Shortly before his death in January 2023, electric guitar hero Jeff Beck began revisiting live recordings by the short-lived power trio he led in the early '70s, Beck, Bogert & Appice.
Featuring Tim Bogert on bass guitar and Carmine Appice on drums (Bogert and Appice had played together in Vanilla Fudge and Cactus), the recordings capture the supergroup around both the beginning and end of their short time together, and are set to be released together this fall as Live In Japan 1973/Live In London 1974.
You can hear a preview of the set – a truly blistering version of the Stevie Wonder classic Superstition (which Beck himself had a hand in writing) – below.
Beck and Appice mixed all the concerts from the original multi-tracks that had been in the former's archive for almost 50 years.
Though the Japanese set was released as a live album exclusively in Japan just months after it was recorded, the much-bootlegged London performance – which took place at the Rainbow Theatre, and was one of the band's final shows – has never been released in its entirety.
The live sets contain rip-roaring versions of plenty of material from the band's sole studio album (such as Lady, Livin’ Alone and the aforementioned Superstition), in addition to Jeff Beck Group favorites (Morning Dew, Going Down) and even a Yardbirds tune (Jeff’s Boogie.)
In a 2009 Guitar World interview, Beck reflected on – among a number of other topics – Beck, Bogert & Appice. The guitar hero praised Appice's powerful drumming, but lamented the trio's lack of songwriting chemistry.
“I was trying to get a drummer that seriously kicked ass,“ Beck said. “I was looking for that kind of over-the-top awesomeness that Keith [Moon] had – the stick twirling and everything. And Carmine did it. He was really devastatingly good. Carmine was probably the last of the Forties-style, big band, fuck-off drummers.
“Yet he still had that forward-thinking Billy Cobham–type feel. But, we had more power than we needed but not enough of a story line, so to speak. Not enough good songs – great actors but no storyline. Although that seems to sell millions of dollars worth of films nowadays.”
Live In Japan 1973/Live In London 1974 will be available in 4CD ($59.98), 4LP ($149.98) and purple vinyl versions, as well as digitally, on September 15. The album is dedicated to the memory of Beck and Bogert, the latter of whom passed away in 2021.
To preorder the album, visit Rhino Entertainment's website.
