JEFF BECK GROUP [AKA: ORANGE ALBUM]

I find this album more easy going than the previous album Rough and Ready. It is also more polished and commercially oriented. There should could have been fewer cover songs considering the strength of the band. The band sounds cohesive and more relaxed. The instrumental moments are very precious although there is no denying that the singer tries hard to sound soulful. The later jazz-rock influences and a few Stevie Wonder moves (most apparently the cover version of Got to have a song) are creeping in. I find the catchy Going down going on for too long and vice-versa, the last two tracks could have been longer, as they are instrumentally and compositionally interesting pieces of music. The guitar soloing in the last song is emotional and still technically solid. Still not that much for a proghead but enough for 3 stars.