Jeff Beck

Jeff Beck - Guitar Legend - 1998 - Hallmark

Classic '60's material from rock guitar legend, Jeff Beck, who first shot to fame with The Yardbirds. His first hit with the band, "Heart Full Of Soul" is included here along with other blues/R&B songs from the same time period. The first ten tracks on this album are from Jeff's 18 month stint with the Yardbirds, from 1966 to 1967. The albums last four tracks are from Jeff's time with The All Stars, a makeshift band that Jimmy Page got together in 1965, and included Page, Beck, Nicky Hopkins on piano, and Cliff Barton on bass. There are various blues anthology compilations featuring tracks from these line-ups. N.B: The All Stars was a common band name in the early '60s. Before Jimmy Page established his "All Stars" line-up of Jeff Beck (guitar), Cliff Barton (bass), Nicky Hopkins (piano), Carlo Little (drums), and Jimmy himself, there was also The Cyril Davies R&B All Stars, Cyril Davies' All Stars, the Original All Stars, and more. Some of the musicians mentioned here played in various All Stars line-ups, and it would take a whole book in itself to write about this bands "family tree" and offshoots. If you like good British 60's blues/R&B music, you should find some rewarding music here. A lot of this stuff from the early sixties sounds dated now, but many of these musicians like Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, and the late Nicky Hopkins were pioneers of early British blues and R&B, and are hugely important in the evolution of rock music. Please take some time to check out Nicky Hopkin's bio @ about Nicky Hopkins There is no need to elaborate on Jimmy Page's achievements, but you can read his bio @ about Jimmy Page and there is a bio of the great Yardbirds @ YBIRDS Listen to The Yardbird's classic "Roger The Engineer" album with Jeff Beck on board, and also Jeff Beck's killer "Blow by Blow" album

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1. HEART FULL OF SOUL (Gouldman)
2. WHAT DO YOU WANT (Beck-McCarty-Dreja-Relf-SamwelI Smith)
3. l’M NOT TALKING (Allison)
4. STEELED BLUES (Beck-Relf)
5. l'M A MAN (McDaniel)
6. STROLL ON (Bradshaw-Mann-Kay)
7. l AlN'T DONE WRONG (Relf)
8. LIKE JIMMY REED AGAIN (Beck-Relf-Samwell Smith-Dreja-McCarty)
9. YOU'RE A BETTER MAN THAN I (Hugg-Hugg)
10. JEFFS BLUES (Beck)
11. DOWN IN THE BOOTS (Page)
12. CHUCKLES (Page)
13. STEELIN' (Page)
14. LA BREAKDOWN (Page)

MUSICIANS

The Yardbirds
Jimmy Pages All Stars

BIO

While he was as innovative as Jimmy Page, as tasteful as Eric Clapton, and nearly as visionary as Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck never achieved the same commercial success as any of his contemporaries, primarily because of the haphazard way he approached his career. After Rod Stewart left the Jeff Beck Group in 1971, Beck never worked with a charismatic lead singer who could have helped sell his music to a wide audience. Furthermore, he was simply too idiosyncratic, moving from heavy metal to jazz fusion within a blink of an eye. As his career progressed, he became more fascinated by automobiles than guitars, releasing only one album during the course of the '90s. All the while, Beck retained the respect of fellow guitarists, who found his reclusiveness all the more alluring. Beck began his musical career following a short stint at London's Wimbledon Art College. He earned a reputation by supporting Lord Sutch, which helped him land the job as the Yardbirds' lead guitarist following the departure of Eric Clapton. Beck stayed with the Yardbirds for nearly two years, leaving in late in 1966 with the pretense that he was retiring from music. He returned several months later with "Love Is Blue," a single he played poorly because he detested the song. Later in 1967, he formed the Jeff Beck Group with vocalist Rod Stewart, bassist Ron Wood, and drummer Aynsley Dunbar, who was quickly replaced by Mickey Waller; keyboardist Nicky Hopkins joined in early 1968. With their crushingly loud reworkings of blues songs and vocal and guitar interplay, the Jeff Beck Group established the template for heavy metal. Neither of the band's records, Truth (1968) or Beck-Ola (a 1969 album that was recorded with new drummer Tony Newman), was particularly successful, and the band tended to fight regularly, especially on their frequent tours of the U.S. In 1970, Stewart and Wood left to join the Faces, and Beck broke up the group. Beck had intended to form a power trio with Vanilla Fudge members Carmine Appice (drums) and Tim Bogert (bass), but those plans were derailed when he suffered a serious car crash in 1970. By the time he recuperated in 1971, Bogart and Appice were playing in Cactus, so the guitarist formed a new version of the Jeff Beck Group. Featuring keyboardist Max Middleton, drummer Cozy Powell, bassist Clive Chaman, and vocalist Bobby Tench, the new band recorded Rough and Ready (1971) and Jeff Beck Group (1972). Neither album attracted much attention. Cactus dissolved in late 1972, and Beck, Bogert, and Appice formed a power trio the following year. The group's lone studio album -- a live record was released in Japan but never in the U.K. or U.S. -- was widely panned due to its plodding arrangements and weak vocals, and the group disbanded the following year. For about 18 months, Beck remained quiet, re-emerging in 1975 with Blow by Blow. Produced by George Martin, Blow by Blow was an all-instrumental jazz fusion album that received strong reviews. Beck collaborated with Jan Hammer, a former keyboardist for Mahavishnu Orchestra, for 1976's Wired, and supported the album with a co-headlining tour with Hammer's band. The tour was documented on the 1977 album Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group -- Live. After the Hammer tour, Beck retired to his estate outside of London and remained quiet for three years. He returned in 1980 with There and Back, which featured contributions from Hammer. Following the tour for There and Back, Beck retired again, returning five years later with the slick, Nile Rodgers-produced Flash. A pop/rock album recorded with a variety of vocalists, Flash featured Beck's only hit single, the Stewart-sung "People Get Ready," and also boasted "Escape," which won the Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental. During 1987, he played lead guitar on Mick Jagger's second solo album, Primitive Cool. There was another long wait between Flash and 1989's Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop with Terry Bozzio and Tony Hymas. Though the album sold only moderately well, Guitar Shop received uniformly strong reviews and won the Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental. Beck supported the album with a tour, this time co-headlining with guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. Again, Beck entered semi-retirement upon the completion of the tour. In 1992, Beck played lead guitar on Roger Waters' comeback album, Amused to Death. A year later, he released Crazy Legs, a tribute to Gene Vincent and his lead guitarist, Cliff Gallup, which was recorded with Big Town Playboys. Beck remained quiet after the album's release prior to resurfacing in 1999 with Who Else! You Had It Coming followed in 2001 and his 14th release, Jeff, was issued on Epic two years later. An excellent live set, Performing This Week: Live at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, was released in 2008 by Eagle Records. Emotion & Commotion, Beck's first new studio album in seven years, appeared in the spring of 2010. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3iftxqw5ldse~T1

The Manfreds

The Manfreds - L . I . V . E - 1999 - Not On Label (Manfreds, The Self-released)

Manfred Mann, the great British beat, and rhythm and blues quintet formed in 1962, originally consisted of Manfred Mann, Mike Hugg, Mike Vickers, Dave Richmond, and lead vocalist Paul Jones. The band's line-up changed many times. Other band members at various times included Tom McGuinness, Jack Bruce, Klaus Voorman, and Mike d'Abo. After the group's breakup in 1969, Manfred formed his Earth Band, which still plays today. In 1991, The Manfreds got back together, and have sold out concerts worldwide. The Manfreds comprises four of the original crew from the great 60s Manfred Mann band – Paul Jones, Tom McGuinness, Mike D'Abo and Mike Hugg. This album contains many of Manfred Mann's great hits, including the brilliant, and seldom heard pop rock/R&B songs like "Ragamuffin Man", "Oh No Not My Baby", "Pretty Flamingo", and "Fox On The Run". Also included are Mike d'Abo's fantastic "Build Me Up Buttercup", (recorded by The Foundations), and the classic "Handbags & Gladrags (recorded by Chris Farlowe, Rod Stewart, The Stereophonics, and hundreds more). There are also songs written by Gallagher & Lyle including "Heart on My Sleeve", "When I'm Dead & Gone", and "Malt & Barley Blues", (the latter two songs covered by the great McGuinness Flint band). Tom McGuinness, and Benny Gallagher also appear on this album. "L . I . V . E" is a fantastic testament to some of the greatest British R&B/beat, and pop rock musicians and songs of the sixties, and is VHR by A.O.O.F.C. Try and find the "Maximum Manfreds" album for more vintage British R&B/beat music of the highest calibre. Try and listen to Manfred Mann's 1964 album, "The Five Faces of Manfred Mann", and Manfred Mann's Earth Band's "The Roaring Silence" albums. Detailed analysis of this "L . I . V . E" album is worth reading @ ABOUT "L.I.V.E" and information about the band can be found @ MANFREDS Check out Manfred Mann's biography @ MM/BIO/WIKIThere is some great info on individual MM members, past and present @ MM/MEMBERS

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 The One in the Middle - P. Jones 3:36

2 Just Like a Woman - Bob Dylan 3:28

3 My Name Is Jack - John Simon 3:23

4 Sha La La - Robert Mosely/Robert Taylor 6:08

5 Malt & Barley Blues - Benny Gallagher/Graham Lyle 3:18

6 Heart on My Sleeve - Benny Gallagher/Graham Lyle 4:51

7 My Little Red Book - Burt Bacharach, Hal David 5:24

8 Fox on the Run - Tony Hazzard 3:28

9 Driva Man - Brown Jr/Max Roach 6:24

10 Semi-Detached Suburban Mr. James - John Carter/Stevens 2:39

11 Pretty Flamingo - Mark Barkan 8:57

12 5-4-3-2-1 - Mike Hugg/Paul Jones/Manfred Mann & Bo Diddley - Ellas McDaniel 7:52

13 Ragamuffin Man - Callender, Pete/Mitch Murray 9:56

14 Watermelon Man - Herbie Hancock/Jon Hendricks 3:43

15 When I'm Dead & Gone - Benny Gallagher/Graham Lyle 4:37

16 Oh No, Not My Baby - Gerry Goffin/Carole King 4:07

17 Ha! Ha! Said the Clown - Tony Hazzard 5:04

18 Come Tomorrow - Frank Augustus/Bob Elgin/Phillips, Dolores 3:35

19 Build Me Up Buttercup - Michael d'Abo/Tony Macaulay 3:55

20 Do Wah Diddy Diddy - Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich 5:30

21 Smokestack Lightning - Howlin' Wolf 6:07

22 Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo) - Bob Dylan 4:37

23 Handbags and Gladrags - Michael d'Abo 7:23

24 If You Gotta Go, Go Now - Bob Dylan

N.B: Released as a 2 X CD Album: Tracks 1 - 11 on CD 1, & Tracks 12 - 24 on CD 2

MUSICIANS

Tom McGuinness - Guitar, Vocals
Benny Gallagher - Bass, Vocals
Michael d'Abo - Keyboards, Vocals
Mike Hugg - Percussion, Keyboards
Rob Townsend - Drums
Mike Vickers - Flute, Saxophone
Paul Jones - Harmonica, Vocals

BIO (WIKIPEDIA)

The Manfreds are a British pop group, formed in 1991 as a reunion of former members of the 1960s pop group Manfred Mann, however without their eponymous founder Manfred Mann himself.

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The Manfreds are the reunited core members of Manfred Mann without Mann himself. Originally gathered together to help promote a television-marketed compilation of the old group's 1960's hits, Mike Hugg, Mike Vickers, Tom McGuinness, Paul Jones, and Mike D'Abo enjoyed playing together sufficiently to extend their reunion activities by years, past the middle of the 1990s. In 1999, the band released their debut, 5-4-3-2-1, and a live album followed the next year. © Bruce Eder, All Music Guide, allmusic.com

Steve Cropper, Pop Staples, & Albert King

Steve Cropper, Pop Staples, & Albert King - Jammed Together - 1969 - Stax

Not a very well known album from these great Blues and R&B singer/guitarists Pop Staples, Albert King, and Steve Cropper, but it's a good one. Great guitar, piano and horns, and a genuine soulful blues sound throughout. Not a groundbreaking album, but a very enjoyable one from these three very talented artists. Without he late Albert King, there might never have been phenomenal blues guitarists in the style of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, or Rory Gallagher, who were all influenced by Albert King. That is probably a very general statement, but Albert King's legacy can never be measured. It is worthwhile listening to the marvellous Albert King 1967 Stax album, "Born Under a Bad Sign," or the classic 1999 album, "Albert King In Session, with Stevie Ray Vaughan." The latter album is a testament to the everlasting sound of the blues. Steve Cropper, and the late Pop Staples may not be familiar names to the general music listener, but their influences are huge in both the blues, and the R&B world. Read their bios, and you may be surprised at their list of achievements. Pop Staples was the leader of The Staple Singers, and Steve Cropper, among many other achievements, played guitar with the great R&B band, Booker T. & the MGs. Give "Jammed Together" a listen. You will enjoy it.

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

What'd I Say - Ray Charles
Tupelo - John Lee Hooker
Opus de Soul - Carl Thomas, Alvertis Isbell
Baby, What You Want Me to Do - Jimmy Reed
Big Bird - Eddie Floyd, Booker T. Jones
Homer's Theme - Homer Banks, Raymond Jackson
Trashy Dog - Terry Manning
Don't Turn Your Heater Down - Steve Cropper
Water - Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd
Knock on Wood - Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd

CREDITS

Steve Cropper (Guitar), Steve Cropper (Vocals), Steve Cropper (Producer), Steve Cropper (Performer), Terry Manning (Producer), Terry Manning (Engineer), Roebuck "Pops" Staples (Guitar), Roebuck "Pops" Staples (Vocals), Roebuck "Pops" Staples (Performer), Homer Banks (Producer), Al Bell (Producer), Mickey Buckins (Engineer), Ron Capone (Remixing), Phil DeLancie (Digital Remastering), Isaac Hayes (Producer), Booker T. Jones (Producer), Albert King (Guitar), Albert King (Vocals), Albert King (Producer), Albert King (Main Performer), Albert King (Performer), Bobby Manuel (Engineer), David Porter (Producer), M. Thomas (Producer), Al Jackson (Producer), Al Jackson, Jr. (Producer), Raymond Jackson (Producer), Honeya Thompson (Remixing), Raymond Jackson (Producer)

SHORT BIO (Steve Cropper)

There are not enough words to describe the multi-talents of modest and serious Steve Cropper. He was there quite at the beginning of Satellite/Stax and was the protégé of Jim Stewart. He was one of the first to get the keys of the studio and to be allowed to sit at the control board instead of Jim Stewart. Born in Dora, Missouri, in 1941 he came to Memphis at 10. Grown up in Memphis with school fellow Donald Dunn, he was already playing with the Mar-Keys when Last Night was recorded. He did quite everything at Stax from selling records at the Satellite Record Shop, developping his skills about recording techniques, playing the guitar and sometimes piano on most Stax records and composing the music for innumerable hits such as In The Midnight Hour, Knock On Wood, The Dock Of The Bay, Soul Man and so on. After his departure from Stax in the early 70s, he created various independant studios and production companies. Today, he manages Insomnia Studios in Nashville, is also well known as a part of the Blues Brothers Band and can be seen in the cult film Blues Brothers and its recent sequel. Curiously enough, Steve did only one album under his own name and another along with Albert King and Pop Staples. Of course, he had a great part in all Booker T. & The MG's records. © http://staxrecords.free.fr/cropper.htm

PRESS EXCERPTS (Steve Cropper)

Born in Dora, Missouri, in 1941, Steve Cropper had a rural white upbringing. He moved to Memphis in 1951 where, exposed to black R&B music, he soon adopted the music of the Memphis area. After years of associating his guitar style with the core black culture of the Stax sound, many are amazed to find that he is caucasian. Of his work in the sixties, Steve says: "If there was anything about the Stax sound it was really music with licks in it. We liked to call them money licks. " Making something simple sound identifiable on record was one of Cropper's specialities. And it wasn't only the guitar licks. He wrote the Memphis Horns introduction on Wilson Pickett's "In The Midnight Hour" on guitar using his characteristic parallel chord approach. As he himself says, referring to the fretboard markers on the fingerboard of his Telecaster: "Just follow the dots and you can't get into trouble. " When arranged for horns the part is instantly identifiable. When he was sitting with Eddie Floyd, writing "Knock On Wood," Cropper came up with the idea of simply playing the introduction he had written for "In The Midnight Hour" in reverse. He did, it worked, and another million-seller was born. Steve Cropper executed simple ideas with consummate good taste, originality, and feel. Jimi Hendrix, Syd Barrett and countless other important players have quoted Cropper as a major influence. He can be heard on any good Otis Redding compilation playing classics - co-written with Redding - like " (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" or "Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa (Sad Song)." If the term "getting your chops together" was not coined in reference to Steve Cropper then it should have been. For over four decades now, Steve Cropper has literally defined the art of R&B guitar. Booker T. and the MGs, the Memphis-based band consisting of Cropper, Booker T. Jones on organ, Al Jackson on drums and Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass was the rhythm section for almost every hit to come out of the Memphis Stax/Volt Records era. Sam and Dave, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding and many others had hits that were driven by the heavy groove of this band. Cropper also had his hand in producing and writing many of these great hits such as "Dock of the Bay" which he penned with Otis Redding. I had the pleasure of working with him in 1975 when I was playing lead guitar with John Prine, and he was producing Prine's "Common Sense" album. He was also an important part of Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi's "Blues Brothers" takeoff, and continues to be a driving force in the music scene today, producing and playing with almost every kind of major act conceivable. Cropper's tone has a metallic ferocity, yet his playing is always sparse and pervaded with a feeling of suspense. Steve Cropper's studio work may be the highest embodiment of play-for-the-song minimalism. This least virtuosic of guitar heroes is almost universally admired for devising the archetypal riffs and pithy fills that helped define soul music. As house guitarist for Memphis's Stax Records, he backed Otis Redding, Sam & Dave and many other soul greats, contributing immortal grooves and hooks to some of the era's best music. As one quarter of Booker T & The MGs, he helped devise some of the finest R&B instrumentals ever (including "Green Onions," the 1962 smash that slammed his career into overdrive). He also produced many important soul sessions and co-wrote such gems as "Knock on Wood," "In the Midnight Hour" and "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay." You tend to incorporate single-note lines into double-stop and tritone riffs? It was bestowed upon me. When I started out doing sessions in the early '60s, they couldnt afford another guitar player. So almost every session we did was one guitar, if that. I hear some of the Stax stuff today that doesn't have guitars, and I love it, but I was right there wishing I could play guitar on those cuts rather than producing and doing everything else. Even my own record with the Mar-Keys, "Last Night," didn't have a guitar on it. In those days we only had one keyboard player, so we switched off on piano and organ. I played guitar on those songs onstage, and nobody ever knew the difference-I just doubled the bass line. I developed that style of throwing in a little single-note fill every now and then to weave in and out of the vocal to make it feel more lyrical with the vocal line. But I always jumped right back into the rhythm. I never liked to get away from the rhythm too much. The whole bottom falls out. © http://staxrecords.free.fr/cropper.htm

Albert King (Bio)

Albert King (born Albert Nelson). April 25th, 1923 - December 21st, 1992. Birthplace: Indianola, Mississippi. Bluesman Albert King was one of the premier electric guitar stylists of the post-World War II period. By playing left-handed and holding his guitar upside-down (with the strings set for a right-handed player), and by concentrating on tone and intensity more than flash, King fashioned over his long career, a sound that was both distinctive and highly influential. He was a master of the single-string solo and could bend strings to produce a particularly tormented blues sound that set his style apart from his contemporaries. A number of prominent artists,from Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix to Mike Bloomfield and Stevie Ray Vaughan, borrowed heavily from King's guitar style. King was also the first major blues guitarist to cross over into modem soul;his mid- and late 1960s recordings for the Stax label, cut with the same great session musicians who played on the recordings of Otis Redding, Sam & Dave,Eddie Floyd, and others, appealed to his established black audience while broadening his appeal with rock fans. Along with B.B. King (no relation, though at times Albert suggested otherwise) and Muddy Waters, King helped nurture a white interest in blues when the music needed it most to survive. King was born in Mississippi and taught himself how to play on a homemade guitar. Inspired by Blind Lemon Jefferson, King quit singing in a family gospel group and took up the blues. He worked around Osceola, Arkansas, with a group called the In the Groove Boys before migrating north and ending up in Gary,Indiana, in the early 1950s. For a while, King played drums behind bluesman Jimmy Reed. In 1953, King convinced Parrot label owner Al Benson to record him as a blues singer and guitarist. That year King cut "Bad Luck Blues" and "Be On Your Merry Way" for Parrot. Because King received little in the way of financial remuneration for the record, he left Parrot and eventually moved to St. Louis, where he recorded for the Bobbin and the King labels. In 1959 he had a minor hit on Bobbin with "I'm a Lonely Man." King's biggest release, "Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong," made it to number 14 on the R&B charts in 1961. King didn't become a major blues figure until after he signed with Stax Records in 1966. Working with producer-drummer Al Jackson, Jr., guitarist Steve Cropper, keyboards ace Booker T. Jones, and bass player Donald "Duck"Dunn-aka Booker T. and the MG's, King created a blues sound that was laced with Memphis soul strains. Although the blues were dominant on songs such as"Laundromat Blues" and the classic "Born Under A Bad Sign", the tunes had Memphis soul underpinnings that gave King his crossover appeal. Not only was he the first blues artist to play the legendary San Francisco rock venue the Fillmore West, but he was also on the debut bill, sharing the stage opening night in1968 with Jimi Hendrix and John Mayall. King went on to become a regular at the Fillmore; his album Live Wire/Blues Power was recorded there in 1968.King was also one of the first bluesman to record with a symphony orchestra: in1969 he performed with the St. Louis Symphony, triumphantly bringing together the blues and classical music, if only for a fleeting moment. During the 1970s King toured extensively, often playing to rock and soul crowds. He left Stax in 1974 to record for independent labels like Tomato and Fantasy. King was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame in 1983.He continued touring throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, playing festivals and concerts, often with B.B. King. He died of a heart attack in 1992, just prior to starting a major European tour. © http://staxrecords.free.fr/king.htm

BIO (Pop Staples )

The patriarch of one of music's most successful families, Pop Staples worked with everyone from Robert Johnson to Curtis Mayfield. Roebuck Staples was born December 2, 1915, in Winona, MS; a close friend of Charley Patton, he also played not only with Johnson but also such legends as Son House and Robert Jr. Lockwood, becoming a top-notch blues guitarist in the process. Increasingly drawn to the church, he joined the gospel group the Golden Trumpets in 1937, and upon relocating to Chicago in 1941, he signed on with the Windy City's Trumpet Jubilees; by the following decade, Staples was regularly performing at services in the company of his daughters Mavis and Cleotha and son Pervis, and soon they began appearing professionally as the Staple Singers. While originally a gospel group, the family achieved their first commercial success with a more contemporary soul sound honed during the late '60s while signed to the Stax label; by the early '70s, the Staples even moved into funk, scoring a major pop hit with "I'll Take You There." After signing with Mayfield's Curtom label, they also found success with "Let's Do It Again." Pop Staples did not pursue a solo career prior to releasing 1992's Peace to the Neighborhood, which returned him to his blues and gospel roots. Its follow-up, 1994's Father Father, earned a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Staples also appeared in several films, including 1998's Wag the Dog. Late in 2000, Staples suffered a concussion after a fall in his home; shortly thereafter, on December 19, he passed away at the age of 85. © Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide