JEFF BECK: DONALD DUCK AS VIRTUOSO
When people discuss Jeff Beck, two words tend to crop up: Genius and erratic. As master guitarist (and replacement for Eric Clapton) with the Yardbirds, his work testifies that despite a baroque loudness and other-than-pure blues conviction, he was an original axe hero.
JEFF BECK: DONALD DUCK AS VIRTUOSO
Iman Lababedi
When people discuss Jeff Beck, two words tend to crop up: Genius and erratic. As master guitarist (and replacement for Eric Clapton) with the Yardbirds, his work testifies that despite a baroque loudness and other-than-pure blues conviction, he was an original axe hero. And the Jeff Beck Group proved that sloppiness and haphazard leadership can be worked to the artist’s enhancement. As a jazz musician, however, Beck left a lot to be desired.
It’s easy to pinpoint the period of Beck’s career where the turnabout (that he has yet to fully recover from) occured. In 1969, he was in a serious car accident that left him out of action for 18 months. His postaccident work simply doesn’t compare. But let’s go back to the beginning.