Fillmore East
Beck, Buckley, King Pop It Out

By Fred Kirby

NEW YORK -- The Jeff Beck Group, increased to five members, were the strong headliners of a power-packed Fillmore East bill on Oct. 18 and 19. The program also included the thoughtful folk singing of Tim Buckley and the superb blues of Albert King.

King opened the second show on Oct. 18 with one fine number after another, including the title number and Pretty Woman from his Born Under A Bad Sign album on Stax. Clearly one of the outstanding traditional blues men, King's singing and guitar playing hit the mark consistently. His backup musicians also were excellent.

Buckley, an Elektra artist, has a tendency to meander, but his lyrics pervaded the theater with strong effect. Buckley, towards the end of some of the as yet untitled selections, apologized for their length. However, Buckley cannot be confined by time when he has a message to get across. His set continued the over-all high level of the show. His backup men also were good.

The Jeff Beck Group, who dynamically scored at Fillmore East last spring when a supporting act, still had that dynamite as headliners. Beck, who has few peers as a pop guitarist, was in brilliant form in a program that included two instrumentals: Mother's Old Rice Pudding and Beck's Bolero.

Lead singer Rod Stewart's bluesy wailing also was good as he included Rock My Plimsoul and Shape of Things, which are on the group's successful first album on Epic. Drummer Mick Waller and bass guitarist Ron Wood also were in top form.

The big addition was Nicky Hopkins, one of England's top studio pianists. While some groups have lost by expanding their membership, this one has not. Hopkins' pianistic brilliance was a match for Beck's guitar.

Bye Bye (Baby Goodbye) was the encore, with the large and enthusiastic audience joining in.