Plain and Fancy: Upp - Upp (1975 uk, elegant jazz funk rock, with Jeff Beck)

Sunday, October 20, 2024

Upp - Upp (1975 uk, elegant jazz funk rock, with Jeff Beck)

Jeff Beck's is a name associated with some very great music over the past decade; not a lot of records, mind you, but a lot of great ones. For that reason alone, this debut album by UPP would be significant. That this album marks Beck's debut as a pro- ducer of a group of which he is not a member is also significant, but, as can be expected, the most significant thing about this album is that it is different and it is good. Different and good are two words that aren't always used in the same breath. A lot of times someone will say about an album that isn't particularly good "it's, well, different." That's not what I mean at all. I mean this album is as good as it is different.

It is very different, and very good. There's a lot of soul in this music, but it doesn't sound like Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes. There's a lot of jazz in this music, but it doesn't sound like Miles Davis. There's a lot of rock in this music, but it doesn't sound like (what's a good example of rock?) Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Because mostly in the music of this album is music.

Sure, other bands have com- bined elements of many styles and welded them into something special. Witness the Rolling Stones. Witness the Beatles. Wit- ness Roxy Music. Witness UPP, combining the soulfulness of an AWB with the mellow jazz-rock feel of the Youngbloods. UPP is an ensemble, meaning that they play together well as a unit, not vying for the solo spotlight.

As accomplished as they are on their instruments, the thing that really floors me about UPP is their vocals: they sound like the best of Curtis Mayfield dueting with Eddie Kendricks. That soft, silky flavor really will get you where it counts.

If you're wondering about the production of the album, stop. You'll hear some technique de- signed to remind you that Stevie Wonder wrote "Superstition" when he was working with Jeff Beck. And you'll hear a clarity of sound that lets each instrument communicate to the fullest, and lets the words shine through.

This album is equally strong on ballads and uptempo mover- groovers. UPP, as a group, dis- plays a lot of diversity on their first effort, and as they grow to- gether, perhaps they'll show us even more tricks.

So the record is two begin- nings for the price of one: first, the production career of Jeff Beck; and two, the sure-to-be long and healthy career for UPP as purveyors of a smooth and soulful sound built on a solid rock foundation. There's no place to go but UPP.

by Toby B. Mamis