Many consider Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page to be the trifecta of British rock guitarists yet while Page and Clapton went on to great fame and fortune, Beck trailed behind, hugely respected among fellow musicians as a "guitarist's' guitarist" but never really racking up a string of hit songs or Classic Rock radio staples.
Beck was simply content to do his own thing. And often, doing his own thing meant turning down fat paychecks with offers to join huge bands (The Rolling Stones, twice) and instead, playing the music he wanted to play whether rockabilly one album, jazz another, or guitar-infused electronica the next.
That was Jeff Beck.
Good player, but not as talented at being involved in the actual creation of memorable music.
Seems similar in his lone wolf ways to the Thin White Duke (David Bowie). Another guy sorely missed.
RIP
How can you forget putting Peter Green on your list!?
Green was, and remains, the guitarist’s guitarist.
Some may be as good. None were better. Don’t hold the shortness of his career against him. When he was leading Fleetwood Mac they outsold the Beatles and Rolling Stones COMBINED.
It’s one of the reasons why he’s your favorite guitar player’s favorite guitar player.... which is one of the reasons why much of his work is unlistenable to me. My son, a professional guitarist, loves him.
This guy claims to be a journalist.
Here is the first sentence of his article:
As a young music journalist, Jeff Beck was on the short list of icons who I really wanted to interview.
The poor sentence structure here is such that Jeff Beck was identified as the young music journalist - not the author.
Proper English would be:
“Jeff Beck was on my short list of icons who I really wanted to interview when I was a young music journalist.”
OR
“As a young music journalist, I had Jeff Beck on my short list of icons who I really wanted to interview.”
You would think being a journalist would require basic knowledge of written English, particularly in the opening sentence of an article he wrote.
Back in the late 70s we wore out our copies of Blow by Blow and Wired.
I ended up buying them again on Vinyl years later. They still reside in my record cabinet today.
I am listening to Freeway Jam right now on my phone via Spotify.
Good article and describes Jeff pretty well. I saw him at pivotal points in his career.
His sound and touch is what set him apart. No one could sound like him and he created his own style and sound. He was able to make his guitar sound similar to a harmonica.
Jeff was a grandmaster on guitar and a one of a kind.
You need to check out UPP Featuring Jeff Beck
UPP feat. JEFF BECK - Down In The Dirt (1974 UK TV Performance)
https://youtu.be/NzDqqxKnW3o
So’s Bill Nelson.
Just sayin’.
Did anyone mention that they reached out to Beck and he turned down the spot with Pink Floyd when Sid Barrett left?