Still On The Run - The Jeff Beck Story (Blu-ray)

Finally a very good documentation of Jeff's career on video! Plenty of good stories and interviews from Jeff himself! Great footage of him at home and working in his auto shop! Plus, some very good interviews with Jimmy Page, Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, and Ron Wood!! So many great stories and you could really feel the love these guys all have for Jeff. Even some great fan comments and interviews with David Gilmour, Joe Perry, and Slash. Also some excellent clips of Jeff in action throughout his career. I've listened to Jeff's music since I was a kid in the 60s, so this was a real thrill to bring all those great memories flooding back. My only complaint would be that it was a little bit too short! But I was grateful for the wealth of information that is there. Also includes 5 full length live concert tunes filmed at Montreaux in 2007. It might have been nice to have a few more live tracks from more recent shows, or more full length concert clips from the old days, but I was satisfied with what is there. A great documentary.

I have few nits to pick but I have to give it 5 stars anyway. Nit 1: it's too short! I realize that covering a 50 year long career on a single DVD can't possibly be done but why not do more and have it span 2 or 3 DVDs? Anyway I'm greedy! Nit 2: Sound quality on the Montreaux Jazz fest is pretty poor as another reviewer has pointed out. Otherwise what is in this DVD is very good. Lots of new info in a high quality format. A must have for any guitarist or fan.

I like to call Jeff Beck the greatest living electric guitarist. But also think there's more than one greatest living electric guitarist so to speak. Certainly one less since the death of Allan Holdsworth. Anyway if you're interested in Jeff Beck you're "gonna wanna" see this. This would be a good intro to him if needed. Highly recommended also is Les Paul Rock and Roll Party, Live at Ronnie Scott's, both fabulous and I particularly like his playing with the band UPP from around 1975. Go see him live if you can. He's a sorcerer like Jimi Hendrix but in his own way.

Long overdue JB documentary. Very good, but would have liked to see more past video footage. Several clips from recent videos which gave it an almost promo feel. Good summary of the hugely influential early Stewart years and before that some pretty extensive details of the Yardbirds and Beck's early departure. We get a good feel of some of the things that influenced Beck starting with not feeling good about being a part of Dick Clark's R & R caravan. Movi ng forward it would have been nice to hear from Stanley Clarke and mention of the ode to Jeff Beck, "Hello Jeff" Great song. Covered the "Blow by Blow" years well. Might have been fitting to make some mention of the recent release of Clarke, Beck and Phillips which I had no knowledge of at that time. Great to hear from Jan Hammer who like Jeff is a bit of an unsung hero- more than Jeff of course because Jeff is a giant in any measure. Good to hear from Jimmy Page. Jimmy spoke very well and you definitely get a feel of how much the two influenced each other. Great stamp on Beck and his group deciding to record "Immigration Man" at the R & R Hall induction and how much that meant to everyone. Would have also liked to have heard from the great vocalist Jimmy Hall and how Jeff struck up a relationship with Wet Willie's terrific singer- we know why, but how it came to be would have been good. A bit sad we didn't get more from BBA, but their version of Superstition never gets old. We hear a lot from Ronnie Wood and deservedly so. Might have been good to hear from the Mickster as Jeff played on "Primitive Cool" Would have been good to hear from a few blues cats also like Joe Bonamassa or Buddy Guy. Joe B. has been paying homage to Jeff and the British Blues greats for awhile and leading up to his "British Blues Explosion" The Hollywood Bowl video is stunning and I give it 5 stars, but this video I am giving 4 because we need more about Jeff's music and incredibly stellar career and less recent video footage which those like me of course own. Another thing left out was "Frankie's House" Jeff's soundtrack score. Still haven't seen it, but an entire TV series music score by Jeff is more than noteworthy. And Jeff Beck and Brian Wilson- wow, that's a sudden impact if ever. If I had to live another 50 years I hope Jeff is still pushing the music horizons. Many have died or faded, but Jeff Beck is like a Mountain which I am sure Leslie West- bless his heart would have allowed Jeff to take that moniker or perhaps if Zappa would have done a super serious version of "Billy the Mountain" it would have been Jeff the Mountain and included all those who Jeff recorded with. Very good video, but hopefully we get more because Jeff's career that's still strong is truly remarkable especially considering how few if any have pushed music for so long.

The beginning is fantastic, with Jeff and Jimmy Page, his mate, talking about making their own guitars as youngsters, listening to early rock, and trying to duplicate the guitar solos from the records. From those early days, Beck was fascinated with the sound of the electric guitar, and was and remains a pioneer of the instrument's sonic capacities. With the Yardbirds he was able to create the sound of the sitar, making a sitar unnecessary. He refused to compromise his artistic integrity, quitting the Yardbirds two gigs into an American tour with a teenybop revue. He broke up the Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart shortly before Woodstock because he thought performing would stamp and freeze his sound in 1969 forever. The documentary skips one of my favorite albums, "Rough and Ready," but focuses extensively on the great jazz/rock fusion albums "Blow By Blow" and "Wired," including interviews with producer George Martin and keyboardist Jan Hammer. The film makes clear how John McLaughlin and his Mahavishnu Orchestra opened Beck's mind to the possibilities of instrumental music (no vocals) which he has mainly pursued ever since. There are interviews with many of his collaborators and fellow guitarists including Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Slash, Joe Perry, and several of the women he has recruited for his band on guitar, bass, and vocals in recent years. His love of hot rods is included, with footage of him working on and driving the cars he has built. Technique is featured as well, including his turn to finger picking sans pick and his exquisite production of overtones. There is a clip of Jimmy Page inducting him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Beck, Page, and the band playing "Immigrant Song" and then segueing into "Beck's Bolero." This is a great overview for any Jeff Beck fan, and a good introduction for any new fan. It doesn't cover everything, and any long-time fan is likely to have something in mind they wish were included that was left out. Personally, I think it would have been cool to include the fact that Beck turned down an offer to replace Mick Taylor in the Rolling Stones, which he has recounted in interviews! He created "Blow by Blow" and "Wired" instead. Check it out.

If you are a Jeff Beck fan, you will want to own this video for your DVD music collection. It is quite informative and fairly personal, and will probably contain some information you didn't know. It is especially poignant since Jeff Beck is no longer with us. Highly recommend.

This was superb, as I knew it would be. I'd twice seen this on the Arts Channel but to my delight this had a longer run-time giving greater depth to the overall documentary. "Still On the Run" is close to being as definitive an insight into Jeff's life, music, and approach to breaking new ground as it is possible to get. With the likes of David Gilmour, Slash, Ronnie Wood, Rod Stewart, and probably most importantly, his fellow 60s rock icons, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, providing expert comments, this is top-notch viewing.

A really good documentary on one of the greatest guitarists ever. It could have been better if more intrusive in terms of why he has regularly sabotaged his own career, but the guy is unquestionably talented who has put his playing and cars before success. Beck blows Clapton off the stage, and at least Clapton, and even Jimmy Page acknowledge that in this video. It is a shame that Rod Stewart’s time in his band didn’t last longer, but Beck created a very unique style of playing, given the lack of a great lead singer or a powerhouse songwriting group like Led Zeppelin.