Joe Walsh on the artist who “took guitar to another galaxy”
The ethos behind most rock and roll guitarists has always been about having no rules. There might be some artists who like to stick with the rudiments of guitar whenever they pick up the instrument, but the true innovators are the ones who know how to twist the same cluster of notes to make them sound like they are hearing them for the first time again. While Joe Walsh had solidified himself as one of the most celebrated guitarists of all time before the 1970s even wrapped, he knew that he could never match what Jeff Beck was doing around the same time.
Compared to the other guitarists popping up in the early 1970s, Walsh was still a staunch connoisseur of the blues. When looking at any of his massive songs with the James Gang, Walsh was still getting his rocks off from a blues perspective, sprinkling in a healthy dose of attitude when playing songs like ‘Funk #49’.
Although Beck had been brought up with the sounds of blues rock with The Yardbirds, he was never content with staying there for too long. Once leaving the nest, Beck would reinvent himself as one of the most lyrical guitar players to walk the Earth, making songs that felt like the guitar was trying to speak whenever he played it.
While Beck would later incorporate a massive band around him to help fill out the sound, he knew that the cornerstone of the band all came back to how he played. Constantly working on different styles of music, Beck would also be incorporating funk into his sound when Walsh came on the scene, laying down the central groove for what would become Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstition’.
Even though Walsh had the utmost respect for what Beck was doing, he quickly got used to playing in the vein of country musicians when working with the Eagles. Taking over for seasoned country player Bernie Leadon, Walsh slid into the lead guitarist slot perfectly, being an impressive level of chops to the band alongside Don Felder on the album Hotel California.
During a period in which Beck was still moving onto different genres like jazz fusion, Walsh poured most of his talents into songwriting. Outside of his blues-soaked beginnings, his solo smashes around the same time, like ‘Life’s Been Good’, were considered mini sonic journeys, with the song’s studio version sprawling out over eight minutes with different musical detours.
Even though Walsh would become more well-known amongst passive rock fans, he knew that Beck belonged in a league of his own, telling PRS, “I think Jeff Beck has taken the guitar to another galaxy. It’s not really a guitar, it’s his own instrument. He has made his own instrument. We’re the guitar, and no one can figure out what he’s doing. I listen to that and just shake my head. I don’t know”.
Although Walsh would continue to innovate his sound, Beck would still be off in his own world, eventually doing amazing dips with the whammy bar to make his guitar sound like it was some extraterrestrial being whenever he performed. Any guitarist will try to master the instrument to the best of their ability, but for those who want a unique challenge on the instrument, Jeff Beck is still the litmus test alongside Jimi Hendrix.
