''Rough and Ready'' is the second studio album by

the Jeff Beck Group The Jeff Beck Group was a British rock band formed in London in January 1967 by former Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck. Their innovative approach to heavy-sounding blues, rhythm and blues and rock was a major influence on popular music. First ...

and the first of two by the second Jeff Beck Group. Released in 1971 by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

, it featured more of a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

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and R&B edge to counter Beck's lead guitar. As a songwriter, Beck contributed more pieces to ''Rough and Ready'' than he had before, or ever would again. Beck enlisted

Bobby Tench Robert Tench (born 21 September 1944) is a British vocalist, guitarist, sideman, songwriter and arranger. Tench is best known for his work with Freddie King and Van Morrison, as well as being a member of The Jeff Beck Group, Humble Pie, Street ...

as vocalist and it is also the first time keyboardist

Max Middleton David Maxwell Middleton (born 4 August 1946) is an English composer and keyboardist who was originally a docker on the London docks. Middleton is known for his work on the Fender Rhodes Electric piano, the Minimoog synthesiser and his percussiv ...

is heard. Other members of this line up are drummer

Cozy Powell Cozy Powell (born Colin Trevor Flooks; 29 December 1947 – 5 April 1998) was an English rock drummer who made his name with major rock bands and artists such as The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Gary Moore, Robert Plant, ...

and bassist

Clive Chaman Clive Chaman (born 5 September 1949) is a UK-based bass guitarist and session musician, born in Trinidad and Tobago. After appearing on Ram John Holder's 1969 ''London Blues'' album, Chaman became a member of the second Jeff Beck Group in 197 ...

History

In early April and still signed to RAK,

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...

reformed

The Jeff Beck Group The Jeff Beck Group was a British rock band formed in London in January 1967 by former Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck. Their innovative approach to heavy-sounding blues, rhythm and blues and rock was a major influence on popular music. First ...

with keyboardist

, drummer

and bassist

and vocalist

Alex Ligertwood Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple peop ...

. Later in April that year the new band began recording sessions at

Island Studios An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in London. They worked on songs by Beck and focused on "Situation", which had lyrics by Ligertwood. Other songs such as "Morning Dew" were given attention, with the help of producer Jimmy Miller, who had worked with

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and with

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

. During May 1971, after a week of recording sessions, Beck left RAK and signed a new record deal with

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. Epic, a subsidiary of

, was assigned to release Beck's work, and having heard the Island studio tapes were not happy with the vocals. During May, Beck started looking for a new vocalist. In late May, after hearing

perform with his band Gass, he employed him as vocalist for the band. Tench was given only a few weeks to write new lyrics and add his vocals to the album, before mixing resumed on tracks previously recorded by Beck and the other band members. During early July 1971 the band returned to Island Studios to finish the album and Beck took over as producer. ''Rough and Ready'' was released in UK on 25 October 1971 with the US release following during February 1972, a sixteen-day promotional tour in USA followed and the album eventually reached #46 in the album charts.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'', music critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

found Tench's singing pretentious and the songs tedious: "Despite some superb textures, this is as sloppy and self-indulgent as ever."

Roy Carr Roy Carr (1945 – 1 July 2018) was an English music journalist, covering pop, rock and jazz. He joined the ''New Musical Express (NME)'' in the late 1960s, and edited ''NME'', '' Vox'' and ''Melody Maker'' magazines. Biography Born in Blackpoo ...

, writing in ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', felt that the album "falls into that trap whereby the performance far exceeds the material. Beck hasn't lost any of his fire as he rips off solo after solo with flashy confidence". On the other hand, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine's Stephen Davis said that ''Rough and Ready'' is "a surprisingly, fine piece of work from a man who wasn't really expected to come back. Beck is back, and in pretty good shape too." Derek Johnson of ''NME'' reviewed the single "Got the Feeling" positively and called it "an excellent disc combining a strong commercial element with an altogether more progressive approach". ''Rough and Ready'' finished 23rd in the voting for the best album of 1971 in the

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

, an annual critics poll run by ''The Village Voice''.

Track listing

Band members

– guitars, bass guitar and production *

– vocals and rhythm guitar *

– piano and keyboards *

– bass guitar *

– drums

Discography

Original release

* Epic KE-30973 1972

Reissues

* Epic EK-30973 (1990) * Epic PET-30973 (1990) * Epic MHCP583 (2005) * Sony 4710472 (2006) * Sony Japan 960 (2007) * Epic EPC40-64619 Cassette (US)

Singles

* "Got that Feeling" / "Situation" Epic(US) 5-10814 (6 December 1971), Epic (UK) 7720 (7 January 1972)

References

External links

The Jeff Beck Group - ''Rough and Ready'' (1971) album review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, credits & releases
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

The Jeff Beck Group - ''Rough and Ready'' (1971) album releases & credits
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

The Jeff Beck Group - ''Rough and Ready'' (1971) album credits & user reviews
at ProgArchives.com
The Jeff Beck Group - ''Rough and Ready'' (1971) album to be listened
as stream on

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rough And Ready (Album) 1971 albums Jeff Beck albums Jazz fusion albums by English artists Epic Records albums