Jeff Beck: C/D, S/D, RFD

I got both of the Beck 'Original Album Classics' early last year and listened to them all the time in the car. It actually led me to get his CD "Jeff" a couple weeks ago and oddly enough I listened to last night before bed.

I really like both of his drum and bass type records. They sound of their time but they hold up pretty well as he gets all sorts of weird sounds out of the guitar. Weird sounds and the love of making them with an 'electric' guitar seems to be a big thing with Beck in that BBC documentary about him in the 60s.

I love his track "Nadia" off 'You Have it Coming' and there is a good live version on 'Live at Ronnie Scotts'.

Always loved that he wore a Runaway Radio enamel lapel pin from 101 KLOL (the Houston AOR station) on his Flash jacket.

https://rock101movie.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/timeline-80-runawayradio80s.png

What Andrew Sarris called "Antonioniennui" (actually, no):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSJGEn4FDys

I don't think I've heard a Beck album, just an assortment of cuts, a dozen at most, over the years.

where to start?

I’d recommend Truth. It’s the blueprint for (and superior to, imho) Led Zeppelin I, and contains the greatest-ever recorded scream by a drummer.

I love Truth but the all-instrumental Blow by Blow and Wired are the ones I've played the most

Good a time as any to revisit this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaGfW2Ifuts

There was a 2cd Rhino comp called The Ultimate Yardbirds that did a great job of summarizing the band

yeah, his fusion albums from the '70s are probably the best, but I think the key thing with Jeff Beck is that when you listen to Jeff back you are mostly listening to/for Jeff Beck. The context almost doesn't matter, he is indomitable.

yeah I love the bbb/wired/there and back trifecta.. the live one with the Jan hammer group from around that time is pretty insane too.

He's a loud guitarist, right? Description, not criticism. What I've heard sounds like a strafing.

yeah he’s kind of one the original “stunt guitarists I guess but he has a really unique way of making his guitar emote, lots of gorgeous sunset evoking swells and visercal textural synesthesic metallic scrappage

xpost Try this, as recommended by Nate Patrin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHsPjWBqOZg

Jeff Beck in 1985 in his own goddamn plane:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/sfc-datebook-wordpress/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/MERc20e10f2f41eb9bda2823220642b6_beck_obit-1008x1024.jpg

CHAPMAN STICK!

"It actually led me to get his CD "Jeff" a couple weeks ago and oddly enough I listened to last night before bed."

some of jeff really rips
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvGDTnvj2jM

What I've heard sounds like a strafing.

Then you haven’t heard “Lookin’ For Another Pure Love” (but I assume you have):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY2fz5RBgvQ


“Do it, Jeff.”

He's a great musician who did most of his best work in other contexts than his own records. This Roger Waters track from 1992 is about half guitar solo and there are some terrifying bits in it, without any showing off:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OccmcfZ9ZnY

No, I love that solo, and I like his version of "People Get Ready" w/Rod Stewart, to name two.

the recentish album with the bald eagle playing a strat on the cover was rather good

I’d recommend Truth. It’s the blueprint for (and superior to, imho) Led Zeppelin I

Truth and Beck-Ola are interesting because they give a chance to hear what Zep would have sounded like it they'd been saddled with Mickie Most as a producer.

He plays a great solo on Jon Bon Jovi's "Blaze of Glory."

Beck is a "so close, but..." for me.

I've listened to Beck-Ola and Truth and they just made me want to listen to Led Zeppelin and/or something that doesn't have Rod Stewart singing.

I've listened to Blow By Blow and Wired (not in full, TBF) and they just made me want to listen to Mahavishnu Orchestra.

I've listened to Beck, Bogert & Appice and their version of "Superstition" is world-crushingly awesome but everything else is a boring ballad or a generic blooze riff.

Talented guy, but always second-tier because nothing he did was ever exactly right, and he either couldn't or wouldn't write a hit as cheesy as any of Clapton's.

lol second tier.

lol second tier

I only mean that in terms of commercial success. He was just never as popular as Clapton or Page (via Led Zeppelin, obviously).

Of all the big deal 60s dudes for some reason his fame/rep didn't carry over to subsequent generations

He's probably just after Hendrix in terms of the most innovative rock guitarists of the era. Without him there's no Eddie Van Halen and everything that followed.

Of all the big deal 60s dudes for some reason his fame/rep didn't carry over to subsequent generations

..unless you played guitar. My teacher had me learn "Cause We've Ended as Lovers" as an assignment, and other pieces of his were often transcribed in the monthly guitar magazines.

yeah he’s kind of one the original “stunt guitarists I guess

Probably as good a place as any to point out he was a key inspiration for Nigel Tufnel.

Is there any relationship between "stunt guitarist" and "stun guitar"? (i.e. as credited on many a Blue Oyster Cult and Husker Du LP. Umlauts appear!)

I think this Lewis Shiner story was my intro to music nerdism:

“Felix was 34. He worked four ten-hour days a week at Allied Sheet Metal, running an Amada CNC turret punch press. At night he made cassettes with his twin TEAC dbx machines. He'd recorded over a thousand of them so far, over 160 miles of tape, and he'd carefully hand lettered the labels for each one.

He'd taped everything Jeff Beck had ever done, from the Yardbirds' For Your Love through all the Jeff Beck Groups and the solo albums; he had the English singles of "Hi Ho Silver Lining" and "Tally Man"; he had all the session work, from Donovan to Stevie Wonder to Tina Turner.

In the shop he wore a Walkman and listened to his tapes. Nothing seemed to cut the sound of tortured metal like the diamond-edged perfection of Beck's guitar. It kept him light on his feet, dancing in place at the machine, and sometimes the sheer beauty of it made tears come up in his eyes.”

oh yeah -- I can hear a tonal similarity between him and Van Halen.

Felix would have known, if Lewis Shiner didn't, that Beck didn't play on "For Your Love".

Is there any relationship between "stunt guitarist" and "stun guitar"?

I believe "stunt guitar" was coined by Zappa for the likes of Belew or possibly more specifically Steve Vai. The gist was that Zappa couldn't sing/solo and play at the same time, so he'd have to call in the stunt guitarist.

Going back to the instrumental albums and...yeah, I'm into Wired. Funky instrumental rock, kinda stylistically similar to mid '70s Jean-Luc Ponty (minus the electric violin, of course). I've got some work to do, so I'll listen to Blow By Blow and the live album with Jan Hammer next.

The gist was that Zappa couldn't sing/solo and play at the same time, so he'd have to call in the stunt guitarist.

Interesting, I didn't know that was the meaning. I always thought it was that Vai was playing stuff that was more like stunts than music, basically.

I think they both might be right!

Anyway, for the record:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d11yIXP4xJ0

Pretty sure he is *not* using a slide on this, which is cool/nuts.

I'd rep for the two LPs by the 'second' Jeff Beck Group which featured Bobby Tench on vocals, a young Cozy Powell on drums and included keyboard player Max Middleton who continued to play with Beck through the fusion records.

Beck definitely took a step back from heavy and was trying to do more funk and soul on those records and while they never caught on really big, I think they hold up pretty well myself for early 70s funk/rock/soul.

This is a good video of the group.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs_KgJlCd84

Speaking of Blaze of Glory, this is super-cool:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA37c1Nmuhs

This is pretty bonkers. Hard to divide my attention between Beck and Vinnie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEP2gzfezT4

Talented guy, but always second-tier because nothing he did was ever exactly right, and he either couldn't or wouldn't write a hit as cheesy as any of Clapton's.

I wouldn't call him second-tier, but I have to admit his recording career is a bit underwhelming for someone of his stature. What he did with the Yardbirds was great and the first two Jeff Beck Group albums are often really good, but I always thought there was something lacking about the rest of his output. I'll check out everyone's recommendations though - would be more than happy to add some more Jeff Beck records to my shelf.

He was a classic rock star known by most classic rock fans who was almost never played on classic rock radio

My all-time favorite festival experience was Bonnaroo 2010 when the Saturday night lineup went Jeff Beck-Stevie Wonder-Jay Z. (Beck didn't guest with Stevie iirc, which you might have thought he would.) Beck was fantastic, playing to a crowd full of people who probably only half knew who he was, but he won everyone over. A great mix of gorgeous lyricism and straight fire, but in the service of the songs, he cared about the melodies.

Beck had a bit of bad luck as a he got sick while on the road with the Yardbirds and got in a car wreck which ended the first Jeff Beck Group band (which was scheduled to play Woodstock). After that, I think he kinda did what he wanted to do and most of that was from what I can tell was more work on old hot rods.

I've read that hearing Mahavishnu was a big influence on him that he did not need to have a vocalist and led him to do the fusion records. Beck had enough success from that and earlier work that he was able to keep going and he turned down some business that might have been more lucrative as he just did not want to do it (auditioned with Stones before Ron Wood, turned down touring with Rod Stewart as he was only going to be featured instead of doing the whole show.)

Seems to me he was able to have success by his own terms.

Earlnash OTM re: the second Beck Group albums -- _Jeff Beck Group_ has the definitive 'Goin' Down' and _Rough and Ready_ the gorgeous 'Raynes Park Blues' ('Max's Tune' on later pressings). RIP.

Mike Campbell:

Heartbroken. I saw him maybe 15 yrs ago in San Diego. He was SO good. His precision and technique. All I kept thing was, “I better go home and start practicing A LOT!”

I was wondering why this thread was so active, RIP.

He plays a great solo on Jon Bon Jovi's "Blaze of Glory."

I've listened to Blow By Blow and Wired (not in full, TBF) and they just made me want to listen to Mahavishnu Orchestra.

yeah I think this misses what Wired really is. Inner Mounting Flame is obv its own thing -- incredibly busy, active, not grooveless but certainly not about the groove, right? and from there McLaughlin continues on his super-busy way. I love it and am into it, I'm an apologist for his 80s shit, don't get me wrong! but Mahavishnu is maximalism imo. Beck is into playing with combos and getting, forgive me, "jazzy" inside the rock stricture -- his tunes are rock tunes, but the stuff he's doing inside them is cagey, slippery, really fun and groovy. idk Wired is such a fuckin masterpiece.

embarrassing confession

i didnt know Rod Stewart was in the Jeff Beck Group!
had never heard anything til now
Truth & BeckOla uh rule?