By: Faraz Chaudry
Click to Buty Rock n Roll Party Honoring Les Paul From Amazon.com
At the Iridium Jazz Club, where the legendary Les Paul played weekly, on the night of what would have been his 95th birthday, Jeff Beck and a slew of guests honored the guitar great. An avid fan of Les Paul, Jeff Beck seemed the obvious selection to host Rock & Roll Party: Honoring Les Paul
This first two numbers featured Darrell Higham on vocals and a beautiful orange Gretsch 6120. So convincing were his rock n’ roll singing chops that I was shocked when he addressed the crowd in a heavy English accent. His inflection, tone and general attitude genuinely sold the rock sentiment, however he was quickly overshadowed by the transcendent Imelda May. A somber rendition of “Cry Me A River” showcased the sweet timbre that her voice can achieve, as well as Jeff Beck’s light jazz-lines. To pay tribute to Paul’s recordings with Mary Ford, Imelda sang an up-tempo version of “How High the Moon,” using prerecorded backing vocals. While this was a fascinating effect, the overall arrangement fell a little flat. Most of the remainder of her set featured the background vocals and created very pleasing harmonies.
The second half of the set introduced us to a small horn section comprised of trumpet, tenor sax, bari-sax and sometimes trombone. It was at this point where there was a level of cheesiness that permeated the tunes. Starting with the “Peter Gunn Theme” (or the SpyHunter theme song, for us younger folks), the horn section lays into a series of solos that made me wonder how they got this gig in the first place. I am mainly referring to the tenor sax, whose cheap flash abased the experience at best, and at worst would draw comparisons to Pat Boone for an eerily similar sedative effect on Rock n’ Roll. His main frill was growling out a single note until he’s red in the face while gyrating and spanking his sax. This unique combination of gags made me as uncomfortable as when I had to watch my immigrant father try to dance at weddings. At moments like these, I was grateful for Jeff Beck’s lead playing, which consistently provided some much-needed legitimacy to the night.
Jeff Beck employed a wide variety of sounds and guitars throughout the concert, but also adapted to the different genres by displaying a very versatile playing style. For me, the most appealing guitar work came on “Apache” and “Sleep Walk.” The former utilized a deliciously wet reverb and thick delay. On “Sleep Walk,” Beck made the melody absolutely sing, and even heightened the dreamy atmosphere with dramatic and moving volume swells that pulled the audience with the ebb and flow of the ballad. On more up-tempo pieces, Jeff would extrude a distinct warbly tone by constantly using and abusing the tremolo bar. Soon after, Gary U.S. Bonds came out and immediately engaged the crowd with the intensity and panache of a traveling medicine show salesman. His stage presence extended a new energy to the set and almost made another sax solo bearable. Another treat of the DVD is seeing Brian Setzer tear up his signature Gretsch and trading licks with Beck.
As with other, similar recordings, the DVD extras are sometimes more fascinating than the show itself. Jeff Beck showcased some of his favorite guitars, many of which have quite famous former owners and stories. You can also access interviews and old concert footage of Les Paul and Jeff Beck rocking out to some blues in the ‘80’s.
Without the Beck powerhouse fronting this operation, it would be hard to get past my qualms with this performance, the biggest of which being the horn section turning it into a two hour-long California Raisins commercial. However, watching this made me realize how difficult it must be to pay tribute to a man whose influence was so prolific it’s infused with every aspect of today’s music. In spite of this, Jeff Beck was by far the right choice to do so, as he faithfully reproduced the constantly metamorphosing Les Paul sound.
