How Jeff Beck Defined the Rock Guitar
by Alex Petrachkov
Introduction
Since Jeff Beck's untimely death in January 2023, many of his peers hailed him as the greatest rock guitarist of all, "the guitarists' guitarist". Much deserved praise has been given to Beck's inimitable skills, faultless taste and perpetual evolution. His works, including albums Truth and Blow by Blow, were both pioneering and influential.
However, one key aspect of Beck's legacy is often overlooked and is probably unknown to many music lovers.
In the mid-1960s, a new genre - rock - began to emerge from British pop music.
There is no universal definition of rock music and there won’t be. The limits between rock and roll, rockabilly, beat, rhythm & blues, pop and rock are too blurred. Bill Wyman gave a smart and cheeky definition of rock as “popular music that to a certain degree doesn't care if it's popular”. It doesn’t tell the full story though.
The kind of music that began emerging in Britain around 1964 was a leaner, harder and screechier version of pop music, with no compromises on the beat. It did not seek to be diluted with lovely harmonies and other niceties to please the listener (although beautiful melodies were not precluded as the Beatles had demonstrated). Orchestration was kept to the bare minimum: guitars, bass, drums and, occasionally, keyboard. Think of tomato concentrate v tomato juice, or, for connoisseurs, pure malt v scotch & soda. Later, as British rock was getting harder, Rod Stewart provided the right kind of vocals to strengthen the spirit.
The electric guitar with distortion was the essential ingredient of rock music in its British version. In August 1964 Dave Davies of the Kinks slashed the cones of the speaker cones to alter the sound of his guitar in You Really Got Me. The two-note riff was primitive but attracted attention: guitar distortion entered British pop. Messing with the razor, however, was not the way forward. The new music era that was about to begin required quality equipment and guitar prodigies to master it.
Four young guitarists have defined rock music and, to-date, remain the greatest guitar icons. However, in 1965, Eric Clapton was playing blues, Jimmy Page was busy as session guitarist and Jimi Hendrix was nowhere until October 1966. It was Jeff Beck who became Britain's most respected and influential guitar player in the nascent rock scene.
In March 1965, twenty-year old Jeff Beck was recommended to the Yardbirds by Jimmy Page who, in turn, was suggested by Eric Clapton who left the group, unhappy with the turn it took from blues to pop. In Beck’s own words, “The general buzz of the band was that they thought they were finished when Eric left. At my debut with the Yardbirds at the Marquee, I showed them what was what, and I got a standing ovation, so that was the end of that.”
Four episodes illustrate how Jeff Beck laid the foundations of rock guitar playing during his eighteen-month spell with the Yardbirds, which was also the golden period of the group.
Episode 1. The Riff. Heart Full of Soul (recorded in April 1965)
Episode 2. The Solo. Shapes of Things (recorded in January 1966)
Episode 3. Rock Rhapsody with Heavy Metal. Beck’s Bolero (recorded in May 1966)
Episode 4. Double Lead Guitar. Happenings Ten Years Time Ago (recorded in September 1966)
RIP Jeff Beck and thank you.
by Alex Petrachkov
Introduction
Since Jeff Beck's untimely death in January 2023, many of his peers hailed him as the greatest rock guitarist of all, "the guitarists' guitarist". Much deserved praise has been given to Beck's inimitable skills, faultless taste and perpetual evolution. His works, including albums Truth and Blow by Blow, were both pioneering and influential.
However, one key aspect of Beck's legacy is often overlooked and is probably unknown to many music lovers.
In the mid-1960s, a new genre - rock - began to emerge from British pop music.
There is no universal definition of rock music and there won’t be. The limits between rock and roll, rockabilly, beat, rhythm & blues, pop and rock are too blurred. Bill Wyman gave a smart and cheeky definition of rock as “popular music that to a certain degree doesn't care if it's popular”. It doesn’t tell the full story though.
The kind of music that began emerging in Britain around 1964 was a leaner, harder and screechier version of pop music, with no compromises on the beat. It did not seek to be diluted with lovely harmonies and other niceties to please the listener (although beautiful melodies were not precluded as the Beatles had demonstrated). Orchestration was kept to the bare minimum: guitars, bass, drums and, occasionally, keyboard. Think of tomato concentrate v tomato juice, or, for connoisseurs, pure malt v scotch & soda. Later, as British rock was getting harder, Rod Stewart provided the right kind of vocals to strengthen the spirit.
The electric guitar with distortion was the essential ingredient of rock music in its British version. In August 1964 Dave Davies of the Kinks slashed the cones of the speaker cones to alter the sound of his guitar in You Really Got Me. The two-note riff was primitive but attracted attention: guitar distortion entered British pop. Messing with the razor, however, was not the way forward. The new music era that was about to begin required quality equipment and guitar prodigies to master it.
Four young guitarists have defined rock music and, to-date, remain the greatest guitar icons. However, in 1965, Eric Clapton was playing blues, Jimmy Page was busy as session guitarist and Jimi Hendrix was nowhere until October 1966. It was Jeff Beck who became Britain's most respected and influential guitar player in the nascent rock scene.
In March 1965, twenty-year old Jeff Beck was recommended to the Yardbirds by Jimmy Page who, in turn, was suggested by Eric Clapton who left the group, unhappy with the turn it took from blues to pop. In Beck’s own words, “The general buzz of the band was that they thought they were finished when Eric left. At my debut with the Yardbirds at the Marquee, I showed them what was what, and I got a standing ovation, so that was the end of that.”
Four episodes illustrate how Jeff Beck laid the foundations of rock guitar playing during his eighteen-month spell with the Yardbirds, which was also the golden period of the group.
Episode 1. The Riff. Heart Full of Soul (recorded in April 1965)
Episode 2. The Solo. Shapes of Things (recorded in January 1966)
Episode 3. Rock Rhapsody with Heavy Metal. Beck’s Bolero (recorded in May 1966)
Episode 4. Double Lead Guitar. Happenings Ten Years Time Ago (recorded in September 1966)
RIP Jeff Beck and thank you.
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