots and topics and am not convinced by some of the lyrics, which on first listen are somewhat disingenuous and a little bit twee - may have to listen again. What is evident though, is that there seems to be a comfortable equilibrium between music and voice â JBâs production skills no doubt have a lot to do with that.
Itâs always fascinating to me to hear older artists who no longer have anything to prove and who are completely at ease with themselves, go ahead and unapologetically do whatever they feel compelled to do. Not all of them pull it off. Mysteriously, at the age of 72, I think Jeff Beck does. Good for him. And all that said, Iâm unlikely to rush out and buy a copy right now, which Iâm quite certain wonât radically impact his sales! :biggrin1:
âLive in the Darkâ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6dsffOrOoI
âScared for the Childrenâ â a ballad â¦
[video=youtube;G1xukJkcq1k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1xukJkcq1k[/video]
The album kicks off with him strutting his special brand of blues in gritty, industrial mode, and while doing precisely his own hard rocking thing, he doesnât sound in the least dated. Thereâs a whole lot of nasty guitar going on, and I mean that in a good way! Another one who is a master of his craft, which is a point that must be conceded, whether one likes what heâs putting out or not.
The intent is clearly to make a statement (or a few of them) â the album title an echo of the sentiment behind the words â a literal, anti-establishment shout out, and most of the track titles speak for themselves; âThe Revolution will be Televisedâ, âScared for the Childrenâ, and so on - good timing I suppose, post the Brexit. Rosie Bones is an interesting choice of co-conspirator, and lends a vocal juxtaposition that probably has a lot to do with attaining the contemporary edge. For the purposes of comparison, to me, she sounds similar to Lily Allen with a generous helping of Joan Jett thrown in for good measure. I have reservations about a few of the political plots and topics and am not convinced by some of the lyrics, which on first listen are somewhat disingenuous and a little bit twee - may have to listen again. What is evident though, is that there seems to be a comfortable equilibrium between music and voice â JBâs production skills no doubt have a lot to do with that.
Itâs always fascinating to me to hear older artists who no longer have anything to prove and who are completely at ease with themselves, go ahead and unapologetically do whatever they feel compelled to do. Not all of them pull it off. Mysteriously, at the age of 72, I think Jeff Beck does. Good for him. And all that said, Iâm unlikely to rush out and buy a copy right now, which Iâm quite certain wonât radically impact his sales! :biggrin1:
âLive in the Darkâ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6dsffOrOoI
âScared for the Childrenâ â a ballad â¦
[video=youtube;G1xukJkcq1k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1xukJkcq1k[/video]
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us." ~ Bill Watterson