Jeff Beck isn’t your average guitar legend. He wants to make guitar playing seem trivial. Beck says that he doesn’t get why people would only accept a guitar with a familiar sounding guitar tone. It is what drives me crazy to find new ways to use the same instrument people have used for 50 years and make unique sounds. It’s a great feeling to hear people’s music and not be able to identify the instrument I am playing. That’s a great compliment. Beck was a Yardbirds member when he first came on the music scene in 1966. Beck was a part of almost every hit by the band, even though his time with them lasted just 18 months. Beck’s unique style, which can be heard on songs like “Heart Full of Soul”, and “Shapes of things”, helped to shape the psychedelic sound of 1960s. Beck quit the Yardbirds in 1967 at the height of their popularity and began an unpredictable musical journey as an Epic recording artist. This journey lasted almost four decades. Beck’s distinctive contribution to jazz-fusion, hard rock and modern music history has been evident during that period. Many of his contemporaries seem content with musical inertia. Beck, however, continues to innovate with the release his 14th album, “Jeff.” The 13 songs on “Jeff”, produced by Andy Wright (Simply Red and Eurythmics), and mixed by Mike Barbiero, Blues Traveler, Metallica. It reflects Beck’s continuing fascination with electronic music. “On my last album, “You Had It Coming,” I spent a lot time in the studio with Andy Wright playing with different sounds. Beck says that they had a great time but got bogged down by the possibilities. Beck won a Grammy for instrumental performance on the song “Dirty Mind” off his album. “When I returned to the studio for Jeff, I didn’t want my time to be slowed down so I brought in some people to push me along.” Beck claims David Torn, a member of Splattercell, became a key collaborator. To Beck’s delight Torn rewrote “Plan B”, a song that was in its early stages. “Dave took out the vocals and made my guitar line the song’s main hook,” he said. He says that this is what I should have done. However, it takes a remix man to put a new spin on what you are doing. “I heard Dave’s album on Splattercell and wanted him to take apart one of my songs. He did it beautifully.” Beck met Howard Gray, Trevor Gray and Noko Fisher-Jones, who are members of the Liverpudlian electronic trio Apollo 440. Beck recorded three songs with the rhythms of the group before long. Beck says, “When we first met they wrote me one those incredible ‘nail-your head to the wall’ kinds of grooves and I loved it.” Beck says that he played the track for two hours, and then wrote ‘Grease Monkey.’ He found inspiration in a unique rhythm track which is how songs such as “Dirty Mind”, “You Had It Coming” or “Psycho Sam” “Who Else!” were created. He explains that he plays guitar but it’s not my first point of departure. “The drums must kick me in my ass and make it want to play, or else I’ll just sit there all day. Although I can write songs on guitar, and then add drums later, it never sounds right. A good song must begin with an inspirational rhythm,” said Apollo 440 rhythm track “Hot Rod Honeymoon.” This juxtaposes a raging club beat with 60s surf-pop harmonies, and blues slide guitar. This unexpected contrast gives the song an edge. Beck says that if I had used a shuffle to this song, which is what you would expect to hear on a song like this, it would have destroyed the song immediately. Beck explains that if I had used a shuffle on this song, which is the kind of beat you would expect to hear, it would have killed the song instantly.” The album’s wildest ride is “Trouble Man,” which Beck launches into with a series of mercurial solos that spiral out of control, then crashes into a pulsating pile of noise that sounds like an overdriven modem. Like much of Beck’s music, the song creates an atmosphere that is violently elegant by balancing the raw emotions of his heart with the deliberate technique of his mind. Beck is a rare guitarist, like Chuck Berry or Jimi Hendrix. He is compelling not only for the music he plays but also for the way he plays it. Beck prefers a natural, simple approach to creating sound. While many guitarists use racks of gear, Beck favors simplicity and manual dexterity over using gadgets. Eric Clapton said that Beck is the best guitarist of all time, and that he plays his entire guitar. Beck uses his fingers to control the speed and control of the guitar’s fretboard. He also adds subtle twists to the volume and tone knobs, shaping the notes as he plays them. Beck further manipulates the sounds with controlled cruelty using the whammy bars. I play the way that I do because it allows for me to make the most bizarre sounds possible. Beck smiles wickedly. I don’t care what the rules are. “I don’t care about the rules. Beck combines the complexity and jazz improvisations of progressive rock with intergalactic tones and humor. This opened the door for future guitarist instrumentalists such as Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. Beck was inspired by Jan Hammer, a former keyboardist of Mahavishnu Orchestra, to explore electronic music. Hammer’s legendary mastery over the Mini-Moog synthesizer gave Beck classics such as “Freeway Jam”, “Blue Wind” a unique, funky, and otherworldly feel that was unmatched in its day. Beck says that the show left some people in the audience confused when it was recorded on “Jeff Beck with Jan Hammer Group Live” (1978). Beck says, “I don’t think many people knew what was going on on stage.” “I can tell you it was an exciting–electric–time for us as musicians because we were pushing the music in new directions. While we seemed a bit out of reach at the time, it was evident that we were right on our feet. Beck believes Hammer continues to inspire him to find new sounds and to use them in his music. Beck says that Jan’s use of technology changed his mind and opened up a whole new world. He made me see that everything is constantly changing and that you cannot sit still. It’s important to listen to what’s happening around you or your music will fade away.” Beck was born in Wallington, England, on the 24th of June 1944. This was just before World War II ended. Beck was exposed to music at a young age thanks to his mother’s piano playing, and the family radio that played everything from classical to dance. Music was a comfort for my parents who survived the war. Music helped them forget all the tension in their lives. Beck recalls, “I’m sure that made a impression on me.” Beck recalls that he was just a small boy when jazz came to England. He can still remember going to his parents’ house to listen to it. Beck soon picked up a guitar, and began to play around London. After a brief stint at Wimbledon’s Art College, Beck left to dedicate his life to music. Beck was a session player with Screaming Lady Sutch, the British equivalent of Screaming Jay Hawkins. He also played with the Tridents before replacing Eric Clapton in 1965 as the Yardbirds’ guitarist. In 1967, Beck quit the band and formed The Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart singing and Ron Wood playing bass. Two albums were released by the band: “Truth” (1968), and “Beck-Ola” (1969). These albums became musical icons for hard rockers over the years. Stewart and Wood joined the Faces, and Beck disbanded them until 1971. He then formed a new band and recorded two albums: “Rough and Ready”, (1971), and “The Jeff Beck Group”, (1972). Beck disbanded the group again and formed a trio with drummer Carmine Appice and bassist Tim Bogert, which released “Beck, Bogert, and Appice” (1973). Beck veered away from hard rock and created two iconic jazz-fusion albums, “Blow by Blow” (1975), and “Wired” (1976). These all-instrumental albums, which were critically acclaimed and popularly loved by fans, remain to be two of the most successful guitar instrumental albums ever. In 1977, Jeff Beck and the Jan Hammer Group recorded “Jeff Beck Live”. Although music was Beck’s first passion, it shared space with his love for hot rods. He started riding as soon as he could see the dashboard. Beck started to devote more time and effort to his hot rod collection after the success of “Blow by Blow” u0026 “Wired”. The studio is delicate and you are working for sound. Beck explains that the garage is a great place to work because it’s not delicate. The garage is more dangerous than the rest. Although I have never been nearly crushed by a guitar, I can’t speak for one of my Corvettes. Beck returned to music in 1980 with “There and Back,” but it wasn’t until 1985 that he was heard again. He won the Best Rock Instrumental Grammy in 1985 with “Flash,” and he re-emerged in semi-retirement with “Jeff Beck’s Guitar Shop with Terry Bozzio and Tony Hymas.” This album earned him his second Grammy. Beck tried to retire again after a coheadlining tour with Stevie Ray Vaughan. But it didn’t work out. Beck, backed by Big Town Playboys, returned to the studio to record “Crazy Legs” in 1993. It was a tribute to Gene Vincent and Cliff Gallup. Although “Who Else!” (1999), was not released until six years later, it opened up a floodgate of Beck-inspired music. It was only two years until Beck’s 2001 album, “You Had It Coming,” won him his third Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental. Beck toured the country with B.B. in 2003 to support the album. King at the 12th Annual B.B. King Music Festival. VH1 Classic presented the landmark event. It also featured Galactic, a New Orleans-based progressive band, and Mofro, a Florida-based murky blues band. A bootleg of the official “Live at B.B.” recording. King Blues Club” was recorded in the New York club in September 2003, and released for online retail only at www.jeffbeckmusic.com. Jeff Beck made a tour of the UK in 2004 using momentum from his fourth Grammy win for “Plan B”, the song on his album “Jeff”. In July 2005, he formed a new band that included Vinnie Coliauta and Pino Palladino. They were then retained for a six-date tour of the US West Coast in 2006. The “Official Bootleg”, a must-have Jeff Beck live CD, was born from these dates. Pino was not available so Jeff kept Vinnie, Jason and Randy. Then, he added Randy Hope-Taylor to the UK and European dates. He also performed at two Japanese festivals during the summer. Finally, a long tour of the USA in September. The 2007 season began with a duet performed by Kelly Clarkson on American Idol Gives back to an audience of 30,000,000! Jeff played 7 European dates during the summer and was able to play to over 30,000 people at Chicago’s Crossroads Guitar Festival. From JeffBeck.com
