Jeff Beck - Rock'n'Roll Party Honoring Les Paul (2011)

Steve Miller, Kirk Hammett, Warren Haynes, Little Steven.. those were some of the heavy cats in the crowd that night in New York at The Iridium as Jeff Beck and friends raucously saluted Les Paul with a tribute. Sporting a fat hollow-body Les Paul, Beck and the band appear in period attire like they were headed to a bowling alley in the Leave It To Beaver-era. They perform all covers of tracks originally featuring Les Paul or from the original rock n' roll period. Joining Jeff Beck for vocals is British rockabilly guitarist & singer Darrel Higham and also Imelda May. Darrel Higham is amazing… This guy leaves one stunned with his mastery of the genre, and drop-dead serious delivery. It's like being back at the burger joint with Fonzie and the guys… It's all part of Jeff Beck Rock N' Roll Party Honoring Les Paul DVD.
The show heads out of first gear after a slew of short numbers gives way to Train Kept A Rollin', which despite it's various interpretations from The Yardbirds to Aerosmith and beyond, always maintained much of it's original feel. Perhaps with that one, it's all in the groove; the song turns out much the same whoever is slicing off the riffs. It's a nice touch as the intro number that starts off Imelda May's journey through the tunes with Beck and his group. Now on a trusted Telecaster, Beck is digging out more nasty blues with a tone that's dirty, noisy, and at the same time smooth with his bottleneck slide.
When they slow it down, May takes on a sultry cabaret persona that lends itself to so many memories of smokey jazz or blues clubs, and soft reflective lyrics of regret, pain, and loss… Cry Me A River is done in an oozing, yet killing jazz vocal-meets-the blues crawl; a demonstration of how an interpretive cover should be done. It got quite a response from the crowd. The pumping rockabilly rage picks up fast and furiously whenever there's ever a valley of more than a minute or two, so it's a variety packed show, despite firmly being back at the sock hop. Drummer Stephen Rushton has such strained expressions it recalls vintage impassioned Ray Cooper or maybe any Ray Cooper, for that matter and the propulsion is necessary, considering the slingshot rhythmic quality of the tunes tackled.
Beck trots out guitar after guitar, and highlights include a sweet sunburst Les Paul during Sitting On Top Of The World, with a perky solo showing off how versatile his style is. If he only had a haircut like bassist Al Gare, hammering the stand-up bass like he owns it and delivering on a relentless boogie with partner Rushton on drums. Peter Gunn is another highlight, as the horn section gets into a fierce assault on the main melody line. They thump it over and over again, with Beck taking on another fascinating tone, one of many during the course of the event, this time on a white Strat.
Before the night is over, it's as if Jeff Beck has tried on nearly every guitar flavor and style, drifting in and out of each song with unique phrasing and complete ownership, dripping his trademark Beckisms, and always at ease, like he's capable… of anything. Why this man has been for decades considered one of the all-time greatest guitar players is on display for all to see and in showcase form, due to the variety of textures and expressions he drops in this twenty-seven song show.
Legend Gary US Bonds comes out and looks younger than a lot of the band. How this man does it, is anyone's guess. He looked and sounded great. Walking In The Sand is a brilliant track some know as a sixties hit, others as an Aerosmith album track cover, or now, as a tasty interpretation Beck and the gang pounded in New York that night. Casting My Spell On You has a real hot groove, and brings a bit of Bayou Rock to the presentation. Original Stray Cat Brian Setzer has a lot of credibility and as if Beck needed anymore, Setzer's rockabilly flair and soulful picking showed him to be a mean guitarist to this day, with a few tasty licks in the solo that caused a bit of an extra groove in this reviewer.
Rock Around The Clock was mandatory on this one, and it felt like Potsy, Ralph Mouth, Richie and the crew would step in with some malts and fries, but alas, it never happened. Not even a quickie cameo by Ron Howard. However, in the bonus footage included on the DVD, there is a weird moment, poorly credited, featuring Billy Squier MCing, with a guitar and at a mic, circa sometime in the mid 80s… Les Paul and Jeff Beck trade leads and meet in the middle of the stage in a very cool extraction from a longer jam of some kind, again, not credited well on the DVD package. The two included jams are spicy, and what a treat for Billy Squier to have had the chance to host…
Perhaps the coolest thing on the package is Les Paul, on stage by himself, as the last bonus feature on the disc. Les tells the story of 'The Little Black Box' and how it came to be. It's a fantastic moment where he is teacher, trickster, ham, and genius all at once. Playing a series of parts on his guitar, creating a multi-instrument backing track of four parts and then accompanying himself as it loops behind him, Les Paul shines. Whether his own tasty leads, inventiveness or showmanship, or, his music and sound immortalized by a savage guitar warrior like Jeff Beck. Either way, it truly is the Jeff Beck Rock N' Roll Party Honoring Les Paul. It just works out that way.

Tracklist:
01. Baby Let's Play House [3:33]
02. Double Talkin' Baby [1:57]
03. Cruisin' [2:19]
04. Train Kept a Rollin' [2:42]
05. Poor Boy [4:19]
06. Cry Me a River [2:47]
07. My Baby Left Me [2:46]
08. How High the Moon [2:05]
09. Sitting on Top of the World [2:22]
10. Bye Bye Blues [2:12]
11. The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise [2:23]
12. Vaya Con Dios [3:00]
13. Mockin' Bird Hill [2:22]
14. I'm a Fool to Care [3:01]
15. Tiger Rag [2:22]
16. Peter Gunn [4:54]
17. Rocking Is Our Business [3:47]
18. Apache [3:10]
19. Sleep Walk [2:44]
20. New Orleans [4:27]
21. Walking in the Sand [4:48]
22. Please Mr. Jailer [4:34]
23. Casting My Spell on You [2:38]
24. Twenty Flight Rock [3:32]
25. The Girl Can't Help It [3:54]
26. Rock Around the Clock [2:41]
27. Shake, Rattle & Roll [5:17]

Extra:
- Interview With Jeff Beck
- Behind the Scenes
- At Home With Jeff Beck and His Guitars
- Jeff Beck adn Les Paul Rock 'N' Roll Tonite: Blues Jam [3:16]; Back at the Chicken Shack [5:11]
- Les Paul and His Little Black Box


Features:
- Direct Scene Access
- Interactive Menu