Who needs pedals?

adorshki

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Maybe it would be sufficient to say ANYBODY who can get attention and retain an audience must have SOMETHING to offer. The "business" in all it's forms through all the generations has always be one of hard work, luck and talent. Anybody who can last more than a few years is an exception, and likely points out that they are making worthwhile music. Artists who can sustain it for decades are rare air, so credit is due, whether I personally like the music or not. If you think about it, so many of the groups that stand as icons now were roundly criticized, specifically because they were "different", or "no talent", or if they changed their original "popular" sound as they expanded their musical palette. Elvis, Zeppelin, The Who, AC/DC, Sabbath, Dylan, Ramones......
After composing yesterday's essay, I keep coming back to Jeff beck.
Possibly the single most influential yet unacknowledged guitarist of all time.
Even Jimi, master mimic that he was, borrowed from him, during the early days of Beck's solo career, heck even when he was still in the Yardbirds and Hendrix was a fresh-faced entry on the London pop scene in late '66.
Right about the time "Over Under Sideways Down" and "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" would have been hitting the air.....
(And let's not forget Hendrix even wound up with the Yardirds' gadget master, Roger Mayer, inventor of the Octavia.)
They hung out together and even jammed one night at a club in New York in '68.
Within 6 months Jimi had "borrowed" one of the licks for "Rice Pudding" found on Beck-ola and used it in his "Ezy Rider", clearly heard on the Maui bootleg and the movie Rainbow Bridge.
I humbly submit that there's not a whole lot out there in the heavy metal tone library that isn't found on Truth and Beck-ola
And getting back on track with devices(pedals):
Beck was one of the earliest to embrace 'em in the Yardbirds days (fuzz boxes) and not sure if he or Jimi took to the wah wah first, but it's clearly evident on Truth's "Ain't Superstitious"...and then he was one of the first to abandon 'em by the time he recorded 1971's Rough and Ready followed by the "Going Down" album.
Minimal effects on those (and maybe why the Rolling Stones auditioned him to replace Mick Taylor a couple of years later?), then a brief return to the heaviest of metal with BB&A's "Superstition" before resuming his pursuit of deviceless tone on Blow By Blow , which actually also featured a voicebox on "She's A Woman", not the very first use of it but still predating Frampton's use by a couple of years.
Truth to tell, heavy metal fan that I was at the time, BBB was a bit of letdown for me, but the 2 highlights for me featured nothing but Jeff's fingers (and maybe some whammy bar): " 'Cause We've Ended as Lovers" and "Diamond Dust".
Same thing with "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" on Wired
And while he's gone on and off the effects wagon over the years, his deviceless work on Live at Ronnie Scott's is simply jaw-dropping and reminded me why he was my absolute favorite guitarist for many years:
"10 fingers and a whammy bar", and sometimes not even that....
Only Santana superceded him for a few years in my hierarchy of idols, and that was primarily due to his refusal to jam with him at the last live concert I ever attended.
I'd seen him hook up with John McLaughlin and Stevie Ray Vaughan, what was up?
And Santana was simply more versatile that night, covered a wider range of styles than Jeff, although there were a couple of Beck heavy movers even he couldn't touch.
Didn't EvH acknowledge Jeff as an influence in an interview once?
Wonder what the Edge would say.
H-ll, I bet he tried to learn the licks to "Beck's Bolero" on a slowed-down turntable as a kid.... :glee:
 
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adorshki

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Like purple spandex?

With that asked, (it had to be asked),

Oh I have few qualms with an artists attire (or lack thereof), it's one of the things that cemented my admiration for those sock-loving Red Hot Chili Peppers.
But it wouldn'ta meant zilch if "Breaking the Girl' hadn't already won me over.
Although, now that I think about it, that overdose of plaid flannel and baggie shorts from the grunge era mighta put me off if I hadn't immediately embraced Pearl Jam's Ten, which to me harkened a return to the era of guys who how how to play their amps.
It's those guys that advocate violence and overconsumption of anything that get my dandruff dropping.
Fortunately seems to be confined to a genre that I simply can't abide musically, in any case.
Still, while you were wearing purple spandex, Gong founder (and Soft Machine co-founder) Daevid Allen was channeling his inner George Clinton:

0ed67c09dbe142f40ebcc694266fcdc9.jpg
 

bluesypicky

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After composing yesterday's essay, I keep coming back to Jeff beck.
Possibly the single most influential yet unacknowledged guitarist of all time.
Even Jimi, master mimic that he was, borrowed from him, during the early days of Beck's solo career, heck even when he was still in the Yardbirds and Hendrix was a fresh-faced entry on the London pop scene in late '66.
Right about the time "Over Under Sideways Down" and "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" would have been hitting the air.....
(And let's not forget Hendrix even wound up with the Yardirds' gadget master, Roger Mayer, inventor of the Octavia.)
They hung out together and even jammed one night at a club in New York in '68.
Within 6 months Jimi had "borrowed" one of the licks for "Rice Pudding" found on Beck-ola and used it in his "Ezy Rider", clearly heard on the Maui bootleg and the movie Rainbow Bridge.
I humbly submit that there's not a whole lot out there in the heavy metal tone library that isn't found on Truth and Beck-ola
And getting back on track with devices(pedals):
Beck was one of the earliest to embrace 'em in the Yardbirds days (fuzz boxes) and not sure if he or Jimi took to the wah wah first, but it's clearly evident on Truth's "Ain't Superstitious"...and then he was one of the first to abandon 'em by the time he recorded 1971's Rough and Ready followed by the "Going Down" album.
Minimal effects on those (and maybe why the Rolling Stones auditioned him to replace Mick Taylor a couple of years later?), then a brief return to the heaviest of metal with BB&A's "Superstition" before resuming his pursuit of deviceless tone on Blow By Blow , which actually also featured a voicebox on "She's A Woman", not the very first use of it but still predating Frampton's use by a couple of years.
Truth to tell, heavy metal fan that I was at the time, BBB was a bit of letdown for me, but the 2 highlights for me featured nothing but Jeff's fingers (and maybe some whammy bar): " 'Cause We've Ended as Lovers" and "Diamond Dust".
Same thing with "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" on Wired
And while he's gone on and off the effects wagon over the years, his deviceless work on Live at Ronnie Scott's is simply jaw-dropping and reminded me why he was my absolute favorite guitarist for many years:
"10 fingers and a whammy bar", and sometimes not even that....
Oonly SantanA supeRceded him for a few years in my hierarchy of idols, and that was primarily due to his refusal to jam with him at the last live concert I ever attended.
I'd seen him hook up with John McLaughlin and Stevie Ray Vaughan, what was up?
And Santana was simply more versatile that night, covered a wider range of styles than Jeff, although there were a couple of beck heavy movers even he couldn't touch.
Didn't EvH acknowledge Jeff as an influence in an interview once?
Wonder what the Edge would say.
H-ll, I bet he tried to learn the licks to "Beck's Bolero" on a slowed-down turntable as a kid.... :glee:

Ya know I agree with all of that except for that one thing. (And I can't even begin to grasp how anyone can put Santana (nothing personal) in the same guitarist league as Beck, but we "been there, said that" before didn't we?..... ) :listening_headphone
 

walrus

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I'm not a Jeff Beck fan - sacrilege, I know. Respect his style and skill, but he doesn't do much for me.

"Versatility"? No one comes close to McLaughlin.

And I gotta agree with bluesy that Santana doesn't belong in the same thread with the guitarists we have mentioned.

BTW, how lucky are we that there has been so many great guitarists? We don't have to agree on which ones we like to listen to, but there sure have been (and still are) some talented players out there.

walrus
 

adorshki

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Ya know I agree with all of that except for that one thing. (And I can't even begin to grasp how anyone can put Santana (nothing personal) in the same guitarist league as Beck, but we "been there, said that" before didn't we?..... ) :listening_headphone

Oh yeah, we've "battled it out", but in retrospect I realize it's probably more about my personal affection for the music itself, than a judgement of technical equality.
Don't recall if I tried to explain that before, but I do recall using versatility as one of my measures for "favorite" and that's what tipped the scale that night, as I mentioned.
Although I will put Love Devotion Surrender (with John McLaughlin) and Blues For Salvador up there with Beck's "Goodbye Porkpie Hat" for technique.
For that matter I put the entire Abraxas album on the "can't live without" list.
And later on "Europa" from Amigos
But I've never heard him do anything like "Hammerhead", especially the way Jeff managed to do it live at the Crossroads Festival in 2010.
He was pulling that kind of stuff off at the dual headliner show with Carlos in Mt. View in '95.
He opened.
Then Carlos came on and explained that although he had hoped to jam, Jeff had declined.
I refuse to speculate about possible reasons.
 

adorshki

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And I gotta agree with bluesy that Santana doesn't belong in the same thread with the guitarists we have mentioned.

Still we gotta remember that the subject pulled him out of his groundhog hole, just as efficaciously as a string thread, and that's a good thing.
:glee:
 

Aristera

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Al,

If you get a chance pick up a copy of the Jeff Beck DVD/BluRay that was released on May 18. "Still on the Run: The Jeff Beck Story". A great documentary! Hot rods and his 63 split window Corvette. too. He was introduced to Jimmy Page by his old sister as a teen. Both had homebuilt guitars. Shows Jeff's induction to the Rock and Roll HOF with Page. Immigrant Song into Bolero. Nice.

James
 

walrus

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Al,

If you get a chance pick up a copy of the Jeff Beck DVD/BluRay that was released on May 18. "Still on the Run: The Jeff Beck Story". A great documentary! Hot rods and his 63 split window Corvette. too. He was introduced to Jimmy Page by his old sister as a teen. Both had homebuilt guitars. Shows Jeff's induction to the Rock and Roll HOF with Page. Immigrant Song into Bolero. Nice.

James

Here's the RRHOF clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laXXXJ_1dHQ

walrus
 

adorshki

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Al,
If you get a chance pick up a copy of the Jeff Beck DVD/BluRay that was released on May 18. "Still on the Run: The Jeff Beck Story". A great documentary! Hot rods and his 63 split window Corvette.

One of my favorite anecdotes is when, during an interview, he told the host Of "Car Crazy" about going for a ride with Hendrix in (Hendrix's) new 'Vette, and Jimi, gadget freak that he was, being uncontrollably fascinated with playing with the windshield wipers.
Don't recall exactly what it was but fuzzy memory says it was actually some kind of glitch so that when Jimi hit a certain switch the automatic wiper spray activated, and he just kept messing with it...LOL!
This must have been that short period when they were both in NY at the same time, late '68.
I think he also mentions having to worry about the car overheating in the city traffic.
As a "car guy" and a fan of both of 'em that one always stuck with me: an insight into Jimi's offstage persona.
Those interviews can be found on YouTube. (it was a 2-parter)
Beck also had '32 Ford built by the immortal Boyd Coddington whom he met during one of his visits to Oakland CA.
Another thing Beck's frequently overlooked for is giving Rod Stewart his first "big" break, as well as Ron Wood and Cozy Powell (Rainbow) who drummed on Rough and Ready and The Jeff Beck Group (the "Goin' Down" album)
 
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