Search - Jeff Beck: Performing This Week... Live at Ronnie Scott's on DVD

Jeff Beck's Vintage Live Concert DVD Is A Virtuosic Godsend

Brien Comerford | Glenview, Illinois United States | 02/19/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The overwhelming majority of this DVD consists of Jeff Beck's nonpareil guitar virtuosity. The instrumental performances that spotlight his inimitable whammy bar mastery, tones, riffs and fretboard prowess include "Becks' Bolero", "Where Were You'" Blast From The East," "A Day In The Life," "Stratus," "Scatterbrain," "Brush With The Blues," Big Block," and "Angel(Footsteps)." No other guitarist on the planet can strangle, coax and caress a universe of sounds from his instrument like the incomparable Jeff Beck. His guitar and bare fingers are fused and hardwired to his heart.There are fantastic guest performances by Eric Clapton "Little Brown Bird," "You Need Love" and Imogen Heap "Rolling and Tumblin" "Blanket" and a sterling Joss Stone rendition of "People Get Ready." Not only is the music magical-so is the aura and ambience of Ronnie Scott's renowned Jazz Club in London. This DVD is all killer and no filler. An imperative purchase!!!!

Update. " On January 31, 2010, Jeff Beck won a Grammy for his iconic instrumental performance on "A Day In The Life.""

Live Jeff Beck DVD delivers!

M. Freeman | 04/02/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Jeff Beck live at Ronnie Scott's DVD is now available and for $10 every guitarist should have one. Jeff is in great form, seeming happy and relaxed and his playing is quite precise. That man really knows how to work a whammy bar.

The whole band is good, but Drummer Vinny Colaiuta (a Zappa and Sting alumni) especially stands out. Tal Wilkenfeld, the female bassist who looks like a 12 year old, is also very good. Her appearances at the Crossroads show attracted a lot of attention due to her youthful appearance and the fact that she looked incredibly surprised and happy to be on stage with Beck.

On this DVD she doesn't seem as confident in her playing and as extroverted as she did in the band's appearance at the Crossroads festival. (I believe this DVD was shot before the Crossroads concert) However, as in the Crossroads videos, there's still those odd, charming moments when Jeff gives her a gesture of approval after she takes a solo and she looks back with a big proud and happy smile. It's a cross between the look of a proud father and daughter and the look of a lecherous college professor giving approval to the ambitious and lusty female student that he's having an affair with.

In this video we don't see much of keyboardist Jason Rebello, but he does a fine job of responding to Jeff's lines and emulating his predecessors in Beck's bands.

The interviews indicate that the band was put together shortly before the shows were shot, with about one month of rehearsal. Everyone knows their parts, but I think this project could have been taken to another level of excellence if the band had worked together for a longer period of time and had the collective experience required to confidently stretch out and improvise a bit more.

Stereo, Dolby surround and DTS surround soundtracks are provided. As usual the DTS soundtrack sounds audibly better than the Dolby. I hate it when concert films use the rear speakers only for audience noise; I want my DVD to sound better than what the audience heard, and audience noise is not my favorite part of the live performance experience. In this case, the use of surround is good, placing the listener in the middle of the band without being too obvious or gimmicky.

Another of my peeves about concert videos is that they rarely let you see the details of what the guitarist is doing. This one stands out for providing a lot of good shots that will help guitarists figure out how Beck gets his unique sounds.

The choice of material comprises a good "greatest hits" for Beck with a nice mix of the fast fusiony material and the slower, soulful material. I would have liked to have heard a bit more of the excellent techno influenced material from his most recent albums, but I'm surely in the minority in that opinion.

There are guest appearances by Joss Stone, Imogen Heap and Clapton. Stone was OK, but doesn't have the maturity and depth to add much to the proceedings, she's just another young Janis/Arethra wannabe as far as I can tell. Imogen is more unique with a quirkier presence that made for a more useful contribution.

Clapton joined the band for two blues numbers, one fast, one slow. Clapton has been in fine form lately, but as a guitarist he's not in the same league as Beck. However, his vocals have never been better and Jeff and Clapton do a nice Yardbirds style raveup on Willie Dixon's "You Need Love." (the inspiration for Led Zep's Whole Lotta Love.

This DVD is the only commercially available video of a whole Jeff Beck show and overall they did it up right. If you like Beck there is no doubt that you should get this DVD."

The strat master at his peak!

Jim Stalker | Roseville, CA | 02/22/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jeff Beck may be the only man over 60 who can get away with wearing a choker! Why? Because no one has such mastery of his instrument, so therefore, he can wear whatever he wants. NO ONE can play like this guy! It's all touch and taste, and his very mysterious whammy bar thumb technique, that has luminaries in the small club looking both amazed and delighted. The band has been touring together for over a year, and with Vinnie C. on drums, excellent song choices spanning his career, a few so so vocal appearances for people who can't take an hour of straight guitar, this THE DVD to have for anyone who likes music on DVD.

One need not look any further than the track "Nadia" to get the point of what a master he is. It's amazing people compare him to Clapton and Page, because there is no comparison. By the time he closes with the Beatles "a day in the life" it's time for guitarist to throw in the towel and realize they have just seen the tiger woods of guitar...

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Hail, Hail Jeff Beck

anthonious | Rancho Cordova, CA United States | 07/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Once upon a time there were three British players. Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck.

Eric Clapton left the Yardbirds and defined the super group, the one-off project, and the guest appearance. Ordained god-like by the Baby-Boomers... Then there is Jimmy Page, all he ever did was reshape the Delta blues into hard-rock, become a studio wiz and riff master, and craft the imploded Yardbirds into a little band called "Led Zeppelin", maybe you have heard of them.

This leads us to Jeff Beck... Visionary, eccentric, reclusive, and in my opinion probably more talented than Clapton and Page put together.

This DVD... Performing This Week: Live at Ronnie Scott's is the kind of performance that will inspire those that never played to pick a guitar instead of a video game, for Beck is what being a "Guitar Hero" is all about. On the flip-side if you are a musician, you might want to avoid this DVD... it might just be the kind of thing that makes you decide to learn to sell real estate.

Beck strolls through his catalog and blends genres, styles and music flawlessly. Always allowing his band equal time to shine, Jeff Beck dances in and out of their fills, lines, and beats like Baryshnikov with a strat.

He welcomes the vocal talents of Joss Stone and Imogen Heap and they add youth and fire to the night... there is a noticeable shift when Clapton joins in for a couple of spot on blues numbers. With Clapton Beck seemed old enough to be a Yardbird... with the rest of the band he played like "Free Bird"... his music bouncing between 1965 and 2025... Beck creates a sonic landscape that shows where Satriani wants to go but can't find the map.

Simply outstanding... not surprising if you are a fan, but a wonder to own and to share. If there is anyone out that thinks of Jeff Beck as that "other" Yardbird guitarist... they should pick up this DVD... the CD too while they are at it.
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