I have been a fan of the incredible British guitarist Jeff Beck since his work with the Yardbirds. I noted his death at the age of 78 last week. I want to add to the record with a few more glimpses of his work over the years. He had such a long career that I’d like to divide this into at least two parts and return to him next week.
Beck played with many outstanding musicians over the years, most of them in aggregations he assembled himself. If he hadn’t been a gifted musician, a record label could have been built around his work as head of artists & repertoire. He was a brilliant guitarist with a restless soul and a wry sense of humor that you can occasionally hear in his playing.
In the United States we first picked up on him as the lead guitarist of the Yardbirds. I took the bus to see the group play in the auditorium on the eighth floor of the Dayton’s department store in downtown Minneapolis in the summer of 1966. Both Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page were in the lineup. Keith Relf was an impotent singer, but the band was something else.
I borrowed the title of The Yardbirds’ “Shapes of Things” for my Power Line series on Big Tech. Jeff’s solo on the number had a huge impact.
Jeff contributed the guitar work to the Yardbirds’ “Over Under Sideways Down.” He revisited the number on one of his live albums many years later.
Jeff formed his own group — the Jeff Beck Group — with vocalist Rod Stewart et al. and revisited “Shapes of Things” on Truth. I think this is how the song should be heard.
“Plynth (Water Down the Drain)” is from the Jeff Beck Group’s follow-up album. This is ferocious.
A car accident interrupted his career. He reemerged two years later with a new Jeff Beck Group. “Got the Feeling” was the first track on the album.
The following year Stevie Wonder asked Jeff Beck and Buzzy Feiten to contribute the guitar parts to “Lookin’ For Another Pure Love” on Talking Book. You can’t miss Beck’s contribution. Stevie urges him on: “Do it, Jeff.” Jeff does it.
Jeff rejoined Stevie for a live performance of “Superstition” at one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th anniversary shows.
The refashioned Jeff Beck Group recorded one more album. “Going Down” was the standout track.
I’d like to pick back up with more of the irreplaceable Mr. Beck next week.
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