[Slowhand] Slowhand Digest, Vol 13, Issue 161

[Rick Batty]

Nick,

As we all know, music likes and dislikes are very individual.  I was
very much into the Jeff Beck "Truth" album when it came out and then
"Blow to Blow".  But there was no comparison in my preference for EC
over JB for many, many years.  However, with seeing JB live at the
Warfield in San Francisco in about 2001 / 2002, his music started to
appeal more to me as I found what I had missed during the 1980s when I
never heard him on the radio.  I was blown away by his set at the 2007
Crossroads Guitar Festival.

For me, emotion in guitar playing is at the top of the list.  It might
be the aggression of Cream's "Crossroads" or the sadness / pain I hear
in "Old Love" or "Communion".  For me, I'd put JB's "Where Were You",
"Angel Footsteps", "Cause We've Ended As Lovers" and several others
right up there with my favorite EC.  I've been loving Jeff's version
of "Jerusalem" done with David Gilmour at the Royal Albert Hall this
summer.  I wrote to both of them suggesting they do a studio version
on the new album JB is currently recording.

When you say "Clapton, Green, and Taylor are real guitarists", I think
you might find strong disagreement from Mr. Clapton himself and many
others.

Cheers,

Rick





> ---------- Forwarded message ----------

> From: Nicholas Aleshin <deltanick at comcast.net>

> To: Slowhand Digest <slowhand at planet-torque.com>

> Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2009 19:08:06 -0400

> Subject: Re: [Slowhand] Clapton-Beck

>>> All views appreciated! It's been quiet here lately. <<

>

> Well, since ALL views are appreciated, I'll add my 2 cents ...

>

> I'm not excited in the least about a Clapton-Beck performance.

>

> From a technical standpoint, Jeff Beck is very talented. But I think that's where it ends. For example, I have never heard him play a decent blues solo. He tries, but he misses the mark by miles. On the other hand, he seems to be content making sound effects with his guitar.

>

> Beck played on some great songs by the Yardbirds, such as "Heart Full Of Soul," "Over Under Sideways Down," and others. But he contributed, and didn't do the whole song by himself. When left to himself, however, it's back to sound effects. The liner notes to one of the early Yardbirds albums actually joked about these.

>

> When people mention the three famous guitarists who played for the Yardbirds -- Clapton, Beck, and Page -- I prefer to mention the three famous guitarists who played for John Mayall: Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor. Both Beck and Page -- I've seen all the guitarists I've mentioned in this e-mail live -- were disappointing, as was their music. To me, Led Zeppelin is adolescence, and Jeff Beck is sound effects.

>

> On the other hand, I think Clapton, Green, and Taylor are real guitarists.

>

>                                DeltaNick