THE MOST MERCURIAL guitarist of his generation, JeffBeck never conformed to the conventional image of a guitar hero, except maybe when it came to looks (and to that end, he almost certainly inspired the sartorial style of Spinal Tap’s Nigel Tufnel). Beck repeatedly left or broke-up bands before their commercial potential could be realized. He restlessly changed style from one album to the next, refusing to be tied down musically. And his live performances were intermittent, although seldom short of breathtaking.
But what did he think of his own catalog? In 2008, we asked Beck to give us the details behind his favorite tracks. These are the few that remained dear to his heart, right up to the end.
TRAIN KEPT A-ROLLIN’
The Yardbirds Single release (1965); Beckology (1991)
“We did that with Sam Phillips at Sun Studios in Memphis on our first tour of America. Giorgio Gomelsky, who was in charge of the band, phoned him up, and Sam said, ‘It’s Sunday. We’re closed.’ Giorgio told him he was missing a great opportunity to record a happening band, and persuaded him. So we went down and recorded a couple of tracks.
“To be honest, our version of ‘Train Kept A-Rollin’ ’ was pretty awful, but it was different. I’ve studied the Johnny Burnette Trio version since, and it’s still the most amazing track ever. It’s also kept Aerosmith going for quite a while. In fact, it backfired for me when I put it back in the set. People would come up and say: ‘I loved that Aerosmith track you played.’”
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Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av Guitar Player.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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PRS
PREVIOUSLY PART OF PRS's Maryland-built guitar line, the SE NF3 was recently reissued in the company's offshore-produced SE series. The SE NF3 is so named for its Narrowfield Deep Dish (a.k.a. DD) \"S\" pickups. These unique PRS-design units have deeper bobbins to accommodate more windings and extra metal pieces between the magnets to yield a more powerful \"single-coil\" tone, while remaining noise-free because they are in fact humbuckers. A control set consisting of master volume, tone and a five-way blade switch allows the usual selections of bridge, middle and neck pickups by themselves and the neck-plus-middle and bridge-plus-middle combinations that allow the SE NF3 to veer into Strat-like territory in switch positions two and four.
EPIPHONE
Inspired by Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V and 1959 ES-355
Dobro 101
A look at the iconic bluegrass slide box.
CERTIFIED GREATNESS
Fingerstyle master Tommy Emmanuel combines unique musical instincts and breathtaking technique to become an acoustic tour de force.
MASTER OF HIS OWN JOURNEY
For more than 50 years, David Lindley graced albums and concert stages with his singular talent on a vast range of stringed instruments. In this Guitar Player exclusive, his musical friends — including Jackson Browne, Ry Cooder and Bonnie Raitt - pay tribute to an original.
TRANSCENDENTAL MAN
Luther Dickinson interpreted a priceless work of art in music. In the process, the blues guitarist wrote his own next chapter.
THE BEAT GOES ON
Together with Tony Levin, Adrian Belew and Steve Vai join forces for a Robert Fripp-endorsed revival of King Crimson's groundbreaking 1980s music.
I'M 100 PERCENT HAPPY WITH THE WORK I'VE DONE WITH PINK FLOYD. BUT...'MY FOCUS IS DIFFERENT RIGHT NOW'
Leading a rock group and being a solo artist were \"not what I asked for,\" David Gilmour says. For Luck and Strange, he assembled a team that shared the weight of his creative efforts. The result? \"The best album I've made since The Dark Side of the Moon.\"
DOUG GILLARD IS INDISPENSABLE
His six-string genius has proved vital to the music of Guided by Voices, Nada Surf and other indie-rock favorites. But all he really wants is to make good music.
Sol Salvation
The genius of Sol Hoopii is preserved in 16 timeless cuts on Master of the Hawaiian Guitar.