Wired - JEFF BECK***

Led Boots/Come Dancing/Goodbye Pork Pie Hat/Head For Backstage Pass/Blue Wind/Sophie/Play With Me/Love Is Green

With Wired Jeff Beck moves further away from rock territory into the world of jazz-rock fusion, probably alienating his fan base in the process. His collaborator is Czech keyboardist Jan Hammer. (US:16 UK:38)

“Beck's foray into fusion is evergreen for me. No matter how much waffle the genre may appear from the outside, Beck inhabited it and gave it wallop and a wonderful wistfulness. Starting with brilliantly heavy staccato pummelling of Led Boots and finishing off with the beautiful Love Is Green, the whole thing is a gloriously consistent jazz-rock fantasy.”

“Jeff Beck doesn't just continue his previous flirtations with jazz fusion, he improves upon it. Maybe it's the extensive contributions from keyboardist Jan Hammer, but I get a real Mahavishnu groove when I play this one. Beck really shows his stuff here both as a guitarist and band leader.”

“More instrumental jazz-rock fusion from Jeff, definitely much more jazz this time round and as a result Wired doesn't possess Blow By Blow’s crossover appeal, nor is it as attractive or coherent as the previous record.”

“When you listen to this, you have to ask yourself what has happened to the art of guitar playing. The skill and excitement just blow away anything created today. Are today's young artists just spoiled by all the technological toys around so that no great new guitarists will ever emerge again? Or are they out making music as great as this but we never get to hear of them?”

“Wired is the second, and best, of a pair of revolutionary albums that were a true turning point in Jeff Beck's career and a real landmark in the world of jazz fusion. Former Yardbird's guitar pioneer Jeff Beck had grown tired of, and disenchanted with the rock format, and branched fully out into jazz fusion with spectacular results, while absolutely proving his supremacy as one of the greatest guitarists of all time.”

“This is an excellent album that sums up what great guitar playing in a jazz/rock setting can do. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat and Love Is Green are very melodic and lush. For anyone wanting to check out the genre of jazz/rock and great guitar playing, I recommend this album.”