"I don’t understand why some people will only accept a guitar if it has an instantly recognizable guitar sound. I love it when people hear my music but can’t figure out what instrument I’m playing. What a cool compliment."
While he was as innovative as Jimmy Page, as tasteful as Eric Clapton, and nearly as visionary as Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck never achieved the same commercial success as any of his contemporaries, primarily because of the haphazard way he approached his career. After Rod Steward left the Jeff Beck Group in 1971, Beck never worked with a charismatic lead singer who could have helped sell his music to a wide audience. Furthermore, he was simply too idiosyncratic, moving from heavy metal to jazz fusion within a blink of an eye. As his career progressed, he became more fascinated by automobiles than guitars, releasing only one album during the course of the '90s. All the while, he retained the respect of fellow guitarists, who found his reclusiveness all the more alluring.
He earned a reputation by supporting Lord Sutch, which helped him land the job as the Yardbirds' lead guitarist following the departure of Clapton. Jeff stayed with the Yardbirds for nearly two years, leaving in late in 1966 with the pretense that he was retiring from music. Instead, he formed the Jeff Beck group who released many interesting albums that lacked the commercial appeal his fellow guitarists were full of. Beck re-emerged in 1975 with "Blow by Blow", an all-instrumental album that was a surprising commercial success, with a jazz fusion-like approach seldom seen on best-selling lists at the time. "Blow by Blow" also features the legendary Stevie Wonder on keyboards. While Beck's playing is less in-your-face than his previous efforts, all the fierce attack, thick tone, microtonal bends, distortion, feedback, vibrato, sustain, sonic hoodoo, and rhythmic and harmonic creativity that the man's fans have come to know and love can be heard here. It's a testament to the power of effective collaboration and, given the circumstances, Beck clearly rose to the occasion. In addition to being a personal milestone, "Blow by Blow" ranks as one of the premiere recordings in the canon of instrumental rock music.
Let's Go Get It!
He earned a reputation by supporting Lord Sutch, which helped him land the job as the Yardbirds' lead guitarist following the departure of Clapton. Jeff stayed with the Yardbirds for nearly two years, leaving in late in 1966 with the pretense that he was retiring from music. Instead, he formed the Jeff Beck group who released many interesting albums that lacked the commercial appeal his fellow guitarists were full of. Beck re-emerged in 1975 with "Blow by Blow", an all-instrumental album that was a surprising commercial success, with a jazz fusion-like approach seldom seen on best-selling lists at the time. "Blow by Blow" also features the legendary Stevie Wonder on keyboards. While Beck's playing is less in-your-face than his previous efforts, all the fierce attack, thick tone, microtonal bends, distortion, feedback, vibrato, sustain, sonic hoodoo, and rhythmic and harmonic creativity that the man's fans have come to know and love can be heard here. It's a testament to the power of effective collaboration and, given the circumstances, Beck clearly rose to the occasion. In addition to being a personal milestone, "Blow by Blow" ranks as one of the premiere recordings in the canon of instrumental rock music.
Let's Go Get It!
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