Who Else

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. THX138
8. Hip Notica
9. Even Odds
10. Declan
11. Another Place

Recensione

Jeff Beck goes techno. No, we're not making this up. Beck's first album of new material in a decade is another collection of instrumentals featuring perpetual sidekick Tony Hymas, who co-produced and wrote almost everything (sometimes with Beck). Half the tracks sport pounding techno beats, and although it's basically amusing ("What Mama Said"; "THX138"), often it's a deafening bore - Beck is louder and harder-edged than ever here ("Space For The Papa"). But they do serve up plenty of sharp stuff that isn't techno by any means: a mellow guitar solo ("Another Place"); a herky-jerky funk groove with odd timing and slithery riffs ("Blast From The East"); a couple of down-tempo blues (the understated "Brush With The Blues"; the insistent, jazzy "Hip-Notica"); a mournful Irish tune, complete with a smothering New Age guest band ("Declan"); and a lyrical, almost orchestrally spacey synth-ballad harking back to the 70s ("Angel (Footsteps)").

The running times are often over-long, and none of this ranks with his greatest instrumentals - but it's a heck of a lot more listenable than his last few records. Jan Hammer wrote and mostly performed one tune (the 80s prog rock-style "Even Odds"); Pino Palladino and Manu Katché guest on "Psycho Sam" (another blaring techno-rock hybrid). The band is Hymas (keyboards), Randy Hope-Taylor (bass), Steve Alexander (drums), and Jennifer Batten.