6/10

As someone who has been actively releasing music since the 1960s, Jeff Beck is someone who needs very little introduction. His guitar playing is not only iconic but ingrained into the core of British music, making him one of the most exceptional musicians to have ever walked the earth. Having said that, he returns at the ripe old age of 72 to release his eleventh studio album 'Loud Hailer', a record that he takes full centre stage of.

While the album has been recorded with a full backup band, including Rosie Bones on lead vocals, it is Beck's guitar playing that overwhelmingly dominates the sound of this release. It's almost as if everyone else in the room deliberately plays that little bit quieter to give his epic solos even more amplification. The record is essentially a display of musical prowess with little emphasis on the songwriting itself. The tunes themselves are just a filler to accompany Beck's guitar riffs and to prevent him from breaking out into a full half-hour blues odyssey.

Fun and enjoyable, especially if you are a guitarist yourself, but as an album, it doesn't really break any boundaries or create an engaging environment. This is just Jeff Beck doing what he does best, and certainly delivers the goods in that regard.