ATCO

Jeff Beck returns to the studio backed by a 64-piece orchestra on Emotion & Commotion, which features the veteran six-stringsmith dividing his time between instrumentals and songs with vocalists. “Hammerhead,” a Beck original, is noteworthy for combining a driving riff with the might of the understated accompaniment. Joss Stone guests with inspired chemistry on “I Put a Spell on You” and “There’s No Other Me,” Olivia Safe appears on the carefully measured “Serene” and “Elegy for Dunkirk” and Imelda May adds vocals to a melancholic version of Jeff Buckley’s “Lilac Wine.” Beck has found a new way to express himself – accentuating guitar histrionics on an album tastefully bereft of any orchestral or six-string bombast. Restrained? Yes. Boring? Never.