Record Rack

*** Jeff Beck, “Who Else!,” Epic. Another rock icon taking a dip in the techno pool? “Who else,” indeed, but legendary guitarist Jeff Beck? Hey, he’s already inspired generations of metal bands, flirted with jazz fusion and paid homage to rockabilly hero Gene Vincent, so fans shouldn’t be surprised by any turn he takes on his first album of new material in 11 years (due in stores Tuesday).

On about half of these 11 instrumentals, Beck power-noodles his trademark fat, fuzzy licks and precisely bent notes over beds of drum-and-bass and trip-hop provided by his longtime collaborators Tony Hymas and Jan Hammer, along with players from his 1998 touring band. It might seem dubious, but the industrial-bluesy raga-rock of “What Mama Said” and the epic crunch of “Space for the Papa” are actually pretty cool.

Other tracks range from traditional blues to Eastern boogie-rock to Irish folk, as usual favoring Beck’s ax work over memorable hooks. But so what? He puts more emotion into his instrumental “voice” than a lot of singers invest in their vocals, making such pensive numbers as the soaring, Hawaiian-sounding “Angel (Footsteps)” sweet enough to bring tears to your eyes. Some would say that despite a few riff-a-licious passages, he doesn’t cut loose enough against these lush sonic backdrops. But when he does, everything else fades away.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.