Beck ranked in the top five of Rolling Stone and other magazine's list of 100 greatest guitarists. He was often called a "guitarist's guitarist". Rolling Stone describes him as "one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock". Although he recorded two hit albums (in 1975 and 1976) as a solo act, Beck did not establish or maintain the sustained commercial success of many of his contemporaries and bandmates.
Beck earned wide critical praise and received the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance six times and Best Pop Instrumental Performance once. In 2014 he received the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. Beck was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: as a member of the Yardbirds (1992) and as a solo artist (2009).
Beck was born on 24 June 1944 to Arnold and Ethel Beck at 206 Demesne Road, Wallington, England. As a 10-year-old, Beck sang in a church choir. He attended Sutton Manor Schoo and Sutton East County Secondary Modern School.
Beck cited Les Paul as the first electric guitar player who impressed him. Beck said that he first heard an electric guitar when he was 6 years old and heard Paul playing "How High the Moon" on the radio. He asked his mother what it was. After she replied it was an electric guitar and was all tricks, he said, "That's for me". Cliff Gallup, lead guitarist with Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps, was also an early musical influence, followed by B.B. King and Steve Cropper. Beck considers Lonnie Mack "a rock guitarist [who] was unjustly overlooked [and] a major influence on him and many others."
As a teenager he learned to play on a borrowed guitar and made several attempts to build his own instrument, first by gluing and bolting together cigar boxes for the body and an unsanded fence-post for the neck with model aircraft control-lines and frets simply painted on.
Upon leaving school, he attended Wimbledon College of Art, after which he was briefly employed as a painter and decorator, a groundsman on a golf course and a car paint-sprayer. Beck's sister Annetta introduced him to Jimmy Page when both were teenagers.
Beck stopped regular use of a pick in the 1980s. He produces a wide variety of sounds by using his thumb to pluck the strings, his ring finger on the volume knob and his little finger on the vibrato bar on his signature Fender Stratocaster. By plucking a string and then 'fading in' the sound with the volume knob he creates a unique sound that can resemble a human voice, among other effects. He frequently uses a wah-wah pedal both live and in the studio. Eric Clapton once said, "With Jeff, it's all in his hands".
Along with Stratocasters, Beck occasionally played Fender Telecaster and Gibson Les Paul models as well. His amplifiers were primarily Fender and Marshall. In his earlier days with the Yardbirds, Beck also used a 1954 Fender Esquire guitar (now owned by Seymour W. Duncan, and housed in the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) through Vox AC30s. He also played through a variety of fuzz pedals and echo units along with this set-up and has used the Pro Co RAT distortion pedal. The pickup was based on a Gibson pickup rewound by Duncan and used in a salvaged Telecaster dubbed the "Tele-Gib" which he had constructed as a gift to Beck. Scott Morgan of the Rationals, who at one point shared a dressing room with the Yardbirds, recalls how Beck amplified his lead guitar through a Vox Superbeetle while using banjo strings for the unwound G string on his guitar because "they didn't make sets with an unwound G at that point."
During the ARMS Charity Concerts in 1983 Beck used his battered Fender Esquire along with a 1954 Stratocaster and a Jackson Soloist. On Crazy Legs (1993) he played a Gretsch Duo Jet, his signature Stratocaster and various other guitars. In 2007, Fender created a Custom Shop Tribute series version of his beat-up Fender Esquire as well as his Artist Signature series Stratocaster.
Described by Rolling Stone as "one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock", Beck cited his major influences as Les Paul, the Shadows, Cliff Gallup, Ravi Shankar, Roy Buchanan, Chet Atkins, Django Reinhardt, Steve Cropper and Lonnie Mack. Of John McLaughlin, Beck said: "[he] has given us so many different facets of the guitar and introduced thousands of us to world music, by blending Indian music with jazz and classical. I'd say he was the best guitarist alive."
According to musicologist and historian Bob Gulla, Beck is credited for popularising the use of audio feedback and distortion in rock guitar. Prior to Beck's arrival, guitar playing generally conformed to the "clean, bright, and jangly" sounds of early-1960s British Invasion bands or the bluesy aesthetic of 1950s African-American performers like Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley. During his short time with the Yardbirds, Beck's experimentation with feedback, distortion, and "fuzz" tone "pushed the band into directions that would open the door for psychedelic rock" while "jolt[ing] British rock forward", according to Gulla. While Beck was not the first rock guitarist to experiment with electronic distortion, he nonetheless helped to redefine the sound and role of the electric guitar in rock music. Beck's work with the Yardbirds and the Jeff Beck Group's 1968 album Truth were seminal influences on heavy metal music, which emerged in full force in the early 1970s. Gulla identifies one of Beck's characteristic traits to be his sense of pitch, particularly in exercising the whammy bar to create sounds ranging from "nose-diving bombs to subtle, perfectly pitched harmonic melodies".
According to guitarist and author Jack Wilkins, Beck is regarded alongside Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton as one of his generation's greatest guitarists, receiving praise for his technical skill and versatile playing. Stephen Thomas Erlewine finds him to be "as innovative as Jimmy Page, as tasteful as Eric Clapton, and nearly as visionary as Jimi Hendrix", although unable to achieve their mainstream success, "primarily because of the haphazard way he approached his career" while often lacking a star singer to help make his music more accessible. On his recorded output by 1991, Erlewine remarked that "never has such a gifted musician had such a spotty discography", believing Beck had largely released "remarkably uneven" solo records and only "a few terrific albums". In Christgau's Record Guide (1981), Robert Christgau essentialised Beck as "a technician" and questioned his ability to "improvise long lines, or jazz it up with a modicum of delicacy, or for that matter get funky", although he later observed a "customary focus, loyalty, and consistency of taste".
In 2015, Beck was ranked No. 5 in Rolling Stone' magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists". In an accompanying essay, guitarist Mike Campbell applauded Beck for his "brilliant technique" and "personality" in his playing, including a sense of humor expressed through the growl of his wah-wah effects. Campbell also credited Beck with expanding the boundaries of the blues, particularly on his two collaborations with Stewart.
Guitar Shop
Jeff Beck Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Groove tube
Killer caps
You're a strap cat
Patch in
Dangerous distortion
Serious sustain
Boomers double-ball ends
It'll faze, it'll flange, it'll buzz
It's fast, it's flexible
Just feel those frets
Assimilated cone filter
For steroizing a mono source
It's got scaled-down, streched-out audio
Feel of a Les Paul
Deep cut aways and no pick guard
And a couple of chrome buckers
Full shread
Stiff neck brass nut and an ebony finger board
Paul's deluxe
The song Guitar Shop by Jeff Beck is an ode to the life of a musician and the gear that accompanies a guitarist. The lyrics are an intricate portrayal of various technical details of a guitar, accompanied by a variety of adjectives that describe the tone and feel of the instrument. The guitar is praised for its pre-amp, pro-sound performance, groove tube, and killer caps, with the musician being referred to as a “strap cat”. The lyrics delve into the technical details, highlighting the slinky nature of the guitar’s strings, the fast and flexible frets, and the deep cutaways, suggesting that the guitar’s design allows for the player to have greater access to the higher notes on the fretboard. In addition, the song also emphasizes the ability of the guitar to produce various effects, including faze, flange, and buzz.
However, the song is not just about the technical aspects of the guitar, but rather focuses on the emotional connection and inspiration that it can provide. The guitar is described as having the feel of a Les Paul, a classic and iconic instrument that has been used by countless musicians over the years. The lyrics also discuss the various ways in which the guitar can be used to create music, whether through its full shred capabilities or through its ability to add serious sustain to a song. Finally, the song concludes with Jeff Beck reminding the listener that ultimately, the guitar is a tool for artistic expression and that when in the right hands, it can create magic.
Line by Line Meaning
Pre-amp, pro-sound performance
This guitar has a pre-amp designed for professional sound performance.
Groove tube
The guitar uses a type of vacuum tube known as a groove tube.
Killer caps
The capacitors used in this guitar are of exceptional quality.
You're a strap cat
If you own this guitar, you're definitely someone who wears a guitar strap.
Patch in
This guitar is designed to accept numerous different effects pedals.
Dangerous distortion
This guitar's distortion capabilities can be quite extreme.
Serious sustain
This guitar is capable of producing very long-lasting notes with a sustained sound.
Slinky, super slinky
The guitar's strings are very smooth and pliable to the touch.
Boomers double-ball ends
These strings have balls at both ends to help with string changing.
It'll faze, it'll flange, it'll buzz
This guitar is capable of producing sounds that phase, flange, and buzz.
It's fast, it's flexible
This guitar can be played quickly and with great flexibility.
Just feel those frets
The frets on the guitar are designed to be very tactile and easy to feel while playing.
Assimilated cone filter
A filter is used to convert a mono sound to a stereo sound.
For steroizing a mono source
The filter is used to make a single sound source into a two-channel stereo sound.
It's got scaled-down, stretched-out audio
The guitar produces audio that has been made smaller or bigger in scale.
Feel of a Les Paul
The guitar's feel is similar to that of a Gibson Les Paul.
Deep cut aways and no pick guard
The guitar's body has deep cutaways and doesn't have a pick guard.
And a couple of chrome buckers
The guitar has two pickups covered in chrome.
Full shread
This guitar is capable of producing heavy shredding sounds and/or has a clean, modern, and fast sound.
Stiff neck brass nut and an ebony finger board
The guitar has a hard and durable brass nut and a dark and dense ebony fingerboard.
Paul's deluxe
The guitar is of a luxurious and high-quality design, similar to models played by guitar legend Paul McCartney.
Contributed by Nora F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
MazNour II
"Guitar Shop" (Jeff Beck, Terry Bozzio, Tony Hymas) –00:00
"Savoy" (Jeff Beck, Terry Bozzio, Tony Hymas) – 05:03
"Behind the Veil" (Tony Hymas) –08:56
"Big Block" (Jeff Beck, Terry Bozzio, Tony Hymas) –13:52
"Where Were You" (Jeff Beck, Terry Bozzio, Tony Hymas) – 18:02
"Stand on It" (Jeff Beck, Tony Hymas) – 21:19
"Day in the House" (Jeff Beck, Terry Bozzio, Tony Hymas) –26:18
"Two Rivers" (Jeff Beck, Terry Bozzio, Tony Hymas) – 31:23
"Sling Shot" (Jeff Beck, Tony Hymas) – 36:48
Jeff Beck – guitar, production
Tony Hymas – keyboard, synthesizer, production
Terry Bozzio – drums, percussion, spoken vocals, production
MazNour II
"Guitar Shop" (Jeff Beck, Terry Bozzio, Tony Hymas) –00:00
"Savoy" (Jeff Beck, Terry Bozzio, Tony Hymas) – 05:03
"Behind the Veil" (Tony Hymas) –08:56
"Big Block" (Jeff Beck, Terry Bozzio, Tony Hymas) –13:52
"Where Were You" (Jeff Beck, Terry Bozzio, Tony Hymas) – 18:02
"Stand on It" (Jeff Beck, Tony Hymas) – 21:19
"Day in the House" (Jeff Beck, Terry Bozzio, Tony Hymas) –26:18
"Two Rivers" (Jeff Beck, Terry Bozzio, Tony Hymas) – 31:23
"Sling Shot" (Jeff Beck, Tony Hymas) – 36:48
Jeff Beck – guitar, production
Tony Hymas – keyboard, synthesizer, production
Terry Bozzio – drums, percussion, spoken vocals, production
Johnny Cash
Pure genius and not even 50,000 views in one year. Meanwhile all the hip-hop garbage gets millions and millions of fans. The world really sucks.
Christopher Davis
INCREDIBLE!! Been a fan of Jeff's since his days with the Yardbirds, whom I saw live. Truly one of the most original and talented guitarists.
tuckgraph
I got this album because the cover was so freaking cool. It did not disappoint. Thanks for the memories!
RAFAEL ANIMAS ALMARAZ
Jeff Beck es, sin duda, uno de los mejores guitarristas que participaron en la creación del rock , el blues y el rhythm and blues. Él se aventuró a ir mas allá de sus dominios, mientras otros connotados guitarristas guardaban su lugar sin arriesgarse, Jeff Beck incursionó en todo, desde música disco hasta los villancicos, tocando tangencialmente el jazz.
Jeff Beck is undoubtedly one of the best guitarists who participated in the creation of rock, blues and rhythm and blues. He ventured beyond his domain, while other noted guitarists safeguarded their place, Jeff Beck dabbled in everything from disco to Christmas music.
He also got to play a little jazz.
Dennis LaFrinere
Simone essay. Jeff Beck-Rifamous
C Gom
Jeff fez uma manutenção na guita e acelerou a danada!🎸🎵🎶
JQ LLC
The production is in your face. Beck's best album.
Kevy Nova
I agree. This album kills.
What Is Left
IMHO, Jeff Beck's best album is Blow by Blow, followed closely by Wired.