TRUTH

There's Jeff Beck, one of the best guitarists ever. Accompanied by Rod Stewart and his great voice. Bass played by later to be Rolling Stone Ron Wood. Rounded out by drummer Micky Waller. With guest appearances from Nicky Hopkins, The Who's Keith Moon and (soon to be) LedZep greats Jimmy Page & John Paul Jones.

Looks good, eh? It is too.

The opener, a version of the Yardbirds 'Shapes Of Things' is said to have set the template for heavy blues. It blows the original out of the water. Other re-workings include classics 'Morning Dew', 'You Shook Me', 'Ol' Man River', 'Greensleeves' and 'I Ain't Superstitious' which are all great songs. The originals which cover the rest of the album show quite a bit of diversity and are all excellent tracks in their own rights. Some consider 'Truth' to be one of the very first heavy metal albums and even early Led Zeppelin borrowed quite heavily from this record.

My version (2005) also includes these bonus tracks:

I've Been Drinking (stereo mix) Originally a mono B-side to "Love Is Blue", this is a great blues ballad sung by Rod. A heart-broken man and his bottle, the classic setup. Actually a re-working of Dinah Washington's "Drinking Again". Very good song and a strong performance from Stewart.

You Shook Me (take 1) This is without piano (overdubbed on the final version) but it doesn't take anything away from the song.

Rock My Plimsoul (stereo mix) A faster version and as so, about 30 seconds shorter. Still a great song.

(Beck's) Bolero (mono single version with backwards guitar) Some seconds longer than the original. Pretty cool, though I haven't explored the differences very thoroughly.

Blues De Luxe (take 1) The main difference here is the lack of the live feel (created originally with 3 sets of sound effects). Still the same song, still great.

Tallyman Originally released as a single, the Graham Gouldman song "Tallyman" is a more traditional 60's pop tune. Different from the other material but works.

Love Is Blue This song should sound atleast vaguely familiar to most. The second of Beck's singles here is originally known as "L'Amour Est Bleu".

Hi Ho Silver Lining (stereo mix) And another one you should all know. Third of the bonus singles featured here and a pop classic.

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Highly recommended to fans of blues rock and just plain damn good guitar playing. Not an essential piece of prog I guess but five stars, no less.

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