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.

- CHRIS GILL

BECK MADE THE comment while explaining his decision to not record Gene Vincent’s biggest hit, “Be-Bop-a-Lula,” for the Crazy Legs album, but the guitarist’s quote could apply to any moment from his career, or even its entirety.

During the late ’80s, when instrumental rock guitar albums became increasingly popular and artists like Joe Satriani and Yngwie Malmsteen reached respectable chart positions, the music industry’s “guitar hero” environment seemed perfect for Beck to stage a comeback. He did, indeed, finally emerge from several years of relative silence by releasing JeffBeck’s Guitar Shop in 1989. But instead of returning to his jazz-rock fusion roots or jumping into the fray with a collection of blazing metal-inspired shred workouts, the guitarist delivered an album that defied the era’s genre categories with its high-tech synths, state-of-the-art electronic production and truly innovative guitar performances.