“Just wonderful players”: Which artists did Jeff Beck consider “kings” of guitar?
No guitarist can claim to be completely self-contained in their playing. Everyone spends years practising scales until they are the best they can be, but it normally takes a few guitarists before them to throw them for a loop and show what can be done with a six-string. And while Jeff Beck has been the litmus test for anyone looking to push the boundaries of what a guitar could do, he always knew that what he was doing was carrying on the tradition that a long string of fretboard gunslingers had started before him.
When looking at Beck’s career, though, he was far from the bluesy player he was painted as during his classic run in The Yardbirds. Sure, he could give Eric Clapton a run for his money when he wanted to, but there were also moments when he branched out into pieces that no one would have thought of, whether that was working on different jazz motifs or sprinkling in pieces from the world of fusion.
He had always had a vision of taking music further than what he heard as a kid, but even the most adventurous guitarist is going to find themselves back with the blues eventually. And for anyone who ever got excited at the prospect of making rock and roll music, it all goes back to Elvis Presley, and Beck was absolutely transfixed the minute he saw Scotty Moore playing alongside ‘The King’.
Not everything Moore played was exactly the most technical thing in the world, but everything he played was perfectly tasteful for what the song needed. ‘Jailhouse Rock’ isn’t necessarily the biggest hurdle for novice guitarists to get over, but it’s easy to sing any of the guitar breaks in the song as well as Presley’s lead vocal.
But beyond the flashy guitar players like Albert Lee, Beck was interested in seeing how the guitar fit in the confines of the song, and Steve Cropper knew that like the back of his hand. Booker T and the MGs had a reputation as being one of the greatest backing bands in American history, but throughout every song, Cropper was always listening to the band before anything else, usually playing licks that were very understated compared to the virtuosos.
Beck may have allowed his guitar to take centre stage every time he played, but he knew he would have been nowhere without people like Cropper and Moore, saying, “I’ve been heavily influenced by Scotty Moore and people like that, and Albert Lee, cause he just plays beautifully, and Steve Cropper – he just does a jab in ‘Green Onions’, and it’s so cool. They’re the kings, just wonderful players.”
And while it’s easy to throw Beck in the same category as virtuoso players like Duane Allman and Clapton, some of his best moments involve him listening to the band just like his heroes did. ‘Freeway Jam’ might be a vehicle for him to make the best solo runs, but even for a song that could be considered one long solo section, there’s always a musical theme that keeps people grounded between the solos.
Because that’s what separates the songwriters of the world from the instrumentalists. Beck could easily kick back and be a session when the time calls for it, but it’s far more interesting to develop musical parts in a song instead of running through every sale in the book and hoping for the best.
