By the early years of the 1970s, Jeff Beck was a man without a mission. Along with keyboardist Max Middleton, bassist Phil Chen and drummer Richard Bailey, he began recording his first proper solo album with former Beatles producer George Martin. Beck, promoting his newly released Blow by Blow album, wielding his infamous Oxblood Les Paul – which sold for $10.7 million at auction last year — leads the performance’s charge with slinky, funk-laced playing. Middleton had featured in the Jeff Beck Group and survived Beck's stylistic shakeup as he pivoted towards instrumental music and life as a solo artist. In related news, Mick Rogers has claimed that he owns the last known recording of Jeff Beck's playing, but admits that releasing it is another matter entirely.