Jeff Beck once killed a man in Reno just to watch him die. No, really… well. no not really. But the big guy is a German American from Arkansas and a lover of food (I bet -his description of a Ham he cooked makes your mouth water!) and of music and here is his top five albums from around a year ago, which I swiped without permission:
1. Elton John- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
2. Beatles- Revolver
3. The Who- Who’s Next
4. Tracy Chapman- Tracy Chapman
5. Natalie Merchant- Tigerlilly
But that is not why we are here, we are here to hear five songs Jeff was listening to when I asked him what he was listening to!
Rikki Don’t Lose That Number- Steely Dan – Did you know there are people who don’t love Steely Dan, the band are a bit too anal retentive, a bit too clever clogs, they can get ponderous live (though I’ve seen em five times and they only sucked once… ) but I got lucky, the first time was in the first row at Roseland in 199something and loved them live ever since. This is the first song on the genius that is Pretzel Logic, an album I would consider their best but really… where do you stop? About as straightforward a love song as they are capable of – A
Summer Breeze- Seals and Croft – Sure, I hate Seals And Crofts soft rock. So do you. They make Bread sound like the Stones. But not this song, a terrific set up for Frank Sinatra’s “Summer Wind” and an aching joy in the summertime – A
Scenes From an Italian Restaurant- Billy Joel – I swear I love Billy Joel, I am going to see him for THE THIRD TIME IN A YEAR on January 9th, so yeah, I think he is terrific. Just not this song – C
Downbound Train- Bruce Springsteen – At first I thought Jeff was getting cute and referencing Bruce’s Waits cover off the live album, this is the deep Born In The USA cut. Kurt Vile has an awesome cover you should search out – B+
Overkill- Men at Work – This is a great pop rocker, it is better than “Who Can It Be Now” – B+
So, now leave me alone and if you follow me on Spotify, it is all a mistake, I haven’t been listening to “Summer Breeze” for the past 45 minutes. Thank you Jeff. Thank you very very much!
