ATCO

Jeff Beck is having way too much fun here. Cut live last June at the New York jazz club Iridium—the same venue where his late hero Les Paul held forth every Monday night for years—Beck, along with the Irish vocalist Imelda May and her band, pays tribute to Paul and then some. The recreations of such Paul staples as “How High the Moon,” “Vaya Con Dios” and “Tiger Rag” are spot-on, May performing the Mary Ford role elegantly. But Beck, whose guitaristry remains at the same lofty level of genius as ever, also uses the occasion to tear into rock and roll classics like “Twenty Flight Rock,” “Apache” and “The Train Kept a Rollin’,” as incendiary as the Yardbirds’ ’65 raveup. Even the Shangri-Las’ “(Remember) Walking in the Sand” gets Beck-ified on this thoroughly entertaining set (also available on DVD).