Jeff Beck fans ...

AlexC

Apparently, Pink Floyd were considering Beck as a replacement guitarist for Syd Barrett but never had the guts to ask him. Perhaps this is the path they would’ve taken...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YRWRRBX3TB0

longjaw

matt1973 said:

Just a quick word on Becks longevity. I spoke to a couple of producers that had worked with Beck in the past, both of whom agreed that he played at relatively low volume levels. Considering the generation he came from, that’s very much against the norm and must certainly have contributed to his extended career.

I read an interview with him in the late 90s where he said he has severe tinnitus, due to playing way too loud in the 60s and 70s - think it's more linked to that!

richardhomer

longjaw said:

matt1973 said:

Just a quick word on Becks longevity. I spoke to a couple of producers that had worked with Beck in the past, both of whom agreed that he played at relatively low volume levels. Considering the generation he came from, that’s very much against the norm and must certainly have contributed to his extended career.

I read an interview with him in the late 90s where he said he has severe tinnitus, due to playing way too loud in the 60s and 70s - think it's more linked to that!

I saw him on the Guitar Shop tour.

His tech tested his guitar through the three Marshalls prior to the show starting. I thought ‘Jeez - that’s loud’ - and then realised what I was hearing was straight off the back line.

An insanely loud gig....

thegummy

I actually hate really loud music. Dunno if it's me getting old...

At gigs these days I often find it too loud and especially at band practice it's quite uncomfortable. The bass is good loud cause you can feel it but the guitar and drums just aren't pleasurable at high levels for me.

Don't get me wrong, sometimes in the car I'll turn it up to a level that would get me an asbo in the house but not to the ear piercing extremes of being feet away from a loudly played drum kit

guitars4you

richardhomer said:

longjaw said:

matt1973 said:

Just a quick word on Becks longevity. I spoke to a couple of producers that had worked with Beck in the past, both of whom agreed that he played at relatively low volume levels. Considering the generation he came from, that’s very much against the norm and must certainly have contributed to his extended career.

I read an interview with him in the late 90s where he said he has severe tinnitus, due to playing way too loud in the 60s and 70s - think it's more linked to that!

I saw him on the Guitar Shop tour.

His tech tested his guitar through the three Marshalls prior to the show starting. I thought ‘Jeez - that’s loud’ - and then realised what I was hearing was straight off the back line.

An insanely loud gig....

I was at that same gig - Manchester Apollo  and yes seriously loud - saw him there again about 2/3 year ago

seeing him in Nottingham in a few weeks

Modulus_Amps

I am not a big JB fan, but his guitar playing on the blaze of glory album is pretty much what got me interested in playing guitar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d11yIXP4xJ0

Love the intro playing in this one

https://youtu.be/6qssu13_A6M?t=46  

the_jaffa

Is anyone else getting a stuttering soundtrack on this? Watching on HD and it’s stuttering all over the shop. Proper frustrating

fandango

Watched the programme, and I can’t wait to him play live this summer.

Beck is a seriously awesome guitarist, and comes across as a top bloke.

lovestrat74

Damn, just ordered a hardtail!!

Grangousier

If you watch it on iPlayer, it asks you to confirm you're 16 or older. 

Not entirely necessary, that. It would be nice if there were hordes of fifteen-and-unders clamouring to watch a doc about Jeff Beck, but I'm guessing it's not likely. 

The person he makes me think of most is Miles Davis - it's not so much the notes he's playing, but the wonderful sound he makes. 

Handsome_Chris

Grangousier said:

If you watch it on iPlayer, it asks you to confirm you're 16 or older. 

Not entirely necessary, that. It would be nice if there were hordes of fifteen-and-unders clamouring to watch a doc about Jeff Beck, but I'm guessing it's not likely. 

If you're under sixteen, you get directed to a Joe Bonamassa documentary.

guitars4you

Thoroughly enjoyed that - so humble as well isn't he

Knew him and Jimmy + EC all grew up in a similar area - Plus connection between Jimmy and JB via Yardbirds, but never knew they had met at such a young age

guitars4you

Guitars e used on that documentary

Never seen the sunburst 50's Strat before, that he used on video clips around the mid 70's around Wired + Blow by blow - not seen it since

Ditto for the LP with the Yardbirds around 66 period - had a black scratchplate on a burst - must have been a 58-60 model

anyone shed any light

prowla

I found it a bit disjointed, skipping back and forth over time, saying he left a band and then going back to when he was in it.

EricTheWeary

Watched most of it. As a film or documentary not really very good. Jeff is a lovely and talented bloke repeated two hundred times. I recognised the Ronnie Scott’s clips and they had access to some other concert footage, more music and less of the banal chat would have been better for me. 

TheBigDipper

That was an enjoyable watch - without being the best piece of documentary work I've ever seen (as above...) and it's made me dig out a small pile of CDs to listen to over the next few days. And a solo guitar arrangement of Goodbye, Pork Pie Hat that I've never tried to learn... - I'm also very fond of Joni Mitchells vocal version. 

fandango

guitars4you said:

Thoroughly enjoyed that - so humble as well isn't he

Knew him and Jimmy + EC all grew up in a similar area - Plus connection between Jimmy and JB via Yardbirds, but never knew they had met at such a young age

There was mention and a photo of the old Granada cinema in Sutton, where Jeff went to see a film of something (sorry cant recall what he saw).

Sutton is an old stomping ground, and I went there a couple of times before it was demolished in the mid 1970’s. Epsom was another well visited town near where i grew up. Its also where Jimmy Page lived, and where Jeff and Jimmy first met when Jefff went round to his house.

Sometimes these documentaries throw up little tidbits like this.

Another interesting thing for me is hearing directly from Jeff why he left the Yardbirds. At one level, a shame he did, because I thought they really could have gone places with Jeff. Hey ho, but pleased to discover Jeff went and did what he wanted to do.

We all know he’s such a unique guitarist, yet to me he’s a more accessible listening experience than say Holdsworth.

impmann

I thoroughly enjoyed that. Time hopping doesn’t bother me - and I thought the underlying narrative worked well.

Some of JB’s playing is INSANE, and I can’t work out exactly what he’s doing. His phrasing and attack is like nobody else and his stuff was light years ahead of his contemporaries (Jimi excepted perhaps - I’d put them on a par).

It was great to see Jimmy Page looking so well, happy and ‘together’  - now he’s in that place, it’s high time someone sat down with him to talk about these historical things as his memory is still pin sharp. I loved the fact that he talked about *the* Fender Electric 12 that he used on Bolero, and the inference being that it’s the one he played Stairway on (no it wasn’t the ‘TV aerial ‘ Gibson).

If I was being greedy, I’d loved to have seen Jeff’s guitar collection - apparently he’s kept a *lot* of his old stuff. 

As as for the burst with the black plate - yes, it’s a late 50s one and the plate was made for him specially after he broke the original (iirc) - and he wanted it to look ‘different’. I don’t know what became of it though.

guitars4you

EricTheWeary said:

Watched most of it. As a film or documentary not really very good. Jeff is a lovely and talented bloke repeated two hundred times. I recognised the Ronnie Scott’s clips and they had access to some other concert footage, more music and less of the banal chat would have been better for me. 

a lot of other footage I believe is from the current DVD Live At Hollywood Bowl - with loads of guest artist I believe - The Ronnie Scotts DVD is the best by far IMO

Good to see some other clips - would have liked to have seen more of the clip from 'There and Back' era with Simon Phillips on Drums

guitars4you

impmann said:

I thoroughly enjoyed that. Time hopping doesn’t bother me - and I thought the underlying narrative worked well.

Some of JB’s playing is INSANE, and I can’t work out exactly what he’s doing. His phrasing and attack is like nobody else and his stuff was light years ahead of his contemporaries (Jimi excepted perhaps - I’d put them on a par).

It was great to see Jimmy Page looking so well, happy and ‘together’  - now he’s in that place, it’s high time someone sat down with him to talk about these historical things as his memory is still pin sharp. I loved the fact that he talked about *the* Fender Electric 12 that he used on Bolero, and the inference being that it’s the one he played Stairway on (no it wasn’t the ‘TV aerial ‘ Gibson).

If I was being greedy, I’d loved to have seen Jeff’s guitar collection - apparently he’s kept a *lot* of his old stuff. 

As as for the burst with the black plate - yes, it’s a late 50s one and the plate was made for him specially after he broke the original (iirc) - and he wanted it to look ‘different’. I don’t know what became of it though.

on the Les Paul Tribute night DVD with Imelda May etc, there is an additional DVD with an interview and a bit of a tour of his collection - Great bit on there when he picks up a Maccaferri style Django box - He plays Django style licks for about 30 secs , very well, then dismisses himself as not worthy and puts it down 

Thanks for info on the LP - never seen him with it before