Track Listing

1. What Mama Said
2. Psycho Sam
3. Brush With The Blues
4. Blast From The East
5. Space For The Papa
6. Angel Footsteps
7. THX 138
8. Hipnotica
9. Even Odds
10. Declan
11. Another Place

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11554 in Music
• Released on: 2001-01-01
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
If the album title seems self-assured, it's only truth in labelling. For his last album of the millennium, rock's greatest guitarist teams with an old compatriot (keyboardist Tony Hymas, a staple since 1980's There and Back who co-produces here with Beck) and one of his musical godchildren (Jennifer Battin, long-time tour guitarist for Michael Jackson). The result is a rough musical travelogue of the 80s and 90s that occasionally turns down a dead end. The synth-sequenced backdrops and terse phrasings of "Psycho-Sam", "Blast from the East", and "THX138" recall the fusion reactions on Wired and There and Back (and pose a seemingly heretical notion: did Beck invent techno?). "Space for the Papa" recalls the no-frills structure of Guitar Shop. "Angel (Footsteps)" showcases Beck's unique tone and phrasing, evoking Santo and Johnny swinging on a star, while "Another Place" offers up elegant classicism. "Hip-Notica" proves there's still funk in Beck's blood, even if "Declan" gets mired in New Age overkill. But Beck's shortcomings have traditionally come in framing his incendiary prowess and emotional directness. As a high-profile collaborator once put it, "You fast-forward through that stuff to get to the solos." In that department, Who Else! delivers. The live, unadorned "Brush with the Blues" lets him elevate masterfully subtle riffing into a firestorm of a solo. "Even Odds" (a reunion with Jan Hammer) and "Space" show what a mockery the musician can make of otherwise useful terms such as noise and tonality. If Who Else! occasionally stumbles, it's good to remember what a critic once said of the Marx Brothers: "They never made a film as good as they really were." Beck has made great albums, but few to match his genius as a musician. --Jerry McCulley

CD Description
Jeff Beck's first all-instrumental album in a decade finds him tossing a few contemporary peppers into his pot of musical virtuosity. Reuniting once again with GUITAR SHOP keyboardist Tony Hymas, Beck maintains a balance between contemporary, Art Of Noise-flavoured tracks ("Space For The Papa", "TX138") complete with delays, techno beats and looped guitars,and a reunion with '70s fusion running buddy Jan Hammer on the heavier, Van Halen-esque "Even Odds". Beck's musical range continues to impress as he easily moves between emotive blues phrasing ("Brush With The Blues"), fleet-fingered noodling ("Blast From The East") and more ethereal numbers that bring to mind Carlos Santana's solo work ("Hip-Notica".)
Beck's talent truly shines when he tackles Donal Lunny's "Declan". On it, guitar histrionics give way to Celtic arrangements that find Beck's guitar delicately dancing with Clive Bell's flute as images of foggy moors and rolling green hillsfloat along. The brief solo piece "Another Place" could have been be an Adrian Legg outtake.

Customer Reviews

My 3rd fave album of 1999!
I like tricking people. I tell my alternative/indie/grunge loving friends that I'm going to play them something by 'Beck'. Naturally, they think of Beck "Odelay" Hansen - I merely omitt certain details and stick on this album. 50% of the time, I get a "what the hell was that rubbish?" - the other times, I get "I never knew Beck Hansen could play guitar like that!" (hee hee).

Okay - now onto the REAL Beck... JEFF Beck! I bought the album merely just to see what he was like. I enjoy listening to good guitarists, and Jeff's reputation fueled my curiosity. Expecting some blusy/rocky guitar instrumentals, I was a bit surprised to hear the bluesy/rocky guitar instrumentals fused with a bit of techno. Normally, that would warrant a visit to the record shop for a refund, but this album had something most other rock/techno fusions lacked - diversity. The techno elements die out as the album progresses, and in any case, it isn't the head-thumping parent-annoying migraine-forming music that adorns 150 cheapo-nasty compilations every summer. It merely adds fuel to Beck's (that's JEFF Beck - not the other guy) guitar fire. My highlights? "What Mama Said" for its furious guitar, "Brush with the Blues" for Jeff's singing guitar solo towards the end, and "Blast from the East" for it's nicely-paced rhythm and impeccable guitar.

Like guitar? Love Beck. Er.. sorry... JEFF Beck.

Has a couple of gems and is generally satisfying
Jeff Beck fans have to wait so long between offerings of new studio material that they are usually grateful for anything the guitar master serves up. This reviewer was generally pleased with the latest album, `Who Else!', even though it does not work as an integrated, organic whole.

There are some great moments with the sonic blast represented by `What Mama Said' and `THX 138', the syncopations and Eastern melodies of `Blast from the East', tasty slide work in `Angel', beautiful whammy bar legato lines in `Declan' or the quintessential Beck phrasing and raw blues energy in `Brush with the Blues'.

However, Jan Hammer's `Even Odds' does not deserve to be on the album and and its stiff drum programming sounds very dated. Moreover, it does nothing for Beck's guitar playing. `Hip-Notica' is another disappointing piece: it goes nowhere.

As far as `the band' goes, Tony Hymas is as solid as ever and Beck has another great drummer here in Steve Alexander. It would have been nice to hear the bass player (Randy Hope-Taylor) featured more prominently, and the same holds true for the talented guitarist Jennifer Batten.

Despite these criticisms, the album is a good one and should satisfy Beck and/or guitar fans as well as music lovers in general. The influence of techno music and the use of sequencing in some of the pieces may take a little getting used to, but at least Beck continues to challenge himself and his listeners.

The guitar slinging chameleon strikes again...
Jeff Beck is truly one of the most excellent, innovative and intresting players around. He was there at the dawn of the "British Invasion" crafting the rock & roll we came to know and love with a few other helpful types (Like Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton) but unlike them he never got the same critical acclaim, why? Because he never stuck to a genre, and this is a perfect example of why he shouldn't, because no matter what he turns his hand to it seems to sound good.

Bluesy rock or jazz/fusion this aint, but what it IS is a fusion of the pounding kind of energy you'd find on the dancefloor of a night club fused with some excellent guitar playing. "Brush with the Blues" is obviously bluesy, but a lot of it sounds almost like Jeff and the Prodigy jamming, and it proves that genres you'd never think would work.... can work.

Jeff is widely hailed as the Godfather of instrumental rock, and this album is one of many good examples of why this is. He's ever changing but never dissapointing. Though I must say you'd have to be eclectic in your tastes to enjoy everything he's done. But if you know what to expect or listen with an open mind even a Yarbirds fan (like me) can get into this and realise how good it is.