Jeff Beck: Live In Tokyo (DVD REVIEW)

There is a moment in the recently released DVD, Jeff Beck: Live In Tokyo, when it really hits home that Beck is indeed a genius. It’s not when he’s driving through a rocker like “Big Block” or rockabilly jazzing in “Rollin’ & Tumblin’” or even when he’s giving homage to John Lennon on “A Day In The Life.” It’s when he is so quiet and the notes are so delicate they could shatter at the slightest touch. That is when all the years of hype about Beck’s immense artistry on the guitar solidifies in your mind. He is a genius.

Filmed in April of last year at the Tokyo Dome City Hall, this is Jeff Beck at probably his most mature. Nothing is rushed, nothing is overly lit, nothing is fake. It’s Beck accompanied by three very strong musicians (guitarist Nicolas Meier, bassist Rhonda Smith and drummer Jonathan Joseph) performing in synch to compositions by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Muddy Waters, Charles Mingus, Stevie Wonder and Beck himself. Eagle Rock Entertainment is on a roll, after having released two sparkling gems out of the Rolling Stones vault, a remastering of an old unfinished Doors film (Feast Of Friends) and the tour documentary, Eric Clapton: Planes, Trains & Eric. With the pristine subtlety of not only the performance itself but the visuality of the actual film, Eagle Rock has definitely made itself into the number one medium for music-oriented DVDs.

Beck represents his catalog very well without rehashing every little chord. “I want to stay on the wrong side of the tracks,” he once told Mojo Magazine as requoted in the liner notes. “All I really want people to see is somebody doing something in a unique way.” And that is how Beck has walked through his rock & roll odyssey. From the Yardbirds to the Jeff Beck Group to Beck, Bogert & Appice; from Beck-Ola to Blow By Blow to Flash, the man from Wallington, England, who was friends with Jimmy Page when they were just mere lads in school, has innovated the guitar like he now works on his classic cars: lovingly meticulous.

Opening with a charging bull “Loaded,” a song Beck talks about in one of the bonus features as being something that helps him kind of get over the nerves of a new show, is the perfect call as it teases you into thinking that Beck is just going to roll over everything in the set with a fast-paced, sweat-dropping ensemble of instrumental songs highlighting the lightning in his fingers. Wrong! He has calculated his moves like a chemist pouring each element at the precise moment. “Loaded” is followed by Hendrix’s “Little Wing” while the boom of “Big Block” segues into “A Day In The Life.” He’s fast, he’s quiet, he’s rockabilly, he’s Jazz fusion, he’s funky, he’s ambitious without the ego; all in the appropriate order.

Beck’s band gives him the atmosphere in which to soar. Meier’s guitar work alone is worth seeing this DVD for, as he brings a classical balm of serenity to many of the tunes; most especially on his own composition, “Yemin,” a breathtaking Turkish-inspired lullaby of the spirit and sounds of his wife’s homeland. Accompanied with Beck, it becomes a tingling highlight of the set. In fact, the majority of the highlights here are those delicate moments where the notes and the chords and the solemnity of what they create, come together in a whispered spiritual convergence. Whereas Steve Hunter once told me, “If you don’t leave space, the note doesn’t have any dimension,” Beck is sometimes overlooked when it comes to these qualities. But they are shockingly noticed here on “Angel (Footsteps),” “Where Were You,” “Corpus Christi” and “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers.” And on a song such as “You Know, You Know,” where timing amongst the band is everything, you really get the full spectrum of what Beck can do when he is amongst musicians who also know what the aforementioned dimensions can mean.

So should you buy this DVD? Absolutely. It also contains two short bonus features. The Setlist Commentary features all four musicians discussing different songs, explaining backstories or what the song calls for when presented live. It’s nice to have drummer Jonathan Joseph talk about drummer Billy Cobham’s “Stratus” and Rhonda Smith explaining her love of playing the fretless bass, instead of Beck doing a routine walkthrough of each track. The second of the bonus features is called Band On Band and it’s simply each of them talking about the other. And although there aren’t a whole lot of physical fireworks onstage – just the band playing – you do get plenty of close-ups on Beck’s hands and for the guitar enthusiast this is a wellspring tutorial.

You could find other ways to spend a few hours of your afternoon but kicking back and riding this Beck wave couldn’t come more highly recommended.