Beck-Ola

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Beck-Ola
Studio album by the Jeff Beck Group

Publication
(s)

1969

Label (s) Columbia Graphophone Company , Epic Records

Format (s)

LP, CD

Genre (s)

Blues rock , hard rock

Title (number)

7th

running time

30:29

production

Mickie Most

Studio (s)

De Lane Lea Studios , London

chronology
Truth
(1968) 		Beck-Ola Rough and Ready
(1971)

Beck-Ola is the Jeff Beck Group's debut album and was released in 1969 by Columbia Graphophone Company and in the US by Epic Records . On the previous album Truth , only Jeff Beck and not the Jeff Beck Group was named as the interpreter, although with the exception of the drummer all musicians represented here were already involved. Therefore, depending on the reading , Beck-Ola is also seen as the band's second studio album.

Alternative title

In the original UK edition, the album was labeled with the alternative title Cosa Nostra Beck-Ola on the back cover and on the record . In contrast, the version published in the USA shows the same back, but only mentions Beck-Ola as the name on the record . According to Beck, this inconsistency was due to the fact that the record company did not agree with Cosa Nostra as the title. Instead, Beck was at that time from the Yardbirds Manager Peter Grant of used nickname Beckola appeal that alludes to the Rock-Ola - jukeboxes was. Cosa Nostra is Italian for “our cause”.

background

Truth's commercial success in the United States resulted in several concert engagements in the second half of 1968, including a performance at the Fillmore East in New York. Nicky Hopkins , who had previously only been involved as a studio musician, became a full member of the band in October 1968 and decided against an offer from Led Zeppelin . Micky Waller, on the other hand, left the group in February 1969 to take over the drum position at Steamhammer . He was replaced by Tony Newman. According to Newman, Beck had seen him with Sounds Incorporated , but Beck said he knew Newman from his work with Little Richard and Gene Vincent . Stewart found the drummer too rude and loud, but Beck prevailed with his view that Newman was the right one for the desired sound. At this time the need for a second album grew to be able to present a recording on the next planned tour. Beck-Ola was recorded in six days at De Lane Lea Studios in London in April 1969 and released in June. In addition to two well-known songs by Elvis Presley, it contains exclusively the band's own compositions and was again produced by Mickie Most . From Beck's perspective, however, he should not have been interested in the group and would only have wanted to make Beck a pop star. Since Beck-Ola also achieved good sales successes in the USA, two more tours followed up to August, including a gig at the Newport Jazz Festival . Due to the growing personnel problems, the band broke up shortly before the planned appearance at the Woodstock Festival .

The cover of the album shows the picture La Chambre d'Écoute by the Belgian surrealist René Magritte .

Track list

Original UK release from 1969

page 1

  1. All Shook Up ( Otis Blackwell , Elvis Presley ) - 4:50
  2. Spanish Boots ( Ronnie Wood , Jeff Beck , Rod Stewart ) - 3:34
  3. Girl From Mill Valley ( Nicky Hopkins ) - 3:45
  4. Jailhouse Rock ( Leiber / Stoller ) - 3:14

Page 2

  1. Plynth (Water Down The Drain) (Hopkins, Wood, Stewart) - 3:05
  2. The Hangman's Knee (Tony Newman, Beck, Hopkins, Stewart, Wood) - 4:47
  3. Rice Pudding (Hopkins, Wood, Beck, Newman) - 7:22
Bonus tracks from the remastered CD re-release from 2004
  2. Sweet Little Angel ( BB King ) -7:57
  3. Throw Down A Line ( Hank Marvin ) - 2:54
  4. All Shook Up (Early Version) (Blackwell, Presley) - 3:18
  5. Jailhouse Rock (Early Version) (Leiber, Stoller) - 3:11

occupation

tape
Additional contributions

Chart successes

Beck-Ola reached number 15 on the Billboard 200 and number 39 on the UK hit list.

reception

  • The music journalist Robert Christgau only wrote that Beck and Stewart had made Nicky Hopkins appear arrogant. The album only got a C-.
  • William Ruhlmann wrote on Allmusic that the same hard rock can be heard on the album as with Led Zeppelin , which was soon dubbed Heavy Metal. The material seems thrown together, but this is not important due to Beck's guitar playing and Stewart's singing. Beck-Ola could easily have established the group as one of the early hard rock groups if they hadn't broken up. The album is a prime example of British blues rock of the late 1960s and one of Jeff Beck's best recordings. In the evaluation it received four and a half stars out of five.
  • In Rolling Stone Ben Gerson wrote in August 1969, the album was brilliant, close in structure and full of energy. The group benefits from Hopkins' approach, and Beck may not have the excellence and rigor of Eric Clapton , but his ideas are second to none. Stewart's rough voice is the vocal equivalent of electrical distortion.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Various editions of the album at discogs.com
  2. ↑ UK edition from 1969, photos under "More Images"
  3. ↑ USA edition from 1969, photos under "More Images"
  4. ↑ Liner Notes by John Tobler, CD booklet in Truth & Beck-Ola compilation
  5. ↑ Micky Waller at webcitation.org
  6. ↑ Interview with Tony Newman at dmme.net
  7. ↑ Essay by Charles Shaar Murray, CD booklet, page 6 of the 2004 remastered CD edition
  8. ^ Essay by Charles Shaar Murray, CD booklet, page 5 of the 2004 remastered CD edition
  9. ^ Rod Stewart: The Jeff Beck Group could have played Woodstock at rollingstone.com
  10. ↑ Pop Goes Magritte at chicagotonight.wttw.com
  11. ^ CD edition from 2004 at discogs.com
  12. ↑ Chart placement at allmusic.com
  13. ↑ Beck's chart placements at chartarchive.org
  14. ↑ Reviews at robertchristgau.com
  15. ↑ album at allmusic.com
  16. ^ Review at rollingstone.com