Guitar Player

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A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT

Guitar Player • Vol. 57 No. 4 APRIL 2023

Jeff Beck 1944-2023. • Guitar Player presents a celebration of the Guv’nor’s life and music through stories, interviews and recollections from his friends and fellow artists.

BRUSH WITH the Blues • From Cliff Gallup to Buddy Guy, the roots of Jeff Beck’s guitar journey are planted in the fertile post-war guitar boom.

DELTA FORCE • Behind Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton’s ‘uncomfortable rivalry.’

SHAPES of THINGS • They had Eric Clapton. They had Jeff Beck. They had Jimmy Page. In the late ’60s no other band could get close to them. And without the Yardbirds there would be no Led Zeppelin.

BECK’S BEST • Here are five choice cuts from his psychedelic era.

‘BECK IS BACK’ • In this excerpt from his interview in Guitar Player’s October 1968 issue, Jeff Beck illuminates his time in the Yardbirds and his plans for the future.

BECK, PAGE, MOON & THE BIRTH OF Led Zeppelin • In a small London studio, two Yardbirds, one member of the Who and a pair of passing session maestros united to record a spontaneous instrumental track. This is the story of “Beck’s Bolero.”

GROUP Therapy • In 1968, Jeff Beck found success on his own terms, with his own group. What came after would be infinitely harder.

‘LOVERS’ LEAP • How Stevie Wonder’s apology led to one of Jeff Beck’s signature tunes.

The Whole TRUTH • How the Jeff Beck Group recorded a blues and heavy rock classic, and its direct influence on Led Zeppelin.

HI HO, Silver Lining • Jeff Beck had been soundly defeated in his attempts at blues-rock success. With nothing to lose, he turned to jazz-rock fusion. The result was his biggest commercial success: Blow by Blow.

EMOTIONAL Rescue • After going quiet in the 1980s, Jeff Beck returned to form with Guitar Shop, beginning a journey of rediscovery that culminated with Jeff.

OUR Beck PAGES • From 1968 to 2010, Jeff Beck appeared in Guitar Player more than any other guitar magazine. Here are excerpts from some of his more memorable moments with us.

‘BECK IS BACK’ • JEFF BECK BARELY got a cover line when he made his debut in our pages. His interview focused largely on his background and time in the Yardbirds (see sidebar, page 31) and made no direct mention of his then-current band, the Jeff Beck Group.

‘JEFF BECK’ • BECK WAS IN Los Angeles performing with Beck, Bogert & Appice when he made this, first appearance on Guitar Player’s cover. Steve Rosen’s interview gave many players their first insights into Beck’s history, gear and attitude toward music.

‘JEFF BECK: NEW DIRECTIONS, NEW DIMENSIONS’ • BECK’S SUCCESS WITH the jazz-fusion Blow by Blow was the occasion for this feature, in which he revealed the impetus behind his musical shift.

‘JEFF BECK’ • THEN–ASSISTANT EDITOR Jas Obrecht delivered Guitar Player’s first in-depth interview with Beck with a discussion of his career and the state of his art.

‘BECK ON BECK’ • BECK HAD JUST released Flash when Obrecht caught up with him for an analysis of the album’s guitar work.

‘OF MEAT AND FINGERS’ • NEAR THE END of their Fire Meets the Fury Tour, Beck and co-headliner Stevie Ray Vaughan sat down for a lengthy discussion of the guitarists’ craft and careers.

‘PURE GENIUS’ • ASSOCIATE EDITOR MATT BLACKETT traveled to London to speak with Beck about the making of You Had It Coming, his second album in just two years.

‘BECK TO BECK’

‘ORCHESTRAL...