Jeff Beck / Australia 2014 / 5CDR

Jeff Beck / Australia 2014 / 5CDR / Non Label
25th Annual Byron Bay Bluesfest, Tyagarah, NSW, Australia 19th April 2014
Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia 21st April 2014
Hamer Hall, Melbourne, Australia 22nd April 2014

Play sample :

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It was Australia that Jeff Beck’s party, who finished the Japanese performance in 2015 with great popularity, headed next. This board is a live performance at Byron Bay Blues Fest held at Tiagra Tea Tree Farm on April 19th, and Sydney on April 21st and Melbourne on April 22nd, each with a local taper. It is a 5-disc set title recorded in an audience recording.

First of all, the stage at Byron Bay Blues Fest on Disc 1. On the third day of the festival, which was held for five consecutive days from the 17th to the 21st, Jeff appeared on the stage on Saturday, in front of a large outdoor crowd, and let us listen to the passionate play he showed during the Japan tour. increase. Because it is a festival, it is a compact stage that is slightly shorter than the main stage, at 80 minutes, but you can listen to a wonderful live performance that is very rich in content. Perhaps because of the outdoors, I removed the mellow tunes such as Angel (Footsteps), Goodbye Pork Pie Hat ~ Brush With The Blues, and Choral, and arranged grooved numbers. (After all, Pump, Blue Wind remains set) In such a situation, you can hear Beck’s dramatic play, as well as You Know You Know’s Ronda’s intense bass solo. Covers such as Little Wing, Danny Boy, and A Day In The Life are very effective at festivals where many general fans are gathered. Encore is not Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers, but I Put A Spell On You, where Joss Stone participates as a guest and listens to intense vocals. Close the live with a powerful and moving performance. As for the sound quality, it is a clear and excellent recording, although it makes you feel a moderate sense of distance, and it is the best take, probably because the taper is different in this set. The sound is easy to listen to.

The following discs 2 to 5 are Sydney and Melbourne performances held on the 21st and 22nd. For both performances, the set removes Goodbye Pork Pie Hat ~ Brush With The Blues from the latter half of the Japan tour, and instead enters A Change Is Gonna Come, where John Hurt is the vocal and the guitar of the heart band. ‘s John Nicholas is a guest. John Hurt will appear again in Encore’s Going Down, but his soulful singing voice is wonderful and directs a wonderful listening point in the show. Both performances were recorded by the same person, Sydney in the front row and Melbourne in the fifth row. Perhaps the sound was too close in Sydney, there is some distortion in the peak zone, but please rest assured that it is a level that you can listen to normally. Both the show and the play are really wonderful, but in rare places, Jeff made a mistake in the configuration at 4:14 in the latter half of Stratus, and after that you can hear how it becomes mellow. Melbourne was recorded with an appropriate sound balance, but it is a pity that You Never Know’s head is missing.

To be honest, after listening to the impregnable Japanese performance recordings that were released in rapid succession at the time, I can’t shake the impression that the sound is sober and lacks clarity (well, it’s not that bad. However), for fans who want to track Jeff’s live record, it can be said that it is the best set to know what the Australian performance was like after the Japanese performance. A must-have 5-disc set for collectors with high documentary value.

2015年の日本公演を大好評のうちに終了させたジェフ・ベック御一行が次に向かったのはオーストラリア。本盤は、4月19日、タイアグラ・ティー・ツリー・ファームで行われたバイロン・ベイ・ブルース・フェストでのライヴ、そして4月21日のシドニー、22日のメルボルンを、それぞれ現地テーパーによる良好なオーディエンス録音にて収録した５枚組タイトルです。

まずはディスク１のバイロン・ベイ・ブルース・フェストでのステージ。17日から21日まで5日連続で行われたフェスの3日目、土曜日のステージに登場したジェフは、野外の大観衆の前で、日本公演で見せてくれた熱いプレイを聴かせてくれます。フェスゆえ、80分と、本ステージに比べ若干短めのコンパクトなステージですが、非常に内容の濃い見事なライヴを聴かせてくれます。野外ゆえか、Angel (Footsteps)、Goodbye Pork Pie Hat～ Brush With The Blues、Choralと言ったメロウチューンを外し、グルーブの効いたナンバーを並べています。（やはりPump, Blue Windはセット落ちのまま）こういう状況ですと、ベックのドラマチックなプレイはもちろんですが、You Know You Knowのロンダの強烈なベースソロで大受けしている様子が聴けます。Little Wing、Danny Boy、A Day In The Life と言ったカバーは、一般のファンも多数集結しているフェスでは非常に効果的な様子です。アンコールはCause We’ve Ended As Loversではなく、ジョス・ストーンがゲスト参加し強烈なボーカルを聴かせるI Put A Spell On You。迫力満点の感動的演奏でライヴを締めます。音質ですが、適度な距離感を感じさせるものの、クリアーで優れた録音であり、今回のセットではテーパーが違うせいか、最も優秀なテイクです。聴きやすいサウンドです。

続いてのディスク２～５は、21日と22日と連日公演で行われたシドニーとメルボルン公演。セットは、両公演ともに、日本ツアー後半のものから、Goodbye Pork Pie Hat～ Brush With The Bluesを外し、代わりにA Change Is Gonna Comeが入り、そこではジョン・ハートがボーカルで、ハートのバンドのギターのジョン・ニコラスがゲスト参加しています。ジョン・ハートはアンコールのGoing Downでも再度登場しますが、ソウルフルな見事な歌声は素晴らしく、ショウの中での見事な聞かせどころを演出しています。両公演とも録音者は同じでシドニーは最前列、メルボルンは5列目での録音とのこと。シドニーは音が近すぎたのか、ピークゾーンでやや歪みがありますが、普通に聴けるレベルですのでご安心ください。ショウもプレイも実に素晴らしいですが、珍しいところではStratusの後半4:14でジェフが構成を間違い、以降は、メロメロになってしまう様子を聴くことが出来ます。メルボルンは適正な音バランスで録音されていますがYou Never Knowの頭欠けと言う失点が残念。

正直、3公演ともに、当時連発リリースされた、鉄壁な日本公演録音を聴いた後では、どうにもクリアさに欠けるというか、地味な音の印象は拭えませんが(まぁ、それほど悪くはないのですが）、ジェフのライヴ記録を追跡したいファンにとっては、日本公演後のオーストラリア公演の様子がどんな感じだったか伺い知るには、最適なセットと言えるでしょう。資料的価値も高いコレクター必携の5枚組。

25th Annual Byron Bay Bluesfest, Tyagarah, NSW, Australia 19th April 2014

Disc 1 (79:04)
1. Loaded 2. Nine 3. Little Wing 4. You Know You Know 5. Hammerhead 6. Stratus 7. Yemin
8. Where Were You 9. Egyptian 10. Danny Boy 11. You Never Know 12. Why Give It Away
13. Led Boots 14. Big Block 15. A Day In The Life 16. Rollin’ And Tumblin’
17. I Put A Spell On You (with Joss Stone)

Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia 21st April 2014

Disc 2(54:58)
1. Loaded 2. Nine 3. Little Wing 4. You Know You Know 5. Hammerhead 6. Angel (Footsteps)
7. Stratus 8. Yemin 9. Where Were You 10. Egyptian 11. A Change Is Gonna Come (with Beth Hart & Jon Nichols)

Disc 3(49:07)
1. You Never Know 2. Danny Boy 3. Why Give It Away 4. Led Boots 5. Choral 6. Big Block
7. A Day In The Life 8. Rollin’ And Tumblin’ (with Beth Hart) 9. Going Down (with Beth Hart)
10. Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers

Disc 4(57:06)
Hamer Hall, Melbourne, Australia 22nd April 2014

1. Loaded 2. Nine 3. Little Wing 4. You Know You Know 5. Hammerhead 6. Angel (Footsteps)
7. Stratus 8. Yemin 9. Where Were You 10. Egyptian
11. A Change Is Gonna Come (with Beth Hart & Jon Nichols)

Disc 5(47:40)
1. You Never Know 2. Danny Boy 3. Why Give It Away 4. Led Boots 5. Choral 6. Big Block
7. A Day In The Life 8. Rollin’ And Tumblin’ (with Beth Hart) 9. Going Down (with Beth Hart)
10. Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers

Jeff Beck – Guitar Rhonda Smith – Bass, Vocal Jonathan Joseph – Drums Nico

Non Label