(Eagle Rock Entertainment, 155 minutes)

www.eagle-rock.com

BY REV. KEITH A. GORDON

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame guitarist Jeff Beck first came to prominence as Eric Clapton's replacement in the legendary British blues-rock band the Yardbirds. Better than four decades have passed since that time, and Beck has shown a maddening propensity for confounding the expectations of any observer. His impressive catalog of music ranges from blues-rock and proto-heavy metal to jazz-fusion, pop, and even reggae, his restless talents seemingly knowing no boundaries.

Performing This Week...Live At Ronnie Scott's documents the highlights of a week's worth of (mostly instrumental) performances from 2007 by Beck and his hand-picked band of bassist Tal Wilkenfeld, keyboardist Jason Rebello, and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, caught on camera at the legendary Ronnie Scott's jazz club in the Soho district of London. Featuring material drawn from across Beck's storied career and eclectic musical tastes, the DVD also features several additional songs that weren't included on the set's companion CD, mostly those performances with guest vocalists. 

The DVD opens with "Beck's Bolero," a song as familiar to 20th century classic rock fans as "Greensleeves" was to 17th century bluebloods. Beck's fretwork here is fluid, elegant, until the song hits its stride and Beck and crew roll into a free-form jam that amps up both the volume and the energy level. Beck immediately gets his fusion groove on, tearing into a fast-n-furious take of John McLaughlin's "Eternity's Breath" that too soon jumps into Billy Cobham's masterful "Stratus" with a jazz-rock barrier-shattering sonic boom. Propelled by Colaiuta's massive beats and young (female) bassist Wilkenfeld's gentle rhythms, Beck threads the song with manic string-bending, mauling his Strat like a hungry sabretooth as the band rocks a steady groove.

Beck imbues Stevie Wonder's "Cause We've Ended As Lovers" with a heartbroken angst. The song includes a fine bass solo from Wilkenfeld that reminds of Jaco Pastorius with its simple elegance and complex flavor. As she gets a funky heartbeat rolling, Beck strolls back into the spotlight with a bluesy solo played low on the fretboard that, with clever use of the whammy bar, adds greatly to the emotional vibe.

The only vocal performances here are courtesy of Beck's guests, and first up to the plate is young R&B pop songbird Joss Stone. Stone adequately fills Rod Stewart's shoes on the soulful "People Get Ready," doing a fine job with the song's Southern gospel-styled vocals. The star of the song, however, is Beck's mesmerizing guitar line that serves as the tune's recurring musical motif. At once both earnest and audacious, the riff creates an almost sanctified ambiance, one that is bolstered by Rebello's reverent keyboard fills.

Old Beck friend, colleague, and sometimes competitor Eric Clapton steps in for a jaunty, Chi-town styled cover of Muddy Waters' lusty "Little Brown Bird." Beck breaks out the bottleneck for this one, rolling low on the guitar's neck for a wicked, greasy slide sound. Both guitarists deliver scorching solos; Beck's taking a hard-rocking edge whereas Slowhand's turn is all graceful pomp-n-circumstance.

The pair then tackles the Willie Dixon-penned/Led Zeppelin-mutated "You Need Love." Absent Page's banshee wail, the song take on more of a houserockin' juke-joint sound. Clapton's vocals are somewhat subdued at first, but he manages to descend into a primal Howlin' Wolf growl for the better part of the song. The clashing guitars one-up Page's original intent, Beck mauling his fretboard with reckless abandon as EC slaps-n-tickles a Cream-styled, bottom-heavy blues groove.

Imogen Heap joins the band for a couple of tunes, the best performance of the two being a raging version of Muddy Waters' "Rollin' And Tumblin'." Heap's ethereal vocals are oddly at home here, soaring above a novel arrangement that is one part psychedelic-blues switchblade rumble - complete with fantasia-colored wah-wah effects - and one part funky tribal drum circle with concrete rhythms. Above it all, Beck's axe squalls and roars like a wild boar in heat. I don't know what ol' Muddy would think of what they've done to his song, but he'd have to be impressed by the raw energy and sensuality of the performance.

Overall, Performing This Week...Live At Ronnie Scott's is an ambitious work, representing several decades of Beck's wanderings across the musical landscape. The performances are energetic, the camerawork brilliant, capturing every bit of the sweat and tears that went into the making of the music. No doubt that Beck's loyal cadre of fans was collectively salivating when they heard that this DVD - Beck's first concert disc - was going to be released; I suspect that it lives up to their greatest expectations.

Special Features: Interviews with Jeff Beck and members of his band.