THE JEFF BECK BULLETIN ISSUE #11

Mo Foster Q&A

BS: What were the most important points during your session work for development on the bass?
MF: The 70s was a period of incredible evolution for the bass guitar. Pioneers such as Jack Bruce, Stanley Clarke, Anthony Jackson, and Jaco Pastorius were each forging unique approaches to the instrument. It was a very exciting time for me and I bought every album I could in an attempt to keep up with, and absorb the changes. I also learnt to read music - until this point I could only improvise and create from a chord chart - and this gave me access to different types of session such as film or orchestral.

BS: Simon Phillips worked with you on Jeff Beck’s There & Back album and also on your solo album, Bel Assis. When did you first work with Simon?
MF: Via the grapevine I was already aware that there was a new face in town. In February 1976 Simon and I were independently booked to play two weeks at the Paris Olympia with singer/songwriter Véronique Sanson (then wife of Stephen Stills). We met at check-in at Heathrow airport and hit it off straightaway. Trivia: those concerts were the last time Simon used a single bass-drum kit.

BS: Did you approach There & Back any differently to other sessions of the time?
MF: I just remember that the material was incredible: Simon and Tony had made some amazing demos and I was aware that I’d have to work hard to contribute the right parts.

BS: What was it like touring for the album?
MF: A joy. What more could you ask - playing the finest instrumental music every night with your friends to large and appreciative audiences. Onstage it was a tad loud - my trousers flapped in the breeze if I went near my rig!

BS: How did you deal with Space Boogie? Many people talk about Simon’s drumming, but the bass work is incredible also.
MF: I hate the mix on this track. Ken Scott mixed at such a frightening volume that any judgement of true levels was impossible. Consequently I think the bass suffers, and it is obscured by Simon’s (nevertheless superb) bass drums. I approached the session with excitement and fear. I had to overdub my part while standing in the control room of the legendary Abbey Road Studio 2. As far as I can remember Jeff had not yet played on the track. Tony had written out a guide part, which covered several sheets of manuscript sellotaped together balancing precariously on two music stands. With the time signature changing from 4/4 to 6/4 to 7/4 I had to play the piece in sections. At the end Simon and Tony very wittily drew out scorecards for my performance from under their seats!

BS: What type of rehearsal period or practice do you go through before recording, normally, and how does it differ between the various artists when recording?
MF: If I’m in a flow of recording there is no time (or need) for practice - and the ‘chops’ are intact. If I’m going through periods of writing or producing then it’s harder, and I have to make myself practice - even if it means just doodling with the TV sound off.

BS: Any interesting stories about your work with Jeff Beck?
MF: We were all waiting at Heathrow Airport for a flight to Miami, Florida - it was the start of a new tour. All, that is, except Jeff. We missed the flight, but Jeff finally appeared - carrying a box of Heinz Baked Beans (he was vegetarian) - and with sump-oil still on his hands. You probably know that Jeff’s true passion is hot-rods, especially Chevys. We still made the gig, and we still love him.
At the launch party for my book, 17 Watts?, - an amusing history of British Rock Guitar - I had invited many well-known guitarists but I was especially thrilled when Jeff turned up even though he was still recovering from an illness. He’s a good man.

BS: With the recent release of your solo albums, Bel Assis and Time To Think on CD could you tell us a little about your own compositional development between these two albums, please? Were there any particular artists that you worked with which altered your compositional tendencies?
MF: There was a gap of about 12 years between those two recordings. I felt that for a new recording I should try something really different and finally settled on the drum-free line-up of bass, acoustic guitar, piano, and vibes. I experimented at little clubs such as Blues W14 in Kensington to discover which voicings and structures worked. In general I write music with a particular player in mind.

BS: Your solo work, although featuring the bass heavily, never suffers from the solo album treatment as it seems to be about the songs. Was this conscious?
MF: Of course! I try to be emotional in my writing. I have collaborated with many lyricists, and written many songs, but I still feel that instrumental music - whether it is jazz, rock, or orchestral - conveys the most emotion.

BS: Regarding Time To Think, what made you record in St. Michael’s Church? Was it the acoustic qualities and their effect on the musical pieces or was it more of a working atmosphere thing?
MF: We recorded in a church simply because it sounded wonderful, and inspirational - you play differently. In addition we recorded the classical way ie: record several performances of each title and then edit between them to find the best total performance. It worked.

BS: Your solo fretless work is astounding. Do you have a preference of fretless over fretted, or is it dictated by the composition?
MF: Thank you. I now love playing fretless simply because it is my ‘voice’. I’ve worked at it for over 28 years. My real voice is terrible - I’m reminded of guitarist Leo Kottke who described his own voice as sounding like “goose-fart on a muggy day”. Each version of the bass - whether it is fretted, fretless, or 5-string - has its strengths. The song dictates.

BS: You have employed the vibraphone on both of those albums. What attracted you to it?
MF: I heard the MJQ (Modern Jazz Quartet) when I was still at school in the 60s and fell in love with the sounds made by Milt Jackson. A while later I saw Gary Burton playing vibes with his quartet at Ronnie Scott’s every night for two weeks. My pal, Frank Ricotti, is their equal.

BS: Where does your inspiration come from these days? (ie. there is noticeable mention of the natural environment when you have recorded)
MF: My inspiration comes mostly from doodling. Of course it helps to be able to doodle in special places. I tend to write a piece and then title it later.

BS: You have also been behind the Affinity releases from the late 60’s and early 70’s. How did it feel going back over your history?
MF: It was rewarding to release the original album again, the difference being that we got paid this time! Following the success of the original Affinity album - which featured singer Linda Hoyle - I unearthed a tape I had made of the band playing live at Ronnie Scott’s Club in January 1969. This was essentially a Hammond organ quartet and, although there were no vocals, there was terrific energy. The last Affinity album was assembled as a tribute to Linda’s successor, Vivienne McAuliffe who sadly died in 1998. It was both amusing - and intensely sad - to re-visit the old tapes. Fragments of conversation were painfully nostalgic.

BS: Was that your inspiration behind the 2 new instrumentals that have been added to the 1971 - 72 Affinity CD?
MF: Yes. The main chords and arpeggios for ‘Sarah’s Wardrobe’ had been hanging around for ages. I needed a melody and had thought of working with Ray Russell again, but when this Affinity project emerged I asked original member Mike Jopp to help. He and I also wrote ‘Highgate’ - a little ‘in memoriam’ for Vivienne, who is buried in Highgate Cemetery.

Trivia: when Jeff Beck quit The Tridents to join The Yardbirds he was replaced by - Mike Jopp!
Mo, thank you very much!

MO FOSTER
CD Reviews

Time To Think
Time To Think was recorded at St. Michael’s Church just outside Oxford in 2 days in late July 1999 and, interestingly, the pieces are arranged with vibraphone, piano, acoustic guitar, soprano sax and bass - and no drums. Some of the material was written during a visit to New Zealand and there is a spatial atmosphere that adds a slight eeriness and sweet ambience to the recording. The cover artwork includes a great shot of an old Fender bass leaning in a corner next to a window and captures the atmosphere of the CD. The album starts off with the uplifting piano and acoustic guitar theme in It’s About That Time of Day with Mo’s emotive playing and some subtle vibraphone work adding some nice embellishment and inter-play. Mo’s tribute to father of the modern electric guitar, Leo Fender, brings about the type of jazz structure which seems to be inspired by the brilliant Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. Leo includes some very moving fretless playing. The New Zealand-inspired Omapere Dawn has a quirky, dis-chordant melody that builds this smoothly performed song and the melancholic fretless playing scattered throughout On Frith Street is in gentle contrast to the up-tempo vibrance of the piano. The clearness and precision of the recording in this unlikely of recording studios has a beauty which matches the instrumentation. Mangonui has some of the ‘fat’ trademark Mo Foster bass sound and is a groovy number with a percussive blues-jazz feel. Possibly in the same family as Leo, Guardians has a shifting chordal base that plays on that familiar jazz quality. Next, some incredible solo fretless bass runs are then accompanied by vibraphone as the haunting and moody Waves II is segued with the sad, haunting Shades of Grey. Let’s Go Somewhere is another happy tune with some of Mo’s incredible melodic fretless playing and, once again, the precision behind the playing is very quickly defined. The ancient drawing, The Long Man of Wilmington, is the title of the next piece which has some beautiful bass and piano themes. In general, Mo’s compositions do exude a thematic quality and his obvious interest in untouched nature add to the depth of character in his playing which is also demonstrated in A Notional Anthem. This anthem features soprano saxophone and church organ in the arrangement which seem like a mixture of oil and water but do in fact match each other well. This could be due to the fact that there are no drums per se on the album, but it looks as though the choice of instruments is well thought out. The title track, Time To Think, ends this CD and includes some great bass (with a little flange over the signal) playing a kind of 60’s progression with the acoustic guitar and grand piano in unison. It builds into a grand piece and then dies off and is a smooth conclusion to the album.

Overall, some brilliant compositional and technical moments over some relaxed, thoughtful inter-play between some class ‘A’ musicians. A very beautiful, lazy Sunday afternoon CD.

Bel Assis
Noteworthy to Jeff Beck fans, Bel Assis could have been one of those JB appearances that would have defined his status in the late 1980’s (pre-Guitar Shop). Unfortunately, Jeff broke his thumb just as the recording was under way so brilliant Irish guitarist Gary Moore was brought in to play the role that Jeff would have. Therefore, while listening to this album it was inevitable that my imagination would run wild replacing Gary’s playing with what Jeff’s may have been. Of course, this does not detract from the brilliance of Mr. Moore who, although legendary in Europe, the UK, Japan and Australia, is relatively unknown in the USA. Mo Foster seems to have carried on some of the ideas from There & Back, which Beck fans may recall Mo playing bass on. The Light In Your Eyes starts the album off with an introduction similar to The Final Peace and Gary Moore plays with incredible feel, so it is eerie to think what Jeff may have played on this track. Mo’s lyrical fretless bass work is on show in A Walk In The Country with some minimal backing, making this a very relaxing piece. The bass is joined by soprano sax and they both joyfully work up to a vibraphone solo before allowing the bass to bring the song to an end. Gaia has some interesting sequencing that is brought into an acoustic melody, but it is the meeting of Simon Phillips (from There & Back) and Mo on Crete Revisited that really grabs the attention. Simon’s upbeat, military-esque snare work provides Mo with a foundation for some plucked bass harmonics. The track goes into a Latin territory (which fans of the 1980’s Snowy White solo material would recognise) This is a great meeting of Simon and Mo who both stand out as great musicians. So Far Away was once recorded by Jeff Beck also by Gary Moore (on We Want Moore). It is a very beautiful piece and one of the stand alone compositions of the album. It was penned by Mo and guitarist Ray Russell who also co-wrote And Then There Were Ten. A brilliant track and well-worth hearing this to see what Mr. Beck may have lurking around hidden in the vaults from days gone by. Interesting and similar to Gaia, in that it relies on sequencing, Analytical Engine has some nice bass playing that doubles up the piano melody and incorporates some tasty bass harmonics at the end.
Pump II is a semi-sequel to The Pump, once again from There & Back. Pump II has more themes and inter-play between players and melodically is possibly a little further removed from the original than what the name implies. No problem here as it has some excellent guitar work from Gary Moore and was supposed to have Jeff Beck all over it. A number well-placed in the grand scheme of things and a pity that Mr. Beck couldn’t have appeared. Jaco is dedicated to the brilliant, yet tragic life of bass maestro Jaco Pastorius (who passed away around the time of this recording). There are some nice textures padding out some beautiful fretless bass playing in the middle of the song and it is more of a song than a bass solo, which one could easily expect the reverse. The title track, Bel Assis (French for Beautifully Situated), has some great bass work having it play the main melody and was christened after the previous name of Belsize in Hampstead. A very commercial piece, heavily laden with keyboards and, of course, some excellent fretless bass playing, And Then There Were Ten has some nice guitar work for the chorus sections. Nomad completes the album with some sequencing and trumpet theme which is reminiscent of a soundtrack piece and is a nice light finish to a solid album.

Bel Assis, although having a late 80’s production, stands strong with some great musical pieces and great performances. Also it is a great document of what could have been in the history of Jeff Beck’s recording career a stunning front cover photo and extensive liner notes by Mo.

Affinity 1971 - 72
Another addition to the Mo Foster back catalogue is this previously unreleased CD from Mo’s late 60’s, early 70’s band Affinity. This is the ‘album that never was’ from a line-up that never got to complete an LP, featuring the late Vivienne Jill McAuliffe on vocals (replacing Linda Hoyle). This collection of live rehearsals and studio pieces is augmented by two new solo compositions recorded for this release by Mo Foster and guitarist Mike Jopp and, although there is a warning that there may be some minor audio imperfections, there was nothing that I could gauge too noticeable. Moira’s Hand starts this collection with it’s folky-psychedelic blues style, vocally sounding a little like the Seekers. It’s a great track and well worth the purchase of this CD for this song alone. Keeping within the rhythmic folk structure and sounding a little like the early Yes albums, Grey Skies has some more of the Seekers sound and then bursts into a big jam with some cool little bass licks and some drumming reminiscent of Aynsley Dunbar from the Jeff Beck Group. It’s nice to see that the tracks are developed over more than a radio-friendly 3 minutes (- Grey Skies clocks in at over 8 and a ½ minutes!) with some intriguing organ work and rhythmic jamming before returning to the verses. With some spatial jamming and a cow bell to boot, Cream On Your Face is a cool, slinky kind of bluesy number that is catchy and along the lines of Tommy Bolin’s band Zephyr. Some great guitar soloing in the middle stands out as well placed and leaving the listener wanting more. Sunshower is next, sitting nicely as an acoustic folk piece proving that Affinity could get up close and personal (as well as smack you over the head with a burning guitar!). It’s subtle, almost choral quality is highlighted by the organ work and is a light, folk piece dealing with eviction and other lovely things. Next, Bob Dylan’s All Along the Watchtower is segued with It’s About That Time and is a great, rocking version of the Dylan masterpiece. Instead of competing with the fiery Hendrix version these guys have focussed more on creating a rhythmic groove with some cool organ stabs, once again, like Yes or ELP. More improvisation takes us into the latter of the coupling and has a groovy riff - where is my Paisley shirt? The track returns to Watchtower a few times before bowing out. Rio is probably my least favourite and reminds me musically of Janis Joplin’s material which, although quite valid, just doesn’t sit well with me. Rio does have some fine moments on it with it’s little bridge riffs, fat bass and organ playing. Then more folk as Poor Man’s Son hits the speakers: a nice, subtle piece with acoustic guitar and some minimalist playing that allows Vivienne’s vocals to hold the piece together before a tasteful acoustic guitar solo cuts in. Herein ends the older studio demos and rehearsals before two new pieces have been added. Sarah’s Wardrobe has some interesting guitar work over Mo’s bass (and some keyboards) and a drum machine. The themes and key changes work well and, although instrumental, this piece sits well in the collection. The piece segues into Highgate which has a triplet feel is simply guitar, bass and keyboards rolling along with haunting, Dave Gilmour style guitar playing and ends almost abruptly with some fine acoustic 6-string.

Affinity’s 1971-72 CD compilation is a worthy addition to any 60’s - 70’s folk or psychedelic rock collection. Check out Affinity’s self titled and Instrumentals 1969 albums also available through Angel Air complete with psychedelic artwork, liner notes and rare photos.

Nordoff-Robbins uses donations worldwide to benefit autistic children by stimulating them to reach out on their own by way the universal 'language', music. Many rock stars over the years have lent their names and talents to benefit events, records and even pop culture merchandising as witnessed several years ago in the form of Bon Jovi and Sting face characterizaions on the labels of specially marketed Coca Cola cans.

In 1996 producer Andy Hill gathered the talents of Jeff, Brian May and the rest to record, "Reaching Out", a moving ballad dedicated to a boy named Mark, an autistic child helped by the foundation. Recorded in three versions, two with vocals and one instrumental, the tune could have become a soulful rock classic had it been recorded and marketed by a commercial venture. Paul's voice is as haunting as ever, Lulu adds some soulful background vocals and Charlie Watt's drums are as ever the understated backbone. You can pick out Brian May's scale inflections as well as Jeff's ever so tasteful sustain with the added distinctive resonance courtesy of the volume knob. Andy Fairweather-Low takes the brunt of the acoustical strumming background and Samantha Brown (interesting side past with Steve Mariott and the Small Faces in the early days) takes on the keyboard duties. The ad hoc name of the short lived session group was 'Rock Therapy'. For collectors - (good luck!) the catalog listing is EMI Records VK 1996 7243 8 83089 2 2.

Finally, as the case with certain other Beck sessions (Michael Fennelly, Zzebra, Dorian, P.H.D., Andrew Roachford and as Jeff chuckles, probably many more) Jeff gets no proper accreditation on the liner notes - not even a pen name....don't know why is this case....neither does his management.

At Manchester the band were;
Jan Hammer........keyboards/synstheizers
Michael Mondesir..bass guitar
Mark Mondesir.....drums

The band casually sauntered on stage at about 9-00 pm, no fanfares or
announcements and got straight down to business. Whereas most musicians
srive to master one musical genre, in two very short hours this band
played a flawless instrumental melange of hard rock, jazz and blues
interspersed with heartrenderingly beautiful guitar ballads, without the
encumberance of vocal accompaniment.

The set list comprised the following;
 
1) Resolution
2) Star Cycle
3) Freeway Jam
4) Roy's Toys
5) Big Block
6) Stratus
7) Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
8) Even Odds
9) Angel Footsteps
10) Daylight Robbery
11) Brush with the Blues
12) Nadia
13) Pump
14) Loose Cannon
15) Nothing but Love
16) Blue Wind
17) Voyage Home (on acoustic guitar)
18) Led Boots
19) Day in the Life
20) Where were You
 
 Encore:-
21) You Never Know
22) Cry me a River (with Nancy ??..on vocals)
23) People get Ready.

So nothing off "Jeff" whatsoever, but plenty to drool over.
Standouts probably were Brush with the Blues and Day in the Life but Pork
Pie Hat, Freeway Jam and Angel Footsteps were among many highlights and
the whole two hours was of the very highest standard. Jan Hammer was
outstanding throughout, it was difficult to spot the joins in some of the
back and forth sonic duelling, often a good sign of the calibre of
musician and the level of rehearsal leading up to it. What's more the two
main protagonists appeared to be having fun.

The two black guys in the back line played a good groove  behind the two
names, though the drummer seemed to have considerable bother with cymbals
working themselves loose. Jeff himself dropped a slide at one point and
amusedly kicked it to one side of the stage without missing a note. Jeff
appeared to be in top physical condition as well.

Cry me a River sat a bit awkwardly in relation to the rest of the show
despite the blonde visual distraction.
 
Jeff used three guitars during the whole concert, a white strat, a
substitute white strat and an electro acoustic on "Voyage Home" that was
reminiscent of certain John Williams pieces. The guy accompanying me
detected certain ZZ Top soundalike moments as well but let's face it
you're not really going to hear a Jeff Beck type of sound anywhere else
ever.
 
Best seats I've ever had at the Apollo, pretty much right next to the
sound engineer, not crammed behind someone else's seat, with loads of leg
room and a completely unobstructed view within spitting distance of the
stage. Best balanced sound I've ever heard at the Apollo as well, top end
instead of just bass and drums but I suppose you'd expect that sat
alongside the engineer.

The band and the crowd seemed mutually unsure of what to
make of each other. The band were flawless, Jeff appearing in
fine physical condition, both he and Jan Hammer on top form
instrumentally.
 
By contrast, the crowd were a strange mix of the physically huge, the
seemingly awestruck, the serially incontinent, the drunk and the
chemically and / or mentally imbalanced. Strangely and depite the fact
that I was stone cold sober, I felt no more than a little uneasy and not
completely out of place, perhaps madness sits more comfortably with age.

Given that Jeff hadn't played Manchester in about fourteen years, I found
myself muttering "for fuck's sake get a catheter fitted and stay sat
down!!" For all that, it appeared that for once the true diehards had
actually managed to acquire front stall seats, 50,000 at the Red Hot
Chilli Peppers gig three miles down the road might have ensured that. I'm
100% convinced that my evening's experience was the more technically
proficient and unique of the two. Manchester is unlikely to hear the
likes of this again, adjectives fail me.
 
The prolonged ovation at the end brought everyone to their feet and was
no more than the band deserved.

On the way out and much to the amusement of the studio engineer who
attended the concert with me, I broke a long standing vow and bought the
frst tour tee shirt of my life ( how any rock fan could possibly ever
need another black tee shirt is totally beyond me but it had to be done)
 
If things were this good on the opening night of the tour, You're in for a
treat by the time they make the Albert Hall. Keep me posted. Beck Olay!!

Fred Loughlin.

Paul Taylor, Manchester Apollo, June 18, 2004

 
Of all the British guitar heroes to emerge in the sixties - Eric Clapton,
Jimmy Page, Peter Green and the rest - none took their art to such
intriguing and eclectic places as Jeff Beck.
 
The man's studied avoidance of the mainstream, however, means that few
beyond the disciples who half-filled the Apollo last night know anything
of him the man beyond the risible Hi Ho Silver Lining.
 
And his ability to veer from one style to another - rocka-billy to
electro-funk, for instance - from one album to the next, taxes even his
fans' patience.
 
Just a few days short of his 60th birthday, Beck's youthful physique and
dogged adherence to a seventies-style barnet gives him a striking
resemblance to Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnell.
 
Attacking the guitar fingerstyle - without a plectrum - he agitated the
tremolo arm so that his Stratocaster whimpered and sighed.
 
He performed two-handed tapping (fretting notes with both hands) and
deployed soaring harmonics - all the armoury of expressive stunts taken up
by a subsequent generation of axe gods, including Joe Satriani and Steve
Vai.
 
Most of all, he added musicality and inventive-ness to all this technique.
It was, essentially, one long series of guitar solos, interrupted by
several keyboard solos, courtesy of Jan Hammer.
 
But Beck ran the gamut from bombastic rock to sophisticated funk, jazz and
blues, then on into the stratospheric regions where those squealing
harmonics of his resemble operatic arias from another planet.

Jay Richardson, The Scotsman, Glasgow, The SECC, June 19, 2004

     HE might be three days shy of 60, but Jeff Beck still rips it up like one of his beloved
hot-rods, Freeway Jam, revved up for an extended run-out here.
     Reuniting with old collaborator Jan Hammer for only their third live appearance together
in the UK, the ex-Yardbirds guitarist and former Mahavishnu Orchestra keyboardist dusted
off several of their most popular recordings, Blue Wind a pitched riff salvo duet between
them and the jazz-fusion of Charles Mingus's Goodbye Pork Pie Hat eliciting some almost
painfully crafted feedback from Beck.
     Backed by the fraternally tight Mike and Mark Mondesir on bass and drums, the
guitarist displayed occasional snatches of the techno direction heads adopted more
recently on tracks like the 80s prog-rock-style Even Odds and the spacily ambient
Angel (Footsteps), with a slick Roy's Toy and the lovely Nitin Sawhney composition
Nadia introducing an exotic flavour.
     The solitary acoustic number, a delicate strum through Hammer's own Voyage Home,
saw the Czech supplying some keening, string-like soundscapes, and was followed by a
cheeky romp through the Beatle's A Day In The Life.
     Mrs Vic Reeves, Nancy Sorell, then appeared for Cry Me A River, her unspectacular
but solid vocal eclipsed by the statuesque blonde's choice of outfit. Following a
fine People Get Ready finale, hero-worshipping hordes of middle-aged men could only
disperse quietly, muttering excitedly about soaring powerchords and a tight black
dress.

 
      It was a case of Beck to the future when an enigmatic guitar hero
breezed into Newcastle last night.
 
      For while his contemporaries have either gone back to their roots
(Eric Clapton) or gone into semi-retirement (Jimmy Page), Jeff Beck
continues to stretch the boundaries with his approach to playing the
guitar.

      Beck's fusion of styles - blues, jazz and rock - has seen him win
four Grammy awards. And, backed by a superb band which included
long-time sidekick Jan Hammer on keyboards, the maverick guitarist
turned in a virtuoso display.

      Like Clapton, Beck preferred to let his music do the talking as he
ran through his back catalogue, the highlight of which was Brush
With The Blues, a composition on which he takes the genre to new
heights.

      Somewhat bizarrely, the only non-instrumental of the night saw Beck
joined on-stage by Vic Reeves's stunning wife Nancy Sorrell, a
statuesque blonde who made her name as an underwear model and who
gave a smouldering rendition of the blues classic Cry Me A River.

      One fan sat behind me summed it up when he said of Beck's technique:
"How does he do that? He's not human. I'm going to hoy my guitar
away after that."

      Quite.

The Royal Albert Hall is a beautiful piece of architechure that I had already been to several times during the week of tonight's. The first to see the Lonnie Donegan 'Rock Island Line' tribute show Monday the 21st and on the afternoon of the 23rd to see what was going on there and to see if I could get a better seat than I had for the show on the 24th. The Rock Island Line show was actually pretty fun. Roger Daltry, Joe Cocker, Van Morrison, Mark Knofler and a bunch of others were there. It also gave me a chance to check out the hall and see that I needed to upgrade my seating if I could. So on the 23rd having made up my mind to eat the two tickets I already had that were in the stratosphere of the hall I went to the box office and got a seat in the 17th row on the floor. While I was there, around 3:30PM, alot of folks were hanging around outside and a lone white limo was parked. It seemed Jeff, Jan and everybody were doing sound checks. Just as I was about to leave a taxi pulls up and out pops Nancy Sorrell.

The night of the 24th we arrived at the Royal Albert Hall around 6:30PM. In 'we' I mean myself and Nigel Flannigan, with whom I spent the late afternoon with at a nearby pub, The Queens Arms. Nigel is a fellow Beckhead who found out about the existence of a Big Town Playboys outtake that we later got from Mr. Baker and is on our soundpage. He had also seen Jeff already this tour in Manchester.

As we arrived I tried to sell the extra two tickets I had to the show. There were no takers and there were several other people there trying to do the same thing with no luck. The reason for the lack of interest might have had something to do with the reason Nigel and I didn't catch any of opening act Amy Wadge's set. Upon entering the hall the first thing we did was go down to the arena bar and wait for the England/Portugal soccer match to come on the television there. Alas Jeff's birthday had landed on a day when everyone I met was in a frenzy over England's match in the 2004 Euro Cup that night. Nigel and I completely lost track of time watching the game and were only snapped out of it by an announcement at about 8:55PM that, "Jeff Beck will be taking the stage in 3 minutes."

Jeff took the stage right at 9:00PM. As usual he was to the audience's left. In the middle of the stage was the drum kit and bass rig manned by the Modesir brothers. And to the right was Jan Hammer seated behind a Korg keyboard. Behind Jeff were 3 Marshall 4x12 bottoms and 3 Marshall heads mounted one over the other in a road case. Also on top of each Marshall cabinet were 3 more Marshall heads, the middle and one the right looking like Plexi's. I'm not sure but they were probably just for show because as I've seen before and we know from that recent interview with Jeff's guitar tech Steve Prior, Jeff is only using the heads that are mounted in the road cases. And only one of the Marshall cabinets was miked as well. As I understand it, the top head in the road case is Jeff's main amp pushing the one 4x12 cabinet that is miked. The second head is used as a power amp to get the same signal from the first head to those Marshall wedges that Jeff has aimed back at him and the third head is a spare.

The show.....

1. "Resolution"...the first song of the night, I think I have the story straight now. The song appears on the Mahavishnu Orchestra's 'Birds Of Fire' album. An earlier version of the song was called "One Word", a McLaughlin-Wright composition that appeared on a Tony William's Lifetime 45 and on "Lifetime", a compilation LP. Also from what I've been told there is a song called 'One Word' on 'Birds Of Fire' Lp but it's a different song. They could have been playing "My Way" backwards for all I know, not famliar with the tune at all but is was good, maybe a little slow for a show opener.
2. "Star Cycle"....the band's getting warmed up.
3. "Freeway Jam".....this is the way I first remember the song live. Jeff and Jan trading 'beeps' at the beginning.
4. "Roy's Toys".....good as always. New video in the screen behind the band. The same round screen I might add that Jeff used on the last American tour. I have a tape of and Italian TV show called 'Rapido' where they interview Jeff at his house and have some shots of Jeff driving one of his cars down his driveway. The car in the video now is a beautiful silver gray deuce with a chrome undercarriage but the driveway it's coming down looks just like Jeff's house on 'Rapido'. Also you know the footage was taken in the UK because later the car in on the highway on the wrong side of the road.
5. "Big Block"
6. "Cry Me A River"....the way I see it Jeff has this number in the show for two reasons. One, so he can play all those cool jazzy chords at the beginning and two, Nancy Sorrell. She comes out in a tight red dress and I'm pretty sure a wig because I saw her on the street the day before and her hair wasn't platinum blond and wavy like it is now. Is she singing? I didn't notice, too busy looking. Just kidding, she does a great job and Jeff is all smiles.
7. "Stratus"....Billy Cobham number right? Mark Mondesir is really good on this one. Jeff has some 'chorussy' effect on his guitar.
8. "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat".....a JB standard.
9. "Angel (Footsteps)".....I've noticed that Jeff has many new graphics in the video screen this time out. This song had like a blue rotating 'celtic knot' thing. Wonder who does all this stuff for him. On the other hand being in the TV biz I've noticed several 'mis-punches' on the screen as well as the cameras not being 'shaded' correctly at all.
10. "Even Odds"
11. "Brush With The Blues".....you don't normally associate Jan Hammer and blues but he can play them. Also Jeff tears this one up.
12. "Nadia".....played well, Mark Mondesir again getting that Eastern groove down perfectly.
13. "Nothing But Love".....Now this was a first. Never seen Jeff play an acoustic guitar onstage before. But for this Jan Hammer number Jeff sheds his Strat and sits down on a chair provided by the stage crew to strum a nylon string acoustic. And when I say strum I mean strum. Jeff only played chords to accompany Jan on this one, no solo.
14. "Loose Cannon"....after the chair and acoustic are handed off, Jeff is given a Strat but it's not his main one. It's a backup with the low 'E' tuned down for this number.
15. "Blanket".....or is it called "My Blanket Covers Me", not sure. Anyway, Imogen Heap comes onstage and does one of her songs. She's dressed for the occasion in a black dress and very french looking little topper (hat).
16. "Rollin' And Tumblin'".....watch out, this one rocks, Imogen is great! And the crew puts the smoke machine into overdrive.
17. "Blue Wind".....seeing Jan and Jeff doing this one together again brought back some memories. Jan's Korg keyboard sounds exactly the way his old Moog did back in the 70's. Does he sample all those old sounds into this newer keyboard? Don't know but it sounds great.
18. "Voyage Home".....again not sure of the title, just know it's another Jan song. Slow, very subdued but pretty melody.
19. "Rice Pudding".....Jeff has just changed to his old blonde Tele with the black pickguard. He and band launch into about 8 bars of "Rice Pudding" as Ron Wood takes the stage. Ron is playing his white Musicman guitar with maple neck that he's used numerous times with the Stones. He's playing through a Mesa Boogie amp in the middle of the stage.

20. "Cissy Strut".....once the applause dies down they start the old Meter's tune. Jeff and Ron exchange solos between making faces at each other. After the song is over Ron exits the stage only to sneak back on while Jeff is putting on his main Strat. He runs over to the microphone on Jeff's side of the stage and yells, "Happy Birthday Jeff Beck!" The crowd loves it.
21. "Led Boots".....okay back to business.
22. "A Day In The Life".....I think everyone I've ever talked to about Jeff's version of this song agrees it brings a lump to your throat. This was the last song of the standard show. Jeff comes to the microphone for the first time this evening. I know he can be a little shy at times but for what it's worth I think he should have at least introduced the girls as they came onstage. Ronnie, forget him, everybody knows who he is. Anyway Jeff comes to the mic and introduces the band. Then he makes a reference as to how this night's show was originally scheduled for last October. He says something to the effect, "Sorry about the October date but it was out of my hands." The band leaves the stage.
    Encore
    
23. "Where Were You".....just Jeff and Jan return to the stage for this one. I really can't tell the difference from Tony to Jan playing this one, they both can accompany Jeff perfectly.
24. "You Never Know".....brought back a song for the encore that in previous shows was part of the original set.
25. "People Get Ready"....Jeff starts this song and you know for one instant I thought perhaps Rod Stewart would show up. But nope. Rod by the way was in London that week. He was there to play the big 'Olympic Torch' concert on the Mall in London the following Sunday but I found out by reading the paper the next day he was at a black tie affair hosted by Sir Elton John to benefit Aids that night. Also when he did play that concert on Saturday guess who was playing with him. Ron Wood, boy, that guy gets around! So Jeff starts "People Get Ready" and Imogen Heap comes out to do the vocal, very well I might add. Ron Wood also comes back out onstage and takes a solo and Nancy Sorrell appears as well. At the end of the song both Ron and Nancy go to the mic and wish Jeff a Happy Birthday. Two large bouquets of flowers are brought to the edge of the stage for Jeff. They could have been roses but I'm not sure. And this ended what was really a very special concert.

Royal Albert Hall, June 24, 2004 by Vanessa Hall