M.Neumann I'm not convinced the trio of albums released by Jeff Beck at the dawn of the 21st century (from 1999's "Who Else!" through this 2003 effort) have a place on a web site devoted to Jazz...but then again this is a musician who has never been content to rest on his laurels. And isn't that a part of what music is supposed to be about?

Judging by fan reaction elsewhere on the web, Beck has certainly been pushing the envelope with his latest change of pace. Classic Rock purists (and doctrinaire Jazzheads) might cringe, but this current musical detour could be his most rewarding yet, embracing (with a vengeance) all the energy of the emerging new millenium in a sequel of sorts to his electronica-laced 2001 mini album "You Had It Coming".

He can still play the role of the blue-collar grease monkey, explicitly in the song of the same name, and as a tongue-in-cheek lampoon in "Hot Rod Honeymoon". And that lyrical guitar style is more fluent than ever, soloing gracefully over "JB's Blues", and (with spiky percussive accents) in the hip-hop pastiche "Pay Me No Mind".

But elsewhere the album shows his affection for the same post-modern cyberpunk pulses championed by (among other trendsetters) King Crimson's virtual drummer Pat Mastelotto. You can hear it in the staccato cut-and-paste rhythms of "Line Dancing With Monkeys", and also in the lush orchestral veneer of the climactic "Bulgaria"/"Why Lord Oh Why" medley closing the album.

Rated strictly as Jazz Related Rock I can understand how the album might ruffle the feathers of diehard Fusion aficionados, perhaps deserving no more than two stars (for fans only). But on the merits of the music itself, and ignoring the sometimes wacky sub-genres of the Jazz Rock hierarchy (Nu Jazz, Post Bop, Dub Fusion, you name it) this is simply another sharp effort from a guitarist always somewhere close to the cutting edge.