Jeff Beck, Blues De Luxe

Jeff Beck said he never hit his stride until he dropped the singer(s).  Later in his career he would work with a female vocalist.

Without Rod Stewart-does a version even exist?

I always thought the psuedo "live" recordings were odd-like what's on the Truth  album.

The only "other" version that comes up in Google search is an actual "live" version

which is much better than the fake live studio version.

(15) Jeff Beck - 1968 - Blues Deluxe (Live) - YouTube

Jeff Beck in full Jeff Beck mode.

Bdp24, I'm surprised to hear you say that about rs...granted he's a sellout and, by most accounts, a true douche, but he was a great singer back in the day....

Perhaps it’s just me @loomisjohnson, but Rod has always struck me as one of the thousands of guys who try too hard to sound "soulful" (black). I can understand wanting to have the gravitas of Big Joe Turner and/or Ray Charles, but a skinny little kid from England who dresses like a girl (frilly shirts, satin bell bottoms, shag/rooster hairdo) can hardly expect to pull that off.

Rod has that "gravelly" texture in his voice, but that’s just on the surface. There’s no depth to his voice, unlike Richard Manuel, who did sound very Ray Charles-influenced, but who expressed sincere emotion, including pain. Clapton heard it in Richard’s singing, and so do I. Rod sounds no better to me than Michael Bolton: fake emoting. I’ve never understood why The Faces brought in Rod Stewart. They had a perfectly good singer in Steve Marriot. Far better than Rod, imo.

Of the UK guys, I’ll take Van Morrison and Gary Brooker. You know, men 😉 .

Have you heard a 1st UK press of Truth on the EMI/Columbia label (blue/black graphics)? It sounds profoundly better than any other version I have heard-- real stage, real bass, real depth. I have no idea what those sell for now- when I bought my copy the trick was finding a clean player.

It is a revelation if you like this album, Rod or not. (I actually like his early stuff).