Being an occasional post wherein I go into the vault and dig out tunes I’ve featured before so that they don’t permanently wind up in the deep hole of perdition. Back in the 70s, the Mahavishnu Orchestra was about as popular as a fusion band … Continue reading My Back Pages – Six From the Vault – Vol. 2
Yes, yes, children. It is time for that most anticipated and yet largely unloved thing – the “favorite guitarist” list. Now before you dive in and say, “How the fuck could you leave Alex Lifeson (or Eddie Van Halen, Dimebag Darrell, Yngvie Malmsteen, etc.) off … Continue reading My Top Twenty Guitarists of All Time (plus one)
(Pictured: Klook’s Kleek which was a jazz and rhythm nβ blues club at the Railway Hotel, West Hampstead, North West London. Anybody who was anybody played there in the early days of British blues.) A while back I wrote about the so-called British Invasion, the … Continue reading An ME Tribute to British (and Some Irish) Blues-rock (part 1 of 2)
As reported earlier, a while back I did a “blogger’s playlist” wherein I requested and compiled a playlist o’ tunes from anybody who wanted to play. We had so much fun with this I decided to do a Volume 2. This one’s got 40 tunes … Continue reading Bowie to Beck – The Blogger’s Playlist (vol. 2) Revealed
For the earlier part of his career, Jeff Beck always had a lead singer in a band he was in (Yardbirds) or his own bands. Ever since, at least, Blow by Blow he’s been more jazz and instrumental focused. But I’ve always dug the various … Continue reading Featured Album – Beck, Bogert & Appice
Blow by Blow signaled a new creative peak for Beck, and it proved to be a difficult act to follow. It is a testament to the power of effective collaboration and, given the circumstances, Beck clearly rose to the occasion. In addition to being a … Continue reading Featured Album – Blow by Blow – Jeff Beck
I’ve been a pretty big fan of Jeff Beck from at least the Truth album onwards. (Had to go back to hear him in The Yardbirds). I haven’t liked or bought everything he ever did but I stay in touch with what he’s up to … Continue reading Album Review – Jeff Beck – Loud Hailer
Although Stevie Wonder wrote “Superstition,” I don’t know how many people are aware that he actually wrote it for Jeff Beck. How did such a thing come to be? Well, Beck was a Stevie fan and Stevie liked the idea of having guest guitarists. So … Continue reading One Song/Three Versions – Superstition
For a group – originally called The Most Blueswailing Yardbirds – that gave the world three of the world’sΒ greatest guitarists, it’s funny to realize that none of them (Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton) were the original guitarist. The original band was a five-piece unit … Continue reading The Yardbirds – The Unusual Tale of a Most Unique and Highly Inluential Band
Rod Stewart? Really? Didn’t he do, “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” Sure. Does he now sing old standards like Gershwin and Cole Porter? Well, yeah. Isn’t he some Las Vegas showboat? Guilty. But that’s not the Rod I know. (Speaking metaphorically). My earliest memory of … Continue reading Rod Stewart
