Jeff Beck - 2011 "Rock 'N' Roll Party" (Honoring Les Paul)

Rock 'n' Roll Party (Honoring Les Paul) is a live album by Jeff Beck, recorded as a tribute album to the late guitarist Les Paul.

The album is recorded at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City where Les Paul played almost every week until his death in August 2009. It was recorded on 9 June 2010, which would have been Les Paul's 95th birthday. The songs played were popular hits from the 1950s and 1960s, including many songs Les Paul played himself. Jeff Beck is joined by Imelda May and her band, in addition to Jason Rebello, Brian Setzer, Trombone Shorty and Gary U.S. Bonds. On some of the songs, May sings together with a pre-recorded voice of herself, imitating the recording technique used on songs sung by Les Paul's wife Mary Ford.

A year after Les Paul's death, Jeff Beck saluted the guitar pioneer by staging a rousing tribute show to the great man at Paul’s regular stomping ground, the Iridium Jazz Club. Backed by his current running mates the Imelda May Band, Beck enlisted some heavy-hitters for help -- Brian Setzer comes in for the rock & roll, Trombone Shorty for the jazz, Gary U.S. Bonds sings some oldies -- all the better to get the party started. Despite its title, Rock 'N' Roll Party skews ever so slightly to the old-fashioned swing and standards that were Paul's specialty and with the notable exception of tightly wound versions of “The Train Kept A Rollin’” and “Twenty Flight Rock,” even the rockers feel closer to jump blues than rockabilly. And that’s fine: a tribute to Les Paul's music shouldn’t be greasy, it should be a jumping, joyous blast of nostalgia, which is precisely what this party is.

Track listing:

01.    "Double Talking Baby" (feat. Darrel Higham)    Danny Wolfe    2:08
02.    "Cruisin'" (feat. Darrel Higham)    Gene Vincent, Bill Davis    2:13
03.    "The Train It Kept a Rollin'" (feat. Darrel Higham)    Tiny Bradshaw; Lois Mann; Howie Kay    2:36
04.    "Cry Me a River" (feat. Imelda May and Jason Rebello)    Arthur Hamilton    2:46
05.    "How High the Moon" (feat. Imelda May)    Nancy Hamilton; Morgan 'Buddy' Lewis    2:10
06.    "Sitting on Top of the World" (feat. Imelda May)    Raymond Brost (Ray Henderson); Joe Young; Samuel Levine (Sam M. Lewis)    2:23
07.    "Bye Bye Blues" (feat. Imelda May)    Fred Hamm; Dave Bennett; Bert Lown; Chauncey Gray    2:12
08.    "The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise" (feat. Imelda May)    Ernest Seitz    2:21
09.    "Vaya Con Dios" (feat. Imelda May)    Buddy Pepper; Inez James; Larry Russell    2:57
10.    "Mockin' Bird Hill" (feat. Imelda May)    George Vaughn Horton    2:23
11.    "I'm a Fool to Care" (feat. Imelda May)    Ted Daffan    2:59
12.    "Tiger Rag" (feat. Imelda May)    Nick LaRocca; Eddie Edwards; Henry Ragas; Tony Sbarbaro; Larry Shields; Harry DaCosta    2:22
13.    "Peter Gunn" (feat. Jason Rebello and Trombone Shorty)    Enrico Nicola "Henry" Mancini    4:49
14.    "Rocking Is Our Business" (feat Darrel Higham, Jason Rebello and Trombone Shorty)    Gene Gilbeaux; Don Hill; Claude Trenier; Cliff Trenier    3:38
15.    "Apache"    Jerry Lordan    3:07
16.    "Sleep Walk"    Santo Farina; Johnny Farina    2:50
17.    "New Orleans" (feat. Gary U.S. Bonds and Jason Rebello)    Frank Guida; Joseph F. Royster    4:34
18.    "Walking in the Sand" (feat. Imelda May)    George "Shadow" Morton    4:39
19.    "Please Mr. Jailer" (feat. Imelda May)    Wynona Carr    4:54
20.    "Twenty Flight Rock" (feat. Brian Setzer)    Ned Fairchild; Eddie Cochran    3:44

Personnel:

Jeff Beck - Guitars
Imelda May - Vocal
Darrel Higham - Guitar, Vocal
Al Gare - Bass
Jason Rebello - Keyboards
Stephen Rushton - Drums, Backing Vocal
Dave Priseman - Trumpet
Leo Green - Saxophone
Blue Lou Marini - Baritone Saxophone
Gary U.S. Bonds - Vocal
Brian Setzer - Guitar
Trombone Shorty - Trombone