Watching the late Jeff Beck on sky arts


When I was a teenager I was aware he was exalted among his peers but he passed me by as a lot of bands blurred into each other with the incessant need to demonstrate their solo virtuosity. Even drummers, bass players and the odd keyboard player was at it.

I'm going to try and go through some of his catalogue though, I'm sure there will be a few absolute gems worth adding to a playlist or two.
 
Bump. I recorded this. Watching it now.

He was bloody brilliant wasn’t he?

Digression; I was in a club in London in the early 80s and there was a line of guitarists at the bar. There was a young lad who was in a band I don’t recall. It might have been Tytan or somebody like that. He was gazing in pissed admiration and trying to catch the attention of John Sykes. Sykes, in turn, was similarly attempting engagement with Gary Moore - who at the time was helping him out and who he hadn’t yet screwed over - and Gary was besottedly gazing at the last in the line: Jeff Beck.

I wish I’d had a camera.
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I feel drawn to add something, having read the rest of the thread now and realising that most of it was rather critical of the programme.

Jeff Beck is a master of feel and technique. His mastery of the instrument is phenomenal and he has a style all his own, playing with thumb and fingers rather than plec, which seems to enable the achievement of subtle tones, light a shade, alongside his utter control of the tremolo arm - which is not easy and often, in lesser players, leads to just noise.

I’m glad he had a mix of old stuff, dating from Yardbirds days, alongside tracks from the Loud Hailer album. Which is brilliant. I could just about take Beth Harts histrionics in the two or three songs she took. She’s got a great voice but she’s constantly on the edge of overdoing it imo. Anybody who can build such a relatively young impressive band around him (I think Rosie Bones is as cool a f***) and augment it with Jan Hammer, Steven Tyler, Billy Gibbons and Buddy Guy is obviously somebody who’s well respected amongst those who know.

Loved it.
 
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Virtuoso...definitely

but indulgent and ultimately turgid

There was a thread on here a while back about worst live bands you had seen. I was going to post Jeff Beck, when news came through of his death, so i held back.

We came out of the concert after about half an hour of it.

'Un-doubted talent but, as you say, ultimately turgid.
 

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