This year, Every Sunday Evening, Album Rock WXYG, The GOAT will be featuring a full album at 8:00 PM from the halcyon musical days of 1976. 1976 was one of the top Years in Album Rock history. Another year of tough choices every week. So many great ones to choose from. After 52 Weeks of featuring so many of the great albums that debuted in 1975, next Sunday we will be moving on to another amazing year of ALBUM ROCK EXCELLENCE, 1976.
If you love electric guitar played by one of the top impresarios of all time, you will want to Tune in at 8:00 PM, Next Sunday Evening, August 9th for “Wired”, the second solo album by Jeff Beck, released on Epic Records in 1976. An instrumental album, it peaked at No.16 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the RIAA.
Of the album tracks, four are originals by Narada Michael Walden and one by Jan Hammer. According to popular belief Max Middleton contributed the homage to Led Zeppelin, "Led Boots", however the keyboardist said it had nothing to do with Led Zeppelin. Jeff Beck chose to interpret the Charles Mingus ode to saxophonist Lester Young, "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", from the classic 1959 jazz album Mingus Ah Um. These last two tracks were long-time staples of Beck's performance repertoire.
Jeff Beck's Wired contains some of the best jazz-rock fusion ever recorded. Wired is generally more muscular than its predecessor, Blow by Blow. Joining keyboardist Max Middleton, drummer Richard Bailey, and producer George Martin from the Blow by Blow sessions are drummer Narada Michael Walden, bassist Wilbur Bascomb, and keyboardist Jan Hammer. Beck contributed no original material to Wired, instead relying on the considerable talents of his supporting cast. Walden's powerful drumming propels much of Wired, particularly Middleton's explosive opener, "Led Boots," where Beck erupts into a stunning solo of volcanic intensity. Walden also contributes four compositions, including the funk-infused "Come Dancing," which adds an unnamed horn section. Walden's "Play With Me" is spirited and Hammer's soloing melodic. Acoustic guitar and piano predominate the closing ballad, "Love Is Green"; Beck's electric solo gracefully massages the quiet timbres. Wired is well balanced by looser, riff-oriented material and Walden's more intricate compositions. Walden and Hammer give Wired a '70s-era jazz-rock flavor that is indicative of their work with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Bascomb's throw-down, "Head for Backstage Pass," finds Bailey skillfully navigating the mixed meters while Beck counters with a dazzling, gritty solo. Hammer's "Blue Wind" features an infectious riff over which Beck and Hammer trade heated salvos. One of Wired's finest tracks is an arrangement of Charles Mingus' "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat." Beck's playing is particularly alluring: cleanly ringing tones, weeping bends, and sculpted feedback form a resonant palette. Bailey and Middleton lend supple support. Within a two-year span, the twin towers Blow by Blow and Wired set a standard for instrumental rock that even Beck has found difficult to match. On Wired, with first-rate material and collaborators on hand, one of rock's most compelling guitarists of all time is in top form.
Tune In and Turn On the evening of Sunday, August 9th at 8:00 PM for The GOAT'S "The Long Play with Al Neff”.
