The one guitarist Paul Rodgers put in a league of his own: “Out in the stratosphere”
Very few people have worked with more guitar greats than Paul Rodgers.
Throughout his time with The Firm, Bad Company and Free, Rodgers didn’t leave any stone (or rock, if you will) unturned. He worked with a range of legends, each of them more impressive than the last, and in the process, he became celebrated as one of the most dynamic and compatible frontmen on the planet.
His appreciation for the six-string is second to none, as he understands that different guitarists work in different ways, and the sound of a band will vary depending on the style of said musician. This deeper understanding of the instrument means that there are some musicians he’s played with that he thinks are widely underrated. For instance, one of his partners in crime in Bad Company and master riffwriter Scott Campbell, he believes, is often overlooked in quite an unfair way.
“Take ‘Rock Steady’ or ‘Burnin’ Sky’ or ‘Silver, Blue and Gold’, and of course the unstoppable ‘Can’t Get Enough’ or ‘Movin’ On’. If you picture each song or track and focus on the guitar, not just the part he chose to play but the actual sound, each song is a one-off – never been done before or since,” he said. “Although there have been lots of copycat attempts – which is the highest praise, I’m told.”
Meanwhile, he’s also spent time working with other guitarists who are often credited as being some of the best in the world. Jimmy Page and Brian May both ranked highly on Rodgers’ collaborators, who he thinks are excellent musicians, but there was one who topped the lot, so much so that a lot of the time, Rodgers didn’t even consider him a being from the same planet.
“Now, Jeff Beck took no prisoners,” he said when discussing the talent of one of his favourite guitarists. “He was outstanding amongst outstanding players, in a league of his very own out in the stratosphere.”
Rodgers highlighted two songs in particular that showcase Beck’s excellent musicianship. He challenged every lover of rock music to listen and not have their mind blown in some way by the guitarist’s unrelenting talent. His ability to perform as a solo musician but also collaborate with others was unlike anybody else.
“Don’t believe me? Listen to ‘Shapes of Things’ with Rod Stewart. The solo on that recording can’t fail to blow your gaskets,” he said. “He was a towering monster on guitar. There’s also a track he did in the same time period, the B-side of ‘Tallyman’. Just listen, and you will know what I’m talking about. Actual words fail me, he was just so gut-wrenchingly awesome.”
Rodgers isn’t the only musical mind who found themselves enamoured by Jeff Beck’s talent. There were a range of other great guitarists and performers who would hear the work of Beck and not be able to comprehend how he was doing what he was doing. While he may not have considered him alien, as Rodgers did, Ritchie Blackmore once accused Beck of cheating the music industry by having secret access to notes on a fretboard that other guitarists didn’t. Whether he was being accused of being from another world or cheating his way to the top, there’s no escaping that Beck was a force to be reckoned with.
“I first heard ‘The Shapes of Things’ with Jeff Beck playing, and I thought, ‘My God, who the hell is this?’ This shouldn’t be allowed, it’s too good,” Blackmore concluded. “Jeff cheats on the guitar because he has notes that I don’t have on my guitar.”
