It’s Blues Album of the Week time, this week it’s another blast from the past, the Jeff Beck Group Truth. As I like to say, this is another one of those “listen again for the first time” offerings. Jeff is of course glorious, he is still in his Les Paul days, with all the crunch, grind, soul that only a set of humbucker pickups together with a cranked Marshal will get you, tone to die for. He is also still using a pick, so his attack has a more biting sound than his later strat / fingers style. Another plus for this album is the vocals by one Rod Stewart, one of this writer’s favorite blues singers, (not a huge fan of his more poppy stuff though), Mr Stewart is in his wonderful boozy, bluesy, white male British singer greatness! The album has a recorded live in the studio feel to it. Recorded in the late sixties, this is NOT a perfect album by any stretch of the word, you get the occasional sour note that to me makes it feel authentic and pure. We start off with an interesting version of “Shapes of Things”, definitely not the YardBirds. Highlights include a classic 12 bar blues form in the song “Blues Deluxe”. “Let Me Love You”, a surprising version of “Ol’Man River”, the immortal “Beck’s Bolero”, we close it out with a smoldering version of “I Ain’t Superstitious”. Wow! What a ride! Again I say, Listen again for the first time.
