Emotion & Commotionby Jeff Beck

There are few artists in today's industry as bold and innovative as Jeff Beck. In a career spanning well over 5 decades, The prolific blues fusion rocker has achieved legendary status amongst guitar players the world over. Known as "the guitarist's guitarist", Jeff Beck is one of only a handful who have crafted an instantly recognizable and thoroughly authentic voice on the instrument. Equally impressive is Beck's ability to seemingly effortlessly morph through a myriad of styles, as vastly different as straight ahead blues and techno. Just when you think you've figured Jeff Beck out he reveals an entirely new facet of his artistry. It's no surprise then that his 2010 album is yet another departure from anything listeners may have heard from him over the years and perhaps his boldest exploration yet. The 10 track album "Emotion & Commotion", consists of largely cover versions of operatic pieces beautifully reworked to make use of the guitar in place of the original vocal performances. There are 4 originals on the albums and guest appearances by singers Joss Stone, Imelda May and Olivia Safe. The album's opener is "Corpus Christi Carol", originally by Jeff Buckley. Jeff plays the melody on guitar over a full orchestral arrangement with startling similarity to the original vocal performance. The beauty and simplicity of the original song is captured perfectly in Jeff's bold reimagining of this classic song. Track 3 is 'Never Alone' which is another original written by Jason Rebello on keys which was inspired by the Swingle Singers, a gifted a Capella group that does five-part harmonies. Vinnie Colaiuta and Tal Wilkenfeld on drums and bass respectively make arguably one of the best rhythm sections in any band out there today and percussion by Luis Jardim is a nice touch to this laid back instrumental. "Over the rainbow" follows the same format as the opening track with Jeff playing the vocal line over an orchestral arrangement. Once again, Judy Garlands stellar vocal performance is translated surprisingly perfectly to the strings of the guitar - at times it's a little too easy to mistake the guitar for a voice. In Jeff Beck's own words "it's one of the most beautiful songs ever written" a sentiment that's echoed in the music itself. "I put a spell on you" is a cover of a Screamin' Jay Hawkins song featuring the talented and beautiful Joss Stone on vocals. This is Beck's tribute to the music of the 50's and undoubtably one of the best covers of this song to emerge in recent years. Beck's cover of Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" breaks new ground in showing what is possible, not only for guitarists but for music itself - the old and new collide effortlessly and showcase the beauty of this timeless track. This will no doubt go down as one of the defining recordings of Jeff Beck's career. "There's no other me" features Joss Stone on vocals once again. The song is a blend of aggressive soulful singing and showcases Vinnie Colaiuta's innovative drumbeats and Tal Wilkenfeld's undeniable presence on bass. One of my favorite things about the song is how well it holds tension in the verses, slowly building towards a powerful barrage of sound in the choruses. Jeff begins what promises to be an incredible solo at the end of the track but unfortunately the song is faded out mid solo (whoever is responsible for that needs to be fired!). Last on the album is "Elegy for Dunkirk" an emotional piece originally by Dario Marianelli. Operatic vocalist Olivia Safe is featured on vocals and serves as a reminder to the beauties of a trained voice. A fitting end to one of the most innovative albums I have heard in many years. A must have for fans not only of Jeff Beck but of good music in general.