Beck-Ola
| Beck-Ola | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by The Jeff Beck Group | ||||
| Released | June 1969 | |||
| Recorded | 3–19 April 1969 De Lane Lea Studios |
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| Genre | Blues-rock, psychedelic rock, hard rock | |||
| Length | 30:29 | |||
| Label |
EMI Columbia (UK) Epic Records (US) |
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| Producer | Mickie Most | |||
| The Jeff Beck Group chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Rolling Stone | (favorable) |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  |
| The Village Voice | C– |
Beck-Ola is the second album by Jeff Beck, released in 1969 in the United Kingdom on Columbia Records and in the United States on Epic Records. It peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200, and at No. 39 on the British album chart. The album’s title puns on the name of the Rock-Ola jukebox company.
After the release of their previous album Truth, by the end of 1968 drummer Micky Waller was replaced by Tony Newman, as Jeff Beck wanted to take the music in a heavier direction and he viewed Waller as more of a finesse drummer in the style of Motown. Pianist Nicky Hopkins, who had also played on Truth, was asked to join the band full-time for their work in the studio.
Recording sessions for the album took place over six days in April 1969 – the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 10th, 11th and 19th. Two covers of Elvis Presley tunes were chosen, "All Shook Up" and "Jailhouse Rock", as well as "Girl From Mill Valley", an instrumental by and prominently featuring Hopkins. The remaining four tracks consist of band originals, with the instrumental "Rice Pudding" ending the album with a hard edit mid-song. The cover features a reproduction of Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte's The Listening Room. On the back cover to the original vinyl issue, beside "Beck-Ola" is written the tag "Cosa Nostra", Italian for "Our Thing".
Following the sessions for this album, the Jeff Beck Group toured the United States. They were scheduled to play and are listed on posters promoting the festival, but by then internal friction had reached the breaking point and both Ronnie Wood and Rod Stewart were out of the band. Stewart and Wood would join the Faces in 1969, while Hopkins played Woodstock with Jefferson Airplane, joined Quicksilver Messenger Service, and would tour with The Rolling Stones in 1971, 1972 and 1973. Beck himself would be out of commission by December due to an automobile accident.
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