Jeff Beck

Just spent a great evening listening to Jeff Beck. What a wonderful jazz guitarist he is, although to my furry ears, sometimes there were almost too many things going on: all kinds of drums and swirly guitars and rhythm changes and modulations that came zooming out of nowhere. Overall, though, I really dig this music.

One of my favorites was "People Get Ready." I found that I was slowly swishing my tail in time to the music. I don't know what "the train's a-coming" means, unless it's somehow related to Gravy Train, but isn't that for dogs?

"Beck's Bolero" reminded me of those TV westerns where the cowboy is riding his horse across the desert, although I prefer the parts where the mountain lion gets in a fight with a bobcat. Nothing like a good old fashioned catfight to spice up a movie!

If you're a hungry cat, I should warn you that "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" (Beck's rendition of a Charlie Mingus tune) has absolutely nothing to do with pork or pie. And on one track, I sang along to "Got my head out the window and going meow-meow-meow-meow-meow," until my person told me the correct lyric is "going down-down-down-down-down." Embarrassing!

You can go through a whole range of emotions with Beck. I felt bad for my person when Jeff made her and his Stratocaster cry during "'Cause We've Ended as Lovers." You can hear this song at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msPiKYuuRiQ&feature=related

A guy named Vernon Reid wrote about Beck's music that its tone is "warm, defiant, biting, subtle and tender...yet just as often unapologetically brutal, cool." He could easily be talking about cats! He also wrote that "Beck's relationship to the guitar is one of choice...He stays because he can leave." Hey, that's the way I feel about my person. Hmmm...makes me suspect that Vernon Reid is a cat, rather than a person.

Get some Jeff Beck, give it a listen, and decide for yourself. Peace out!

Observe Jeff's technique on his cover of The Beatles' "A Day in the Life": at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uwvBizKAwc