Thursday music corner: Jeff Beck, who died in East Sussex aged 78 on Tuesday, was one of his generation's finest guitarists, whether with the Yardbirds, solo, or performing with many other artists. His work was hugely influential across multiple decades. Alex Petridis writes of his innovation, his technical prowess, his eclecticism, and, most of all, the undying respect of his peers:
His influence spanned generations. Brian May, David Gilmour, Slash and The Edge all attested to being inspired by Beck. Metallica’s Kirk Hammett claimed he learned guitar by playing along to the Jeff Beck Group’s Let Me Love You. The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ John Frusciante recalled listening to Truth as a kid and marvelling at Beck “pulling all these sounds out of the guitar … I didn’t know where they were coming from”. Even Eric Clapton, whose departure from the Yardbirds had kickstarted Beck’s career, marvelled at his replacement, “the most unique guitarist, and the most devoted”.
Beck was never a chart-topper in the pop scene. His four UK hit singles didn't graze the top 10, but include the jaunty perennial favourite Hi Ho Silver Lining, a top 20 UK hit in both March 1967 and November 1972. His peak of solo commercial popularity came with two albums that went Platinum in America: Blow By Blow (1975), which hit no.4 in the US album charts, and Wired (1976), which reached no.16.
Co-written by Beck and keyboardist Max Middleton, You Know What I Mean is the opening track from the all-instrumental, George Martin-produced jazz-rock-fusion Blow By Blow.
Jeff Beck - You Know What I Mean (1975)
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