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 I just spent 2 of the best weeks of my life in London working on Jeff
Beck's retrospective concerts at The Royal Festival Hall. Photos
First off, I was honored just to be asked to represent a small part of
Jeff's 35 years of rock and roll history which spans from The Yardbirds
through The Jeff Beck Group, Rough & Ready, BBA, Blow by Blow, Wired, There &
Back, Flash, Guitar Shop, Who Else and****, as well as his outside work with
Mick Jagger, Roger Waters and others.
Secondly it was a chance to reconnect with some beloved friends whom I
don't get to see much anymore. Jeff himself, for one, was in great spirits
and a ball to hang out with. The guy has such a great sense of humor and had
me laughing all the time. Then my beloved Tony Hymas (who I have not seen in
7 years) and I got a chance to catch up and see Varese's "Amerique" at The
Albert Hall. Jennifer Batten (who I have been trying to do a record with for
years) and I had a chance to listen to some of my rough mixes and speak about
the future.
Of course all of Jeff's management and crew were spectacular (it's so
easy to get spoiled by them!)
Then there were all the new friends I met: Randy, Jeff's bassist, is a
sweetheart and a spiritual giant and my new drum brother Steve Barney (Jeff's
current drummer) is one of the nicest, funniest guys I've had the pleasure to
meet. We played together on several tunes and it was bliss, this guy is
powerful, solid, has chops and musicality and is definitely someone who we'll
all be enjoying and hearing a lot from in the future! (check out:
www.stevebarney.com)
One of the real joys I got to experience was in not playing and getting
for the first time to sit on the side of the stage and listen to Jeff play
without being involved or distracted by the process of concentrating on
drumming. The man is truly a master and the guitar is simply an extension of
his soul, there is no line of demarcation between musician and instrument! I
was not the only one with tears in his eyes while experiencing what can only
be described as "magic".
Then there were the special guests I got to meet & play with. Roger
Waters, of Pink Floyd fame, with his sound scape tapes, background singers
and ace guitarist Andy Fairweather-Lowe performed "What God Wants pts. I &
III" with Steve Barney and I smashing behind, and Jeff soaring above.
And most important to me, John McLaughlin, a hero I have admired and been
influenced by for years came on to play "Scatterbrain" from "Blow by Blow" in
9/8 at a supersonic tempo with he and Jeff screaming over the addition of
tabla player Arrif to the Steve and Terry juggernaut!
Singers Imogene on "Rollin' and Tumblin'", Jimmy Hall on several tracks
including "People Get Ready" and Paul Rogers on "Goin' Down" literally ripped
it up.
Tony and Jennifer soloed amazingly in their spotlights. And The White Stripes were adorable with their raw and unabashed
Yardbirds set with Jeff.
I even got to meet and shake hands with Jimmy Page who brushed by me back
stage on the last evening! When I asked "Jimmy, I thought you were going to
be playing with us?!!" He replied "Terry, I don't even know where my
equipment is at this point!!" Well, I hope he can locate it for the next time!
Jeff Beck and guests
Royal Festival Hall, London
John L Walters
Tuesday September 17, 2002
The Guardian
Whatever your take on rock guitar heroics, Jeff Beck's three-night South Bank
residency was certainly the most miscellaneous gig of the year. It was also a
logistical triumph, as more than a dozen performers moved on and off the
stage without a hitch, a howl or a bruised ego.
Beck, who has had a sporadic but profitable career over the best part of four
decades, is a wiry and surprisingly tall-haired 58-year-old. He acknowledges
applause with a salute, and at one point pokes his finger into his ear as if
to say: "Blimey, this is a bit loud, even for me." His hairstyle and get-up -
black jeans and black singlet - are unfortunately similar to Celeb's Gary
Bloke and Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel.
But any suspicion of rock-star idiocy is blown away the second he plays. Beck
is an intelligent guitarist, with technique, range and fire. His sound is
particularly effective when paired with a belting rock singer, such as Jimmy
Hall or Jack White of the White Stripes, who performed Yardbirds songs such
as Heart Full of Soul in a tribute set with bassist Jack Lawrence and Beck.
The Stripes, with their unsteady pulse and unrestrained energy, were a canny
choice. They make Beck look old and sound young. A clip from Antonioni's Blow
Up appeared on circular screens above the stage: it was the scene in which
the Yardbirds play the Marquee, showing a youthful David Hemmings, Keith Relf
and Beck himself, smashing his guitar for the camera.
The most intense applause of the evening was reserved for jazz musician John
McLaughlin, who played on two numbers. For Scatterbrain, the band were joined
by tabla player Aref Durvesh. Though Beck professed to be overawed by
McLaughlin, he managed to fit in just as many notes. Terry Bozzio, looking
like a fit Tony Parsons behind an enormous drum kit, augmented the band from
time to time, and played with Beck and brilliant keyboardist Tony Hymas in an
exhaustingly energetic power trio.
Beck is a serious artist in an idiom that is increasingly difficult to take
seriously, though there are moments when his guitar playing transcends the
stereotype. But whether you rock with super-competent session players (his
regular band, including Michael Jackson sideperson Jennifer Batten), with
gauche youngsters (the White Stripes), with international virtuosi (John
McLaughlin, Terry Bozzio) or with leather-trousered rockers (guest singer
Paul Rogers, looking like Rowan Atkinson's Blackadder III), rock remains
rock.
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