Despite all of the flak he's received for his last few albums, Jeff Beck does deserve some credit. As he aged, Beck never let his music succumb to the nostalgia that domesticated his fellow guitar gods.
While Jimmy Page was still releasing live renditions of Led Zeppelin material, Beck was fusing his unique guitar style with electronica on "You Had It Coming" (2001) and "Jeff" (2003). Although the tracks on these albums were inconsistent, they still bore the energy of an artist who refutes stereotypes with each release. Unfortunately, this momentum failed to carry over for Beck's latest, "Emotion & Commotion."
Although "Emotion & Commotion" still showcases Beck's fluency in various genres of music, it hardly plays like a Beck album. Even the worst tracks from this release's two predecessors kept Beck nimble and safely away from any semblance of a comfort zone.
Like any great soloist, Beck has always been best with an energetic backing group. Even when live musicians were absent on "You Had It Coming" and "Jeff," the dynamism of David Torn and Aiden Love's electronic arrangements gave Beck a playground of noises to respond to. Despite this album's phenomenal backing band, the music and arrangements of "Emotion & Commotion" fail to light a similar fire beneath Beck, keeping his sound all too complacent.
The album opens somberly with a rendition of the medieval folk song "Corpus Christi Carol." Beck's signature style is recognizable from the first waver of vibrato. A 64-piece orchestra swells in to support the guitarist. Classical orchestration is the most dominant component of Beck's latest album. Unfortunately, the arrangements hardly keep Beck on his toes; strings sweep in cloyingly, practically ushering each note from the guitar along a pleasant, predictable path. The pacifying effect on Beck's playing is palpable.
One of Beck's strengths has always been avoiding the traditional sounds of the guitar; his usage of extreme bends, the whammy bar and volume swells all helped him free electric guitar from rock aesthetics. Although these unconventional techniques gave Beck his melodic potential, they're used far too often to retain their potency on "Emotion & Commotion." Beck's swooning interpretations of "Corpus Christi Carol" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" border on the saccharine, hardly recalling the edge that has characterized Beck's output for so many years.
Though one might be tempted to blame Beck's docility on his advancing age, the meekness of the album's backing music is more at fault than anything else. Beck's incendiary playing on "I Put a Spell on You" shows what the guitarist is capable of when he has a spirited vocalist to play off of. Joss Stone's sultry, edgy delivery coaxes an equally expressive solo from Beck, who fills the gaps between her lines with blistering riffs.
"There's No Other Time" is the only other track that pushes Beck. Vinnie Colaiuta's innovative drumming finally breaks the submissive character of the album's rhythm section, guiding the song toward a heavy rock breakdown during the bridge.
Unfortunately, the subdued sound of the album's remaining songs hardly capitalizes on Beck's skills. Most of "Emotion & Commotion" sounds like it had little to do with Beck. The looped percussion and synthesizers of "Never Alone" and "Serene" are more characteristic of backing tracks than the work of such world-class musicians.
At times, the album seems like it was completed before Beck arrived at the studio — that his soloing was his only contribution to the songs. Beck's playing couldn't help but plateau over the stagnant backing tracks, proving that even the greatest guitarists can never be at their best without equally talented musicians behind them.
