FREEWAY JAM - TO BECK AND BACK

	Freeway Jam - To Beck And Back
	Produced by Jeff Richman
	Released on July 17, 2007
	no chart information
	Find it at GEMM
TC-4057 2 cover [high resolution scan]

T he question on the table isn’t whether Jeff Beck is a great guitarist or whether the ten guitarists who pay him tribute here are great guitarists. The question is whether the product (Freeway Jam) is worth the price ($14 give or take). And the answer depends on whether you like to listen to musicians or whether you like to listen to music. If it’s the former, fork over the fourteen dollars. Greg Howe is gregarious. Mike Stern is mellow. Chris Duarte is mesmerizing. John Scofield is genius articulated. Et cetera, down the line. But if you like to listen to music, the only thing on here that rocked my world was “Beck’s Bolero.” What I’ve gained after listening to this and Viva Santana (Richman’s earlier fret-for-all) isn’t a deeper appreciation for Carlos Santana or Jeff Beck but a deeper appreciation for Eric Johnson. Go figure. Beck may be the guitarist’s guitarist, but he has never been a composer’s composer. (Oddly, this release doesn’t list songwriting credits anywhere.) What’s lacking in these versions of “The Pump” and “Led Boots” may have been missing all along. Steve Morse, Scofield, Stern, Duarte and Howe hand in excellent performances. Eric Johnson shines. Jeff Richman and the backing band are rock solid. Guitar aficionados who like to sink their teeth into mouth-watering chops won’t be disappointed with the Tone Center tribute series. Santana, Beck, John Coltrane, John McLaughlin, Steely Dan, those are some big boots to fill. Freeway Jam fills them while leaving plenty of wiggle room for the guest artists.

TRACK LISTING

FREEWAY JAM
OVER UNDER SIDEWAYS DOWN
BECK'S BOLERO
LED BOOTS
EL BECKO
DIAMOND DUST
THE PUMP
BEHIND THE VEIL
BLUE WIND
BRUSH WITH THE BLUES

All songs arranged by Jeff Richman

CREDITS

JEFF RICHMAN -- rhythm guitar, guitar soloist (5)
VINNIE COLAIUTA -- drums
MITCHEL FORMAN -- keyboards
STU HAMM -- bass
SIMON PHILLIPS -- drums, engineer, mixing
Chris Duarte -- guitar soloist (8)
Warren Haynes -- guitar soloist (7)
Greg Howe -- guitar soloist (9)
Eric Johnson -- guitar soloist (3)
Steve Morse -- guitar soloist (1)
Adam Rogers -- guitar soloist (4)
John Scofield -- guitar soloist (2)
Mike Stern -- guitar soloist (6)
Walter Trout -- guitar soloist (10)
Mike Varney -- executive producer
Paul Tavenner -- mixing
Scott Cresswell -- engineer (2)
Richard Mullen -- engineer (3)
Ken Wallace -- engineer
Simeon Spiegel -- engineer (10)
Dave Stephens -- art direction and design

REGION	RELEASE DATE	LABEL	MEDIA	ID NUMBER	FEATURES
US	July 17, 2007	Tone Center	CD	TC-4057

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