“A gold-plated place”: The one musician Jeff Beck thought nobody could touch
It’s a testament to his virtuosity that the late Jeff Beck was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. While starting out in an era full of talented guitarists in the 1960s, he became a staple of the British invasion and is now routinely regarded as one of the greatest to ever pick up the six-string. His seismic versatility is often cited as the principal reason for his place in the pantheon of rock.
Among many other accolades, Beck helped redefine the use of feedback and distortion in his playing, which influenced psychedelic rock and spawned countless other genres. The beauty of his playing in ‘Beck’s Bolero’, which explodes halfway through, is a prime example of blending beautiful rhythms with epic riffing that made Beck so special.
He succeeded Eric Clapton in The Yardbirds and played alongside Jimmy Page briefly before being kicked out. This led to a tongue-in-cheek retort when he was being inducted into the Rock Hall in 1992 with The Yardbirds, of “fuck them” for having gotten rid of him. But, in truth, the decision would shape his virtuoso career. Upon leaving them, Beck experimented more with hard rock, blues, jazz fusion and even dove into electronica for his solo career and collaborations over the decades. His prowess was such that even Pink Floyd wanted him to replace Syd Barrett, and he was approached to join the Rolling Stones too, but neither materialised.
He had success writing with the likes of Tina Turner and Kate Bush and played with Stevie Wonder for his 1972 Talking Book album. This led him to produce his own version of the hit single ‘Superstition’, notably with a heavier, riff-driven swagger than the jaunty funk of Wonder’s original. But amid so many stellar collaborations, there was one artist that Beck would have loved to play with but never could: Miles Davis.
Davis was known to reinvent himself and still be relevant throughout his career, from playing bebop jazz to modal and then delving into fusion and hip-hop-influenced compositions. His hauntingly beautiful sound on the 1959 Kind of Blue feels so different to the abstract chaos of the 1970 Bitches Brew, but that’s what made him one of the pioneers of music in the 20th century.
His influence on Beck was immense, with one of Davis’ albums being his favourite of all time. He said: “In my mind’s eye, he was, and still is, so far up there in the world of jazz. He’s in a gold-plated place. Miles was one of those natural spirits that let the musicians do what they wanted to.”
The gifted guitarist continued: “On the A Tribute to Jack Johnson album [1971, featuring guitarist John McLaughlin], you can hear John pushing a lot, and I think it was a great slight of hand on Miles’ part to get the vibe from someone else and then sit on top of that. There’s sort of a recirculating power going on. I would have loved to have had the chance to play with Miles, but it was never brought up.”
Beck ended up becoming friends with McLaughlin as he toured alongside the guitarist’s Mahavishnu Orchestra after releasing his debut solo album Blow by Blow in 1975, which became a seminal jazz-rock release. Not being able to play with Davis may have ended up being one of Beck’s life regrets, but in another life, it won’t stop him from trying to meet one of his heroes.
Beck proclaimed, “I don’t know if he even knew who I was. If he were to come back, I’d definitely knock on his door.”
