Jeff Beck "Who Else!"

"Who Else!", Jeff Beck's first all-instrumental album in a decade, finds him tossing a few contemporary peppers into his pot of musical virtuosity. Reuniting once again with "Guitar Shop" keyboardist Tony Hymas, Beck maintains a balance between contemporary, Art Of Noise-flavored tracks ("Space For The Papa", "TX138") complete with delays, techno beats and looped guitars, and a reunion with '70s fusion running buddy Jan Hammer on the heavier, Van Halen-esque "Even Odds." Beck's musical range continues to impress as he easily moves between emotive blues phrasing ("Brush With The Blues"), fleet-fingered noodling ("Blast From The East") and more ethereal numbers that bring to mind Carlos Santana's solo work ("Hip-Notica"). Beck's talent truly shines when he tackles Donal Lunny's "Declan." On it, guitar histrionics give way to Celtic arrangements that find Beck's guitar delicately dancing with Clive Bell's flute as images of foggy moors and rolling green hills float along. The brief solo piece "Another Place" could have been an Adrian Legg outtake.