JEFF BECK GROUP [AKA: ORANGE ALBUM]

Sometimes referred as the Orange album (due to the fruit's presence), this second self-titled album is in the same mould as its predecessor, but I seem to like it better due to songs that move more than on R&R. With a no-less boring artwork than his preceding album and an unchanged line-up, I find that Orange holds some much better "tunes", but also some relatively weak ones as well, making it a rougher ride than the R&R debut album.

Starting on the delightful Ice Cream Cakes (hear Beck's genius in his opening wails) and all the way to the exhilarating Going Down (these two tracks with a more expressive singer would've been complete and utmost killers), this album shows a group that is now become even tighter. More concise songwriting a bit at the expense of the instrumental prowess (even though highways leave Jeff and Max some real space to expand. Sugarcane is a good funky track, but no more. The closing Definitely Maybe is also an apt closer with its slow pace and slowly evolving into a jazzy floating ending: good end but not really in phase with the rest of the album.

Somehow, this album sounds like it is the group's last one, as if they were emptied from ideas (let's face it, there are more than a few fillers on this album) and about to collapse. Jeff Beck would then go on to form the much-awaited group (since 69) with Carmine Appice and bassist Tim Bogert (ex-Vanilla Fudge and Cactus), but alas this group would not succeed artistically any better than this one. Still worth getting an ear on it as with its predecessor! Try finding these two albums on a 2 on 1 Cd deal.