TRUTH

JEFF BECK ( 24 June 1944 - 10 January 2023 R.I.P. ) was one of rock music's most revered guitarists after his rise to fame in the Yardbirds and enjoyed a successful solo career that lasted up to his very last years in the 2020s. In addition to fronting his own JEFF BECK GROUP, he also was the main impetus for the short-lived Beck, Bogart & Apprice super trio that released a sole album in the early 1970s. Famous for his unique guitar techniques that could emulate a human voice and other effects, BECK perhaps is best known for his two jazz-rock albums "Blow By Blow" and "Wired" which rank high on guitarists all time best albums lists. The man was well loved in the music business and by fans alike. It seemed he was immortal but sadly on 10 January 2023 BECK passed away from bacterial meningitis or at least that is the official report.

A death of a famous artist always makes me realize that i haven't taken the time to explore their life's work as much as i should have. Like most i've experienced BECK's jazz-rock albums of the mid- to late-1970s but have been utterly clueless about the early albums or even the ones from the 80s to the present. Might as well start at the beginning with this debut release TRUTH which emerged in 1968 and is unlike anything from BECK's jazz-rock albums that came later. BECK left the Yardbirds in 1966 and released three singles after. Two featured him as the lead singer and one was the instrumental. Despite all having been hits on the British charts, BECK decided that a more accomplished vocalist was needed for a true band project. TRUTH is most famous for BECK recruiting Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, both of whom would go on to form the successful band Faces.

This album of 10 tracks didn't find BECK at his most creative moment with most of the tracks being covers albeit an eclectic assortment. The album featured a lengthy list of guest musicians including Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones who would form Led Zeppelin the very month that TRUTH was released in July 1968. The album's style was basically the same blues rock that made the Yardbirds famous albeit with a heavier presentation and although some metalheads have tried to claim TRUTH as the first heavy metal album, this music is more akin to the music of the band Faces only with more emphasis on a boogie groove, an attribute that BECK never lost during his many stylistic shifts.

In many ways TRUTH was BECK's tribute to past masters as it was a declaration of independence. The album features the covers of "Ol' Man River" by Jerome Kern, the Tudor period melody "Greensleeves", and Bonnie Dobson's "Morning Dew", a 1966 hit single for Tim Rose. Beck acknowledged two giants of Chicago blues in songs by Willie Dixon ? Muddy Waters' "You Shook Me" and Howlin' Wolf's "I Ain't Superstitious". The album started with "Shapes of Things", a song from Beck's old band. Only three originals were included and credited to Jeffrey Rod which was basically the duo of BECK and Rod Stewart. Page wrote "Beck's Bolero" and later editions of the album featured a number of bonus tracks.

TRUTH is basically a good old-fashioned 1960s bluesy rock album that doesn't sound too distant from what Led Zeppelin would crank out as a debut only less accomplished and of course less creative. More of a celebration of the blues in the context of rock music, TRUTH was hardly BECK's swan song that found him rising to his true potential. For that he'd have to leave the JEFF BECK GROUP behind and reinvent himself with the 1975 classic "Blow By Blow" which showcased BECK as one of the world's greatest guitarists. Although not BECK's creme de la creme, TRUTH is a nice blues album rock to transport you to that special year of 1968 when the blues still had a firm grip on the blossoming world of rock music. Rod Stewart sounded in top form and all tracks are executed nicely. This album was very much in line with what John Mayall's Bluesbreakers were all about during the day. A worthy start but better things were destined for this guitar god. JEFF BECK will be missed by all.

3.5 stars but rounded down