Jeff Beck - 1968 - Blues De Luxe

Jeff Beck 

1968

Blues De Luxe 

(The Godfatherecords G.R.870)

July 24, 1968
Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA

01. You Shook Me
02. Let Me Love You
03. Morning Dew
04. Jeff’s Boogie
05. The Sun Is Shinning
06. Hi Ho Silver Lining


November 3, 1968
Grande Ballroom Detroit, MI

07. A Natural Woman
08. Rice Pudding
09. Sweet Little Angel
10. I Ain’t Superstitious


July 12, 1969
Laurel Pop Festival Laurel, MD

11. Rock My Plimsoul
12. Hangman’s Knee
13. Blues De Luxe

Jeff Beck: Guitar
Rod Stewart: Vocals
Ron Wood: Bass
Micky Waller: Drums

This is the second silver release documenting the Jeff Beck Group’s concert at the Fillmore West on July 24, 1968, a stunning soundboard recording from the Bill Graham Archives via Wolfgang’s Vault. The other release is Fillmore West (JBG#1-72468) that contained an excellent version of the tape but was sadly a very short disc as the label elected not to include any bonus material. When comparing the two releases Godfather has a cleaner sound while the JBG versions hiss was slightly more prominent. Godfather’s version is a bit faster reducing the tape length by a minute, and to my ears sounds to be better pitched as when I compare the two the JBG release sounds a tad sluggish. It is truly a fabulous recording; please refer to my review of the JBG title for the blow by blow.

here Godfather really takes the lead is that they offer additional music from the same era to give casual Beck collectors like myself a much broader glimpse into the band’s live work. The first of the bonus material comes from the famous Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan. Growing up in Western Michigan and living somewhat close to the Metro Detroit area the Grande Ballroom has a huge musical legacy for me. The place was the musical Mecca for the city and would draw many of music’s biggest names in the sixties and act as home base for the MC5, Stooges, and The Amboy Dukes. The recording has seen a silver release prior to this, and looks to contain a much more complete version of the tape, Live In Detroit 1968 (Zero Records ZRCD 204). The audience source is a very good well balanced recording that is surprisingly clear with no real crowd interference. The tracks featured here gives more insight into the band, the first song is a take on Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”. They play it as an instrumental giving it a very different feel; the music certainly struck a chord with Rod Stewart as he would record his take on the song in the mid seventies as a solo artist. Rod tells the audience “our bass player is going to play an unbelievable solo” and the song is “Rice Pudding”, the bass player is Ronnie Wood. The first two minutes are dominated by Beck who slashes at his strings to great effect before leaving the spotlight to Ronnie. His solo is a solid plunking of notes before the band comes back; even Micky Waller gets a quick drum solo after which Beck proves why the band bears his name.

The next track is the groups take on the BB King classic “Sweet Little Angel” and we finally get to hear Rod singing in Detroit. The song (as well as “Natural Woman”) features some great piano from who I am guessing is Nicky Hopkins. The blues is the bands foundation and they continue with a rollicking take on Willie Dixon’s “I Ain’t Superstitious”. Some great interaction as Beck is soloing; Hopkins is laying a solid boogie foundation down before they get into a little call and response with the audience based upon music and hand claps. Hearing just four songs is just not enough as I find myself wanting to hear the complete recording as it is a fantastic performance by the group.

The final three tracks come from the Laurel Pop Festival in 1969, it was a real blues rock fans dream and other performers were Led Zeppelin, Buddy Guy, Johnny Winter, Ten Years After and the Mothers Of Invention, Beck played the final day of the three day event. The audience source featured here is again very good sound, slightly distant sounding and does not have a lot of the lower frequencies, similar to many open air recordings. The vocals and music are well balanced and once the band get into “Rock My Plimsoul” settles into a great and atmospheric sound that is quite enjoyable. There are some wind bump effects but do not distract from one enjoyment of the music. The song is basically a take on BB Kings Rock Me Baby”, they never stray far from the blues as a base for their improvisation, and it is this improvisation that leads into a hard rocking section that has things heating up before falling back into the blues ending. A great version of “Hangman’s Knee” from the Beck-Ola record follows, Ronnie wood simply abuses his bass to the best extreme and the song is a full band effort. The last song is “Blues De Luxe” from the Truth album, it is the blues that the band does best, combining it with Beck’s hard firing guitar prowess. The song also features some great blues singing from Stewart, he really pours his heart into the song. Another really enjoyable fragment.

The packaging is typical Godfathers, tri gatefold sleeve, I found the front and rear cover not much to my liking. I do like the center spread; there are some great pictures of the band as well as liner notes from Moonchild. So the JBG gets the edge on packaging but Godfather takes the cake for overall presentation, the mastering on the Fillmore set is superior and the bonus material is fantastic. I have little Jeff Beck in my collection so releases like this give myself a much better understanding and appreciation for the important groups musical legacy, one that influenced many bands who would rise from their ashes.

Led Zeppelin - 1975 - The Kings Of The Stone Age

Led Zeppelin
February 13, 1975
Nassau County Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Uniondale, New York, USA

The King's Of The Stone Age / Empress Valley

EVSD 597/598/599, 507/508/509 & 166/167/168 

Soundboard Recording

01. Introduction

02. Rock And Roll

03. Sick Again

04.  Over The Hills And Far Away

05. In My Time Of Dying

06. The Song Remains The Same

07. The Rain Song

08. Kashmir

99. No Quarter

10. Trampled Underfoot

01. Moby Dick

12. Dazed And Confused

13. Stairway To Heaven

14. Whole Lotta Love

15. Black Dog

16. Communication Breakdown

Announced in late June 2013, Empress Valley’s latest “Soundboard Revolution” featured Led Zeppelin’s m February 13, 1975 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Any new soundboard from Zeppelin is cause for excitement but the board tapes from 1975 have a real warm sound to them that in my opinion makes them much more enjoyable (for sound quality, that is) than the soundboards from both 1973 and 1977 so when this was announced I knew we were in for a real treat.

Unfortunately, Led Zeppelin started the year off in very rough shape. Plant’s voice was damaged and Jimmy had a broken finger which made for some awkward uneven shows at the start of the tour but luckily, a couple weeks in things really started to turn around even if Robert never quite fully recovered.

EV’s offerings came in the form of two versions, The King’s Of The Stone Age [a 9CD box set containing both this and the following night at Nassau Coliseum and included the audience recording from the 13th, previously released as Fighting Back At The Coliseum (EVSD 166/167/168)] and Jamming With A Woody [a standard 3CD version in a gatefold sleeve]. Eelgrass follows in their normal fashion of issuing an exact copy of the EV set. Empress definitely deserves praise for finding and releasing these important documents as does Eelgrass for offering a more affordable option for the less fortunate collectors.

“Ladies and Gentleman, the American return of Led Zeppelin” has everyone on their feet as the band get ready for “Rock And Roll”. The recording starts out slightly distorted and is a bit bass heavy but after some adjustments will even out and settle into another superb ’75 soundboard. During “Sick Again” Jimmy is still trying to loosen things up in the solo and Jones gets lost for a few seconds after but Page’s solo at the end is much smoother to better effect.

“Tonight we are feeling good” Robert assures the fans. He gives his usual shtick about the cross section of music that will be performed and says “This is one of the ones that ain’t quite so old” as Page starts “Over The Hills And Far Away”. Plant, who is still having a rough time with his voice, takes the low road with the vocal and plays it very safe trying not to push too hard so early in the concert. Jones and Bonham are totally locked in and Page is very fluid and includes some outstanding licks in the solo.

Plant talks about the release of Physical Graffiti being “only 10 months late” and the band embark on a ten minute journey through “In My Time Of Dying”. Zeppelin was always great when it came to reinventing old traditional songs but they really outdid themselves with this one, turning it into something all their own. “The Song Remains The Same” has Page at full strength. His fingers show little sign of his recent broken finger now and the great recording highlights John Paul Jones’ outstanding bass parts. A very nice version of “The Rain Song” follows with Jones as the orchestra.

“Kashmir” sounds very heavy in this concert. Bonham is rock solid but Plant sounds tentative in his vocal. The bass pedals overpower the recording and cause some overloading during the ascending climbs at the end. There is a cut in the tape following “Kashmir” that misses a few words of Robert’s comments. “No Quarter” is a 20 minute epic complete with a lengthy electric piano solo from John Paul Jones. His piano playing is always entertaining but he gets into some interesting funky riffs tonight as he jams with Bonzo and they get very experimental in this version. Page enters soon after and proceeds to meddle about, slowly developing his solo.

Jones continues on keys and switches over to Clavinet for “Trampled Underfoot”. Plant’s vocals seem more consistent here and the band as a whole is very tight and just plain rocks it. They quickly recover from a missed cue avoiding a disaster while the rest of the track goes off without a hitch. “Moby Dick” is a massive 25 minute undertaking that is a nice break for the rest of the band while Bonham gets a real workout. He is inspired tonight and his solo is remarkable with machine-like precision. He is introduced as “Moby Bonham…soloist extraordinaire” by Plant.

“Dazed And Confused” is another masterful version that extends beyond 40 minutes. It includes “San Francisco” which starts off very delicately here and Jimmy jams on a small bit of “Cat’s Squirrel” at about the 22 minute mark in which Jones quickly follows. A rather sloppy version of “Walter’s Walk” also finds its way into the fast section.

“This is a song that we enjoy…a hell of a lot” is “Stairway’s” simple introduction. The Mellotron sounds very nice with Jones playing some interesting variations of the original parts. His playfulness carries over into the electric piano and throughout the rest of the song. “Whole Lotta Love” also sounds a bit sloppy tonight as if it is being forced. The Theremin, which is featured here for the first time during the tour, is distant in the mix at the start but will kick in to feature some of Page’s best work on the bizarre instrument. The classic ’75 arrangement is joined with “Black Dog”. The rhythm section hits a rough patch during the ending solo but they hold it together regardless.

For the second encore they return with a special guest. This is a rare occasion at a Zeppelin concert and Plant introduces Ron Wood who will join Jimmy on second guitar. He says “Rod Stewart would have liked to have made it but he’s drunk in the back”. While Page gives Wood a crash course on the track, Robert sings a line from “Roll Over Beethoven”. “This is an old Led Faces number called Communication Breakdown”, he adds. Ronnie fudges his way through the basic arrangement but totally shines in the solos. They hit on “It’s Your Thing” like the early days and Page and Wood get some time to trade licks. This is truly a historic event in rock history that has to be heard and is now thankfully available in superb soundboard quality. This is definitely a triumphant finish to a smoking hot Zeppelin performance (by ’75 standards, anyway).