[Slowhand] EC & JB

[Nicholas Aleshin]

First of all, it's obvious that EC admires Jeff Beck, and it seems he  
always did. And their styles have diverged greatly over the years. I  
truly enjoyed Beck's playing on those old Yardbirds albums, where he  
provided some memorable guitar riffs, style, tone, and some great (non- 
blues) solos.

I didn't get to see him perform until the Jeff Beck Group and the  
"Truth" album, in 1968, I believe. This was the tour during which  
vocalist Rod Stewart sometimes hid behind the Marshall stacks, as he  
was shy, had stage fright. I think Ron Woods played bass and Aynsley  
Dunbar was on drums (Dunbar is one of my favorite drummers). "Truth"  
included several blues numbers that sort of presaged the music of Led  
Zeppelin: "pop" versions of riff-based blues. I didn't and still don't  
care much for this style, and although I've liked some of the things  
Rod Stewart has done over the years, I don't care for his style of  
blues singing: too much shouting. And I also think Robert Plant did  
the same, although I've heard a bit of his recent singing with Allison  
Krause, and it's pleasant.

Anyway, if I remember correctly, that Jeff Beck Group tour was plagued  
with equipment, management, and even band member problems, and wasn't  
considered a great success. My recollection -- I had high hopes -- was  
that I was disappointed with Beck, as he played all the necessary  
guitar parts and riffs, and did so quite well, but his solos were far  
from what I was expecting and not very exciting. One does develop  
tastes based on experiences, and this one lasted. But this is MY taste.

I do appreciate being able to discuss this here, with a group of  
"friends," instead of us insulting each other, as was the style of  
"discussion" on the Slowhand Digest several years back. And the  
subject of discussion here here is not Phil, not Mel, not Peter, not  
Rick, nor me. It's these guitarists, all of whom have a connection to  
Eric Clapton. It's nice to be able to express opinions without getting  
beat up for them, which is the way it should be when you have adults  
participating. It seems that we used to have a bunch of high schoolers  
here, figuratively speaking.

				DeltaNick