Jeff Beck - 1980 "There and Back"

There & Back is the third studio solo album by guitarist Jeff Beck, released in June 1980 through Epic Records. The album reached No. 10 and 21 on the U.S. Billboard Jazz Albums and Billboard 200 charts respectively, and No. 36 on the Swedish albums chart. Notably, There & Back showcases Beck's stylistic shift towards instrumental rock while largely retaining the jazz fusion elements of his two previous releases, Blow by Blow (1975) and Wired (1976). The opening track, "Star Cycle", was used for a number of years as the theme song for both Mid-South Wrestling in the United States and the British music programme The Tube (1982–87); "The Pump" was featured in the 1983 film Risky Business; "Too Much to Lose" is an instrumental cover of a song composed by keyboardist Jan Hammer that was originally featured on the Jan Hammer Group's 1977 album Melodies.

There and Back, Jeff Beck's first new studio album in four years, found him moving from old keyboard partner Jan Hammer (three tracks) to new one Tony Hymas (five), which turned out to be the difference between competition and support. Hence, the second side of this instrumental album is more engaging and less of a funk-fusion extravaganza than most of the first. If it were anybody else, you'd say that this was a transitional album, but this was the only studio album Beck released between 1976 and 1985, which makes it more like an unexpected Christmas letter from an old friend: "Everything's fine, still playing guitar."

Tracks Listing

1. Star Cycle (4:56)
2. Too Much To Lose (2:55)
3. You Never Know (4:03)
4. The Pump (5:43)
5. El Becko (3:59)
6. The Golden Road (4:55)
7. Space Boogie (5:04)
8. The Final Peace (3:36)

Line-up / Musicians

- Jeff Beck / guitars
- Jan Hammer / keyboards
- Simon Phillips / drums
- Tony- Hymnas / keyboards
- Mo Foster / bass