Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live

Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live
Live album by Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group
Released	March 1977
Recorded	US tour, Summer and/or Fall 1976
Genre	Blues rock, rock, Jazz fusion
Length	44:31
Label	Epic (PE34433)
Producer	Jan Hammer
Jeff Beck chronology
Wired (1976) Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live (1977) There & Back (1980)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live is a live album by Jeff Beck, released in 1977 on Epic Records.

Recording

The album featured live versions of three tracks from the Jeff Beck 1975 studio album Blow by Blow , "Scatterbrain", "Freeway Jam", and "She's a Woman" plus four compositions by Jan Hammer, "Darkness/Earth in Search of a Sun" from the 1975 album The First Seven Days , "Full Moon Boogie" and "Earth (Still Our Only Home)" from the 1974 album Like Children by Jan Hammer and Jerry Goodman, and "Blue Wind" from the 1976 Jeff Beck studio album Wired .

No precise dates and locations are given for the live recordings. The tour began in June 1976 and ended in February 1977, with 117 shows performed.

A&R man Tom Werman suggested ^[2] that the date at the Astor Theater in Reading, PA (31 August 1976) yielded the best performances, and was going to provide the bulk of the album at the time of his involvement in the project. Beck mixed this along with other recordings at Allen Toussaint's studio in New Orleans.

Then Jan Hammer decided to mix the album himself, and did so with Dennis Weinreich at Scorpio Sound Studios in London, England.

The stereo spectrum of this album duplicates the stage set-up with guitar positioned center right, keyboards center left, violin right and drums and bass center.

Reception

The album peaked at number 23 on the Billboard 200 album chart, number 24 on the Canadian RPM chart, number 67 on the Kent Music Report in Australia, and number 9 on the Japanese chart. The album was certified Gold in the U.S. by the RIAA.

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Freeway Jam"	Max Middleton	7:21
2.	"Earth (Still Our Only Home)"	Jan Hammer	4:34
3.	"She's a Woman"	John Lennon, Paul McCartney	4:25
4.	"Full Moon Boogie"	Hammer, Jerry Goodman	6:07

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
5.	"Darkness/Earth in Search of a Sun"	Hammer	7:52
6.	"Scatterbrain"	Middleton, Jeff Beck	7:25
7.	"Blue Wind"	Hammer	6:20
Total length:			44:31

Personnel

• Jeff Beck - guitars, bass guitar, special effects

The Jan Hammer Group

• Jan Hammer - Moog, Oberheim and Freeman string symphonizer synthesizers, electric piano, timbales; lead vocals on "Earth (Still Our Only Home)"
• Tony "Thunder" Smith - drums; lead vocals on "Full Moon Boogie"
• Fernando Saunders - bass guitar, harmony vocals; rhythm guitar on "She's A Woman"
• Steve Kindler - violin; string synthesizer on "Darkness"; rhythm guitar on "Blue Wind"

Charts

Chart (1977)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [3]	67
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [4]	24
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [5]	9
US Billboard 200 [6]	23

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [7]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Ruhlmann, William. "Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live - Jeff Beck | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
2. "The Jeff Beck Bulletin". Ainian.com. Archived from the original on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 132. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
4. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5246a". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
5. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN   4-87131-077-9.
6. "Jeff Beck Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
7. "American album certifications – Jeff Beck – Jeff Beck Live With Jan Hammer". Recording Industry Association of America.