Jeff Beck doc BBC4 2100 and 0125

[spectoremg]

High hopes for this one as he's a guy I know very little about.

[steantval]

Excellent documentary.

Mr Beck has played with quality musicians and including some wonderful female bass players, great to hear Rod Stewart at his best from the early Jeff Beck Group and Ronnie Wood doing a great job on the bass.

It also featured his wonderful collection of hot rods, he also owns one of my all time favourite American cars, a split screen Corvette.

[ezbass]

Good documentary but I was getting poor sound reception (cutting out/spitting) which the spoit the first half hour . A good introduction to JB’s work for those who don’t know much about him. I used to live around the corner from where he grew up in Wallington (they even showed a picture of the house on the show).

[Linus27]

I enjoyed it as well.

[super al]

1 hour ago, ezbass said:

Good documentary but I was getting poor sound reception (cutting out/spitting) which the spoit the first half hour . A good introduction to JB’s work for those who don’t know much about him. I used to live around the corner from where he grew up in Wallington (they even showed a picture of the house on the show).

I was getting the cutting out thing too, just thought it was our old telly!

Watched the late edition (grumpy dad through lack of sleep this morning ) and will now seek out some of his albums.

Previous knowledge of JB is of his distinctive sound on tunes he's guested on (Roger Waters, Stanley Clarke, etc) and Hi Ho Silver Lining at the local disco when I was a teenager.

I must admit I was welling up when he played Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, one of my all time faves, so sad.

That's 2 big artists I'm checking out this year that I've sadly neglected and only just discovering (after 46yrs on the planet). Otis Redding is the other.

[Frank Blank]

Excellent documentary, what a player. Spitting image of Nigel Tufnel as well.

Edited April 28, 2018 by Frank Blank

[super al]

25 minutes ago, Frank Blank said:

Excellent documentary, what a player. Spitting image of Nigel Tufnel as well.

Sadly not in the documentary, declined to be interviewed as they fell out years ago over that hairstyle.

Talking of hair, as my hair drops off the back of my head I'm a great admirer of old rockers and their barnets. Ronnie and Rod's hairstyles caught the eye, cool old geezers 

[ezbass]

47 minutes ago, super al said:

Talking of hair, as my hair drops off the back of my head I'm a great admirer of old rockers and their barnets. Ronnie and Rod's hairstyles caught the eye, cool old geezers 

I call 'rug' on a lot of those resplendent, ungreyed coiffures, but perhaps I'm just jealous (no perhaps about it ).

[SpondonBassed]

Excellent!

I watched the recording this morning.  I was amazed by the background story to Superstition.

Like the OP I wanted to find out more about the artist.  Anyone who swaps between spanners and instruments so readily is cool in my book.

[Owen]

You have to respect a guy who has just plowed his own furrow when commercial success was obviously in a different direction. 

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited February 26, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[BreadBin]

7 hours ago, SpondonBassed said:

Excellent!

I watched the recording this morning.  I was amazed by the background story to Superstition.

Like the OP I wanted to find out more about the artist.  Anyone who swaps between spanners and instruments so readily is cool in my book.

I must watch this, and nice to hear that about the spanners 

[fleabag]

Fascinating

Beck was on my radar in the Truth and Beck-Ola days but that didnt hit the spot for me. 

Then Blow By Blow came out.  Game changer. Bought  it and still have it.

[rubis]

Great programme

Surely one of the most innovative of any instrumentalists, aside from all the wild pyrotechnics, he has a very restrained side to his playing, this is one of my favourites

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdHhXYeHPj8

[DaveFry]

That particular track was used in The Comic Strip Presents South Atlantic Raiders Argie Bargie , as the soundtrack for the scene just after Robbie Coltrane saves the airplane .

Jeff had a small role in the film as a passenger asking for mushrooms . ( Lemmy had a bigger part .)

[rubis]

I wonder if Deadmau5 has heard it

His song Strobe reminds me of Suspension, and Beck has never been afraid of breaking down musical boundaries

[Krysbass]

Just watched it on iplayer.

It has always amazed me that when some TV channel decides to do "top 10 guitarists of all time" - or variations on that theme; JB is rarely, if ever, included. But he is clearly held in high regard both by his peers and anyone fortunate enough to have worked with him.

Was a fan of JB back in the 80s - especially the There and Back album featuring Jan Hammer.  But he dropped off my radar until that Ronnie Scotts live DVD a few years ago - the one with Tal Wilkenfeld on bass.

Got tickets for his gig at Liverpool Phil. on 16th June and practically counting the days.....

[Al Krow]

Didn't get the split with Rod Stewart and the fact they never reconciled, particularly as they both clearly totally recognised the massive talent the other had? Beck just walked and left them to it mid tour, a fortnight before Woodstock?!!

If they had stuck together they could have been as 'big' as anyone whilst playing music they loved. Beck's childhood mate and fellow Yardbird guitarist Jimmy Page could hardly be accused of 'selling out' (apart from every stadium on the planet!) and we all know how massive Led Zepp were.

[MoonBassAlpha]

As said above, the respect from his peers is impressive, and JB is the sort of slightly left-field artist I'm often drawn to, but somehow he just doesn't do it for me. His control of the instrument is amazing though.

[casapete]

Just watched this - found it riveting. One of those players who you can pick out straight away, incredible.

A lot of his output isn't the sort of music I'm usually drawn to, but still found it fascinating.

[yorks5stringer]

Nice rods too...

[casapete]

Just now, yorks5stringer said:

Nice rods too...

Yeah, and the Corvette too.

[steantval]

5 hours ago, casapete said:

Yeah, and the Corvette too.

C2 Split window Corvette, one of my all time favourite cars from the USA.

[SpondonBassed]

4 hours ago, steantval said:

C2 Split window Corvette, one of my all time favourite cars from the USA.

Coincidently, one of the Freesat channels had a restoration at the hands of one of the less whacky US workshops a couple of weeks ago.

Motorcycles were more my thing but it is a nice car to look at, even in your handlebar mirrors.

[Japhet]

Totally unique artist on a guitar, and I mean artist. Loved the bit where he was described as 'The Picasso of guitar players' but said 'Oh! i thought I was more Jackson Pollock'. Like anybody who pushes the envelope there's a lot of his stuff that misses the mark, but when he hits it there's nothing that comes close. I find it incredible that he's been out there on his own for so long and still relishes it and has the energy and imagination to keep on producing highly original music that nobody else can copy or emulate. The respect from his peers says it all really. Guitars and V8 engines have been 2 of my passions for decades too. Maybe that's why Jeff Beck is so special to me.