Skip to main content

Jeff Beck

 151

Jeff Beck

https://images.fineartamerica.com/images/artworkimages/mediumlarge/2/2-jeff-beck-live-larry-hulst.jpg

Jeff Beck

Let's just start off with this: "Freeway Jam (Live)." If you need anymore convincing why Jeff Beck made the list of "Bands That I Like," then you will forever be clueless. I first became aware of this legendary guitarist with his April 2010 release Emotion & Commotion. I was immediately blown away by the first note and continued to be blown away- Blow By Blow- by the entire album; I had never heard the guitar sound so orchestral, eerie, emotional & eternal. The saying, "better late than never," surely applies to me here:  In typical millennial fashion- I had heard of the artist Beck before this legendary guitarist (ranked No. 5 of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time by Rolling Stone). After being converted with Emotion & Commotion, I quickly did a deep dive into his catalogue- and I do mean DEEP. This a man who has been recording since 1968 with his legendary Jeff Beck Group, which introduced the world to two new up-and-comers that one soon take over the world: Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood (who would eventually go on to become the permanent rhythm guitarist for the Rolling Stones). I started with what many believe to be his best album, Blow By Blow, and the 1991 3-CD-box-set Beckology, but I soon found that Beck's real shining moments were in the live performance. Early Jeff Beck is captured great on 1968's Live at the Fillmore West and the numerous other live albums- not to mention the rabbit-hole you can go down on YouTube of him shredding AFTER shred AFTER shred AFTER shred... I'm in the minority- but I actually enjoy his later-day orchestral/compositional work over his early blues-psych-rock stuff with the Jeff Beck Band. For instance, check out this song "Plan B" which see's the guitarist further stretching his artistic image and going beyond the constraints of the electric guitar: And that's probably why Beck is recognized as one of the greatest of all time: He is one of the few guitarist in history that furthered the progression of now only guitar-playing- but also- what it actually means to be a guitarist. And that say's a heck...

It's...

Jeff Beck

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Band

19 The Band The Band First known as the Hawks, the Band got their initial fame as Bob Dylan’s backing band. Remember when Bob Dylan sold out and went electric, angering fans so much that they called him “ Judas ”? Well, you can thank all of that to the Band. For a band that sounds so fucking American (seriously- no band has done the whole Americana roots music better than the Band) it’s pretty funny most of them were Canadian. After finally branching out on their own in 1968, the Band would release some of the best music ever recorded… and if you thought the Beatles had a hell of a run- check out the Band’s discography: 1968’s Music From Big Pink , 1969’s self-titled The Band , 1970’s Stage Fright , 1971’s Cahoots , 1972’s live-album Rock of Ages , 1973’s Moondog Matinee , 1975’s Northern Lights -Southern Cross , and 1977’s Islands. Lynard Skynard may have taken the crown for greatest southern rock band, but for a band full of Canadians and Americans, the Band really embraces a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Crystal Castles

61 Crystal Castles Crystal Castles If you ever wondered what it would sound like if the video-game character Mario was catapulted through a plate-glass window- you'd get close to describing Crystal Castles. Cut up vocals and soothing waves of synth, live shows known for "fan riots, crowd surges, and metal barriers destroyed" Toronto electronic-punk-bleep-pop duo Crystal Castles is music that could only be made in the post-modern / post-millennium era, with a fan base that remembers the 8-bit era. Some dance music is meant to be played in the dark, but few dance bands bring their own darkness. This is dance music for sociopaths. Crystal Castles is the brain-child of Ethan Kath. The band began as a Kath solo project in 2003, but the producer recruited a 15-year-old Alice Glass to add vocals. Glass recorded rough soundcheck vocals for five tracks, which were secretly recorded by an en engineer, and Kath uploaded the material un der the name Crystal Castles. After rele...
Post a Comment
Read more

Courtney Barnett

58 Courtney Barnett Courtney Barnett I first came on board with Courtney Barnett on her excellently titled debut album Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit . Songs like " Depreston " and " Pedestrian At Best " spoke to my inner- nineties-child... someone who was just an infant during grunge and missed out on the prime years of that era- this was like a last-minute invitation to that party. Barnett has the energy of Nirvana with the pop sensibilities of Pavement. She first came on everyone's radar with the release of the song :Avant Gardener." If you l isten to " Avant Gardene r," an autobiographical account of trying to turn a life around through gardening, only to be foiled by a severe allergic reaction; it features some of the best lyric-writing in music today. There was something special about this Australian singer-songwriter. Like a grunge hangover. Few speak truth to mundanity quite like singer/songwriter Courtney Barne...
1 comment
Read more