Jeff Beck
Flash

This work dates back to 1985 and it seems that it was more a result of record company needs than Jeff's "ambitions" (which were quite few, by the way...); among them all, it is surely his most commercial album where, needless to say, our guy sings on two tracks, the cover itself is an example... Look how they styled poor Beck... It’s clear he’s not in "his" element.

Even his old sidekick Rod Stewart (guest star) is present on "People Get Ready"; we also have the presence of his "accompanies" Jan Hammer and Tony Hymas on two tracks while for the rest, the vocals are entrusted to Jimmy Hall.

An album steeped in synthesized rhythms (remember the '80s?) with one eye on Prince and the other on Duran Duran; the fingers travel on the pink Jackson which is Jeff's trademark during this period. The sound, however, is different from the usual Strato+Marshall combo to which Jeff has accustomed us.

Thinking that in this album he doesn't use the pick is quite annoying... For guitarists.

I could summarize it all by stating that, aside from "People Get Ready," "Ecstasy" and "Ambitious" the rest.... Is quite mediocre. ATTENTION I AM REFERRING ONLY TO THE TRACKS AND NOT TO THE GUITAR.

In my very humble opinion, this work is a "flash," a style school, a desire to get closer at all costs to the emerging trends of the period. Becky, with the usual skill, delivers "low" blows with the tremolo arm and adds his real "voice" to tracks that would otherwise be unremarkable to the discerning listener...

Let's go in order... The album starts with "Ambitious" a very pop track where Beck's guitar with the use of the tremolo arm acts as a counterpoint imitating the singer's "Yeah!!", at 1:52 the slide effect seems to "shoot" with a laser.... And here comes the "solo" at 3:09, a collage of licks, trills, starts, elongations, arrivals.... Only to unsettle at 3:54 with a phrase, with an ethnic flavor, that he will propose again years later in "Blast From The East"...

"Gets Us All In The End" starts big... With a "muzzled" guitar in a pop track with a furious, shocking solo...

In "Escape" we have Jan Hammer (the one from the Miami Vice soundtrack) an old companion of Beck, this track (which will also win a Grammy) drifts far from the sound of the album and takes us back to the earlier "There and Beck" from 1980.

Here comes the "gem", "People Get Ready" which starts with delicate arpeggios to give voice to the guest of honor, Rod Stewart, who in turn exchanges it with Beck's phrases; at 3:13 Jeff Beck rising a half tone manages to bring novelty, freshness to the track, otherwise mellowed by Rod's soothing voice.

"Stop, Look And Listen", another pop track from the bunch, gains relevance only at 2:00 and 3:22 where Jeff's tricks give a reason (perhaps the only one) to listen to it...

In "Get Workin'" Beck "adds his voice” to a track... Sure Jeff is not a singer and only his desire to "dare" makes it worth listening to, at 2:14 he dares hum a riff that he then "really" sings at 2:27 while strumming the strings in a funky way.

"Ecstasy" sees another pop track where voice and guitar exchange phrases, at 1:56 Beck's train starts with the usual "climax" sounds, at 3:10 the usual violin effect (Roy Buchanan docet) seems to appear for a few seconds.

"Night After Night" sees Jeff singing with voice and fingers, what the market makes you do!

"You Know We Know" is the "tear-jerker" ballad where Jeffrey's singing offers all his lyricism embedding a melody. Here the voice is entrusted to Beck "fingers" and honestly... It doesn’t make you miss a singer's presence... But something's amiss... Ah! Here it is! Tony Hymas is on keyboards...

"Night Hawks" is very similar to "Gets Us All In The End"... It's a pop-rock track where the singer's voice is seasoned with Jeff's guitar which at 1:32 obviously gets bored to start his own show; at 2:44, there’s a slow whirl of guitar, a kind of tremolo-bending-feedback mix?

Here's my favorite track "Back On The Street"... The only one by Jeff, a kind of pop-metal. The beginning is really galloping, with riffs of old memory accompanying the singer's voice. At 1:18 we have a solo that quickly gives us Jeff's runs; our guy adds effects with the tremolo as seasoning only to come out at 2:19 with one of the most acidic and wicked sounds ever!

In summary, even though this work (criticized by many) may appear as yet another Beck mistake, it represents, at the same time, his return to rock (if he ever left it!); let's be clear, here Beck's interventions are fabulous, guitaristically speaking, and with a considerable freshness and openness to the "new", a Jeff who dares to "sing" is still memorable (Jimmy Page almost never did...) the phrases and licks are textbook. It would be risky to say that already many shredders were ahead of him in those years.. Because if it’s true that here Jeff doesn't use the pick then.... Hats off and then what were Eric and Jimmy doing, guitaristically, at that time?

GOOD ALBUM (FOR GUITARISTS...)