28th...Dance music for a night at the Club

You Had It Coming. Four stars.

To date, this CD from 2000 and '73s collaboration with Bogert and Appice are the only Jeff Beck I've been exposed to. That's it. 56 years old, making noise on the guitar, utilising techno and with exactly one non-instrumental track, Jeff Beck acknowledged straight-off that this CD is of interest only to "a very narrow market."

Earthquake defines the whole sound. It would seem your usual repetitive, electronic groove with canned voice, but for Jeff's loud, essentially improvised guitar. This one is like the chase theme in a Bourne-type thriller - pursuer and pursued dodging through the crowds, the breathless pause when one has seemed to give the other the slip, then Bam! they're off again.

Roy's Toy uses occasional (loud) spurts of engine noise to set off and distinguish one of the most melodically intricate of the "Club" tracks and therefore one of my favorites. It reinvents itself frequently, sustaining replay value.

More noisy guitar on Dirty Mind, which uses a woman's fast breathing as percussion (!?) Talk about gimmicks that fail. When the loop is buried and turned off, the music actually gets good.

Old blues chestnut Rollin' and Tumblin' gets a thoroughly modern, rocking treatment, guesting Imogen Heap. She's got a good voice; makes it a good song.

Things finally slow down with Nadia, in which Jeff turns the electric guitar into a world music instrument. The rendering of India into sound is exquisite considering that no traditional instruments are utilised. Standout.

We return to our great night at the Club with Loose Cannon, a grungier entry and the longest track. If you liked the earlier tunes, you'll like this entry. What more can be said?

Rosebud has an almost country-rock thing going on, but it is problematically repetitive. Nothing happens. "Oh, here's a riff. We'll use that."

Left Hook is the last of the same stuff. Wonderfully interesting guitar, so of course it's good. The fast paced fadeout if a lot of fun.

The tour de force is Blackbird/Suspension. Blackbird is a quiet, one minute duet with the same. A cherished moment whose shortness adds to its sweetness, and the simplicity of the concept adds to its elegance.

Suspension is the drifting end note. Memories fished out while it plays become extraordinarily vivid, making it one of the most haunting instrumentals I've ever heard.

Short review, I'm afraid, but the sameness is a flaw. You Had It Coming spends most of its time in one place, doing one thing. What variety there is makes one hanker for a little more. If a Club isn't handy, play it while housecleaning.