At times, the SACD sounds a bit anachronistic, especially when Beck uses 70s guitar effects (most of which he invented and became succcessful commercial products. A 2008 live performance of the track from Ronnie Scott’s gives a particularly good insight into just how involved both the left and right hand techniques are on this song. It’s like taking a bit of vanilla ice cream and pouring something else over it to cover up the vanilla.

Blow by Blow is Jeff Beck's 1975 solo album and considered one of his best releases among fans and colleagues.From the laid-back funk of 'Constipated Duck' to the drowsy heartbreak of Stevie Wonder's 'Cause We've Ended as Lovers' to the tragic grandeur of the eight-minute 'Diamond Dust,' Beck proves beyond the slightest doubt that it was time for him to leave hard rock behind and blaze a trail through the frontier of jazz fusion. Unlike previous efforts JEFF BECK executes flawless performances with each track carrying its weight replete with chunky bass grooves, Jan Hammer meets Herbie Hancock styled keyboard workouts and perfectly executed percussive backing. The live album that he did with the Jan Hammer Group is kind of boring, even though it does have "Freeway Jam" on it. BLOW BY BLOW remains BECK’s all time best seller as well as most respected and revered moment in the sun. Strictly speaking, it was released merely as the B-side to Hi Ho Silver Lining, but even Jeff himself might thank us for not dwelling on that one for too long.

I may come off as a bit too praising on this review, but this is truly an album that needs to be heard. All the members shine on this track, with excellent electric piano from Middleton, hectic drums, and of course brilliant guitar (I'm getting kind of tired of saying that every damn song on this album has unmatched guitar playing. Beck's sidemen are fantastic musicians--in ability well beyond what is normally encountered in the rock idiom. Despite all the perfection of the musicianship, interplay, production and mixing, it’s really the strong material that carries through with a diverse roster of addictive tunes that scream out more fun than a barrel of monkeys.Expertly controlled feedback is used to tip the track into an almost space-age feel, while the jazz-blues progression that meanders underneath tethers Beck’s wild interpretive techniques back to earth and back to the musical traditions he grew up listening to. All in all, I could recommend this to pretty much all jazz-rock fans, most prog rock fans, and people who are looking for some good technical instrumental music. The climactic part of the track builds with layers of unadulterated blues-rock wailing before concluding abruptly at just 2 minutes and 50 seconds. Arriving at a studio to meet with Martin, he arrived to find the producer sifting through outtakes and sounds from the “Day in the Life” sessions. But it was Jeff Beck who would truly define the genre, moving away from his former Rock and Blues based efforts, to this all instrumental album.

the Wonder connection is an interesting one, the two first coming together when Beck contributed a gorgeous solo to "Lookin' For Another Pure Love" on "Talking Book". I guess at that time I wanted some solidification; I had to be playing a tune, not just abstract flurries of noise. While not as lightning fast as John McLaughlin or John Abercrombie, BECK rather focused on a diverse palette of tones, timbres and mood setting licks that defined him as a true original.Stevie also apparently thought about giving Beck first dibs on "Superstition" but quite rightly nixed that, no doubt the minute he played back his own version. The reason I say “attempt” is because exact details about what Beck used on that album are hard to come by. Wonder and Beck had become friends a few years earlier and collaborated on Wonder’s 1972 record Talking Book. He so skillfully validates the geezers who claim tone is in the fingers, and while I can't live happy knowing that, I can live happy knowing that Beck fucking rocks. That said, taken as a whole, I did quite enjoy the set although having said thay, I don't see me Mahavishnuing my way around the genre too much from here.