For what served as his first studio album in seven years, Grammy-winning guitarist Jeff Beck returned in 2010 with an eclectic mix of tracks that found the guitar virtuoso accompanied by a handpicked cast of talented musicians, as well as several songs accompanied by a 64-piece orchestra. Recorded at Sarm Studios in London with award-winning producers Steve Lipson and Trevor Horn, Beck used a number of musicians, including appearances by frequent collaborators Vinnie Colaiuta (drums), Jason Rebello (keyboards), and Tal Wilkenfeld (bass). The album also includes contributions from a trio of singers: Imelda May ("Lilac Wine"), Olivia Safe ("Elegy For Dunkirk"), and Grammy-winner Joss Stone ("I Put A Spell On You" and "There s No Other Me").

To complement the innovative tones he coaxes from his guitar here, Beck recorded with a 64-piece orchestra on songs that range from Puccini's immortal aria "Nessun Dorma" and "Elegy For Dunkirk" from the film Atonement to "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" from The Wizard Of Oz and Jeff Buckley's interpretation of "Corpus Christi Carol." Beck said the idea of pairing his guitar with an orchestra evolved from the version of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5 he recorded a few years prior. "It turned out amazingly well, but I didn't want to commit to an entire album of classical music. What appealed to me instead was the idea of bringing together these seemingly contradictory sounds on different kinds of nonclassical music."

In addition to the orchestral pieces, Emotion & Commotion showcases a number of original compositions. For "Hammerhead," Beck fires the rocker's opening salvo through his wah-wah pedal before falling into a deep groove carved out by the rhythm section and horn arrangement. At the opposite end of the sonic spectrum, the airy arrangement that elevates "Never Alone" provides a wide-angle soundscape for Beck's imagination to freely explore the high-flying melody.