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General Information
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Artist...............: JEFF BECK
Album................: Truth
Release .............: Aug 1968
Genre................: Guitar Heroes, Blues-Rock, Hard Rock, British Blues
Duration.............: 00:40:35 min
Number of Songs......: 10
Included.............: Covers
Audio Format.........: MP3
Bitrate..............: CBR 192 HQ
Channels.............: Stereo / 44,100 hz
Tags.................: ID3 v1.1, ID3 v2.3
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Release Notes
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Track Listing:
01. Shapes of Things 3:21
02. Let Me Love You 4:43
03. Morning Dew 4:42
04. You Shook Me 2:32
05. Ol' Man River 4:00
06. Greensleeves 1:50
07. Rock My Plimsoul 4:14
08. Beck's Bolero 2:54
09. Blues Deluxe 7:28
10. I Ain't Superstitious 4:51
Album Review:
Truly and verily, if Jimmy Page hadn't bothered to put together his first (and last)
really serious band in the fall of 1968, his place in rock history might be forever
occupied by Jeff Beck. Because in that glorious year, Mr Guitarist-That-Always-Looks
-Like-A-Drug-Addled-Skeleton released his first, and arguably, best solo album,
the record that now sounds like a one hundred percent blueprint for Led Zeppelin's debut.
(Dang it, both bands do 'You Shook Me' - this can't be a coincidence!) Having just dropped
out (or should we say 'crashed out'?) of the Yardbirds, Jeff recruited a superior backing band:
the only guy you might not be familiar with (neither am I) is drummer Mick Waller, but you're
sure to know Ron Wood on bass (later of the Faces and, of course, the Rolling Stones) and
Rod Stewart on vocals. Yeah, at that time Rod wasn't the disco schlock cantator he's now usually
known as: he was a young, ambitious, energy-filled rockin' stud who was only too happy to assure
himself the position of lead (hell, only) vocalist in the Jeff Beck group, and his voice was
as good as ever.
So, what they basically do on this record is present a fine, deserving alternative to the Allman
Brothers Band (okay, the Allman Brothers Band didn't yet exist at that moment, or if it did,
nobody knew of its existence, but I guess you got my point in any case): building up a solid,
heavy blues sound and pushing the hard rock limits a little further than Cream and the actual Yardbirds,
courtesy of Jeff and Rod. The former, as our main hero, exploits all kinds of contemporary guitar
techniques, and while he's always trying to demonstrate that he doesn't stray too far from the roots
(check out the very pretty and very short instrumental acoustic piece 'Greensleeves'), he's certainly
fiddling with a totally new, menacing and dreary sound on tracks like 'Morning Dew' or, especially,
Howlin' Wolf's 'I Ain't Superstitious' where he adds something to the wah-wah effect and makes it sound
almost trash-like. Stewart, on the other hand, whose voice, while far from pretty, is ten times more
suited for blueswailing than that of Jack Bruce, finds the perfect counterpart to Beck's guitar - just
like Plant was originally a perfect counterpart to Page's guitar. However, I must say that I far prefer
Stewart if we come to comparisons: he never whines, and his interpretation of the 'human factor'
in singing is much more suitable for my tastes (no lengthy wailings, no 'oh oh-s' and 'ah ah-s',
just a silly little laugh or cough now and then).
The bad thing is the kind of bad thing that marred and still mars all of Beck's albums: the lack of
good songwriting. Beck couldn't write a note, of course - he was just a guitar player, after all,
so the few elements of originality here are mostly credited to Stewart and Wood, and they don't
contribute that much, preferring to exploit well-used blues standards. They do contribute what I consider
to be the most driving number on the record - the uncompromised, blood-dripping, raunchy 'Blues De Luxe'
with Rod at his very, very best (probably recorded live since there are smatters of applause now and then,
if they weren't overdubbed, of course), and 'Let Me Love You' is fairly good, too, but it just refers to
singing and playing. 'Beck's Bolero' is a fine mix of Ravel and proto-heavy metal, but it's little more
than a novelty piece, even if it is entertaining. In desperation, they put on a remake of the Yardbirds'
hit 'Shapes Of Things' - certainly the weakest spot on the album and a fairly stinky way to open the album.
I never liked the song in the first place, but here it is transformed in such a rambling, almost atonal mess,
that you'd hardly call it a 'song' in the proper sense of the word.
So they redeem themselves on blues covers. Their, almost strangely short, version of 'You Shook Me' can't
hope to beat Led Zeppelin's just because it ain't pushed to the limits completely: yet, for the devoted
the dialogue between Rod's voice and Beck's guitar can prove to be even more entertaining than Page/Plant's.
Not to mention that they don't mess up the lyrics like the latter bastards did (it is still a point of
wondering for me why Plant sang that line about the bird that whistles when it never belonged to the song
in the first place). And, like I said, 'I Ain't Superstitious' is pure delight. And 'Rock My Plimsoul'?
Whoa, that's one butt-kickin' rocker on here! Sure beats the stuffing of any Allman Brothers Band material
any old day. (Not that I have anything against the Allmans, mind you, but, unfortunately, they have that
boredom factor which Jeff Beck has to a lesser degree). What's so odd about it is the strange stuttering
time signature - can you feel Mick Waller is actually 'losing tempo' on every verse? Astute guy - you can't
really tell if he's misfiring or he's doing it intentionally.
Whatever. From a historical point of view, this is a super-important album - kind of a 'missing link'
between Wheels Of Fire and Led Zeppelin. From any other points of view, it might be dismissable -
if you want really crunchy heavy blues, early Led Zep's your better bet. But if you just can't get enough
of crunchy heavy blues, get it before the world forgets about it, which it really shouldn't. And don't you
forget that Jeff Beck is as good a guitar player as Jimmy, anyway, so if Truth loses it a little in the
unabashed heaviness respect, it easily gains in the technical proficiency respect. And for my money,
I'll take, yeah I'll take, oh gimme gimme Rod Stewart over Robbie Plant any day of the week.
- by George Starostin's Music Reviews
A little smoother and less shockin' than Led Zeppelin, this is still a must-have for every hard rock lover.
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