Jeff Beck Group: Rough And Ready Album (1971)

Jeff Beck
Oct 25, 1971
5 min read

A Blues-Rock Raw Edge

The Jeff Beck Group’s Rough And Ready LP, was released in the USA on October 26, 1971, on Epic Records (catalogue: KE 30973). This 7-track album, the band’s fourth studio effort and first with a new lineup post-Rod Stewart, blended blues-rock, funk, and jazz influences. Produced by Jeff Beck, it featured the soulful vocals of Bobby Tench and innovative guitar work, but did not chart in the US or UK. Issued in a single sleeve with minimalist artwork, it’s a cult favorite from Beck’s early ‘70s experimental phase.

It featured more of a jazz, soul 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 as vocalist and it is also the first time keyboardist Max Middleton is heard. Other members of this line up are drummer Cozy Powell and bassist Clive Chaman.

History

In early April 1970 and still signed to RAK, Jeff Beck reformed The Jeff Beck Group with keyboardist Max Middleton, drummer Cozy Powell and bassist Clive Chaman and vocalist Alex Ligertwood. Later in April that same year, the new band began recording sessions at Island Studios 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 Traffic and with The Rolling Stones.

During May 1971, after a week of recording sessions, Beck left RAK and signed a new record deal with CBS. Epic, a subsidiary of CBS, was assigned to release Beck's work, and having heard the Island studio tapes, they were not happy with the vocals. During May, Beck started looking for a new vocalist. In late May, after hearing Bobby Tench perform with his band Gass, he employed him as the 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 the UK on 25 October 1971, with the US release following in February 1972. A sixteen-day promotional tour in the USA followed, and the album eventually reached #46 on the album charts.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, music critic Robert Christgau found Tench's singing pretentious and the songs tedious: "Despite some superb textures, this is as sloppy and self-indulgent as ever." Roy Carr, writing in NME, 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 magazine's Stephen Davis said that "Rough and Ready" is "a surprising, fine piece of work from a man who wasn’t really expected to come back." 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, an annual critics' poll run by The Village Voice.

Side one

1. "Got the Feeling"

2. "Situation"

3. "Short Business"

4. "Max's Tune

On original United States releases, this track is titled "Raynes Park Blues" and credited to Beck; subsequent pressings are titled and credited as above."

Total length: 21:03

Side two

5. "I've Been Used"

6. "New Ways / Train Train"

7. "Jody" Beck, Brian Short

Total length: 15:34

Jeff Beck – guitars, production

Bob Tench – vocals

Max Middleton – keyboards, piano

Clive Chaman – bass guitar

Cozy Powell – drums

Chart Peak

Position

Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM) 35

Japanese Albums (Oricon) 56

US Billboard 200 46

Do you have Rough And Ready in your vinyl stack? Which track rocks your turntable? Share in the comments!

Sources

Discogs: Rough And Ready (1971)

Official Charts Company: Jeff Beck Albums

AllMusic: Jeff Beck Group Discography

Wikipedia: Rough And Ready

Billboard Chart History: Jeff Beck

YouTube: Rough And Ready Full Album (2013 upload, 200K+ views)

Mott’s “By Tonight” 7-inch vinyl single, was released in the UK on October 31, 1975 on CBS Records (catalogue: S CBS 3741). Backed with “I Can Show You How It Is,” this driving hard rock track, written by Nigel Benjamin and Pete Watts, served as the second single from the band's debut album Drive On. Produced by the band, the A-side's urgent guitars and Benjamin's powerful vocals marked Mott's new era without Ian Hunter, but it failed to chart. Housed in a CBS company sleeve, the single is a rare artifact of the band's transitional phase.

Single Overview

A By Tonight

B I Can Show You How It Is

Phonographic Copyright ℗ – CBS Inc.

Published By – April Music Ltd.

Published By – Mott Music

Arranged By, Producer, Directed By – Mott

Taken from the LP 'Drive On' CBS 69 154

A U.K. Production

Notes: released in four pronged and solid center versions

Country Variations

The single was a UK release with limited international distribution:

Germany received a commercial and promotional-only release (CBS S 3741).

Format:

Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single

Country: Germany

A By Tonight

B I Can Show You How It Is

Record Company – CBS Inc.

Phonographic Copyright ℗ – CBS Records (UK)

Published By – April Music Ltd.

Published By – Mott Music

Pressed By – Rhein-Main Schallplatten-Produktion GmbH

Production and Context

Recorded in 1975 at Rockfield Studios, Monmouth, Wales, the single was produced by Mott (Nigel Benjamin: vocals, Pete Watts: bass, Dale Griffin: drums, Morgan Fisher: keyboards, Ray Major: guitar). “By Tonight” was the band's first single with Benjamin as lead singer after Ian Hunter's departure, signaling a heavier rock direction. Released amid punk's rise, it followed The Hoople (1974) and competed with The Damned and Sex Pistols, but Mott's glam roots limited their revival.

Singles Released and Chart Performance

“By Tonight” was the lead single from Drive On:

Single Chart Performance

“By Tonight” failed to enter the UK Singles Chart or any international charts, reflecting Mott's challenges in the punk era.

Have you snagged this Mott rarity in your vinyl collection? Does “By Tonight” rock your playlist? Share in the comments!

Sources