Jeff Beck: Still on the Run (2018) - full transcript

I was taken there
by a girlfriend, as a tourist.

1966, she took me in and
I wandered in onto the stage

and it just struck me,

"This is the most famous place
in Hollywood, ain't it?"

And I just thought,
"We'll never play here."

50 years later,
I had my own show there.

He's a maverick.

A maverick guitar player, who
doesn't like to repeat himself,

who takes big risks
all the time.

Has done so all the way
through his career.

The guitar player
who builds hot rods, I mean...



the two go very well together.

There's been a lot of
wakeup calls for me

watching Jeff,
listening to Jeff play,

and working with Jeff.

It's always intriguing.

And he's a great musician.

He has so much to offer

that he's been able
to carve his own path.

Music draws people together

and somebody who likes
to touch play,

they go "bang"
and that's it.

He makes you feel important,

like what you have to offer
is a beautiful thing.

Most guitar players just play,
but Jeff can make it sing.



Jeff had got a fix

up the ying yang
when he's recorded,

but live, he brings it
to a different level.

Part of Jeff's mystique

is that he likes
being mysterious.

He's a bit of an unsung hero
to the masses.

Part of that is due to many
albums not having vocals.

I told him that he was the Pablo
Picasso of electric guitar.

And he said back to me:

"I would think I was more
the Jackson Pollock."

And I was like: "Touché."

It's so instinctive
and so exciting to be around

'cause you don't know
what's gonna happen next.

This is not paint by numbers.

This is the muse.

And the muse is gonna say
what it's gonna say.

And he lets it happen,
and next.

He's such a forward thinker,
and an innovator.

He's just always reaching
for new things.

Jeff's an incredible artist

and I always have an affinity
for male artists

who can find fantastic female
artists to accompany them.

Jeff's the guy who look
the instrument of guitar

to the furthest reaches
of guitar universe.

And nobody even comes close.

Everybody respects Jeff.

He's an extraordinary musician
and he's developed a technique,

which is so complex.

It's just a beauty to behold and
to hear and to feel his playing.

He's having a conversation
with you when he's playing,

it's just he's not singing.

He gets sounds that no other
guitar player gets.

He bends notes
like no other guitar player.

He was, and is still, the most
original guitar player ever.

My mum played the piano so...

being in close proximity
to her, music was always around.

Either playing the piano

or sticking me in the living
room with the radio.

So there'd be whatever
was on at the time.

She had very strict
ideas and hopes

of what she wanted me to be.

I would love to play the piano,
but it's already done.

And after I heard Art Tatum,
there's a good enough reason

never to ever sit
in front of a piano again.

I just thought there's no place
for another pianist.

I don't feel
that was my destiny.

Whereas guitar,
I didn't have to think about it.

I wouldn't have cared if it'd
been the worst waste of my life.

I still want
to be alone with it

and just pour
my feelings into it.

It responds so readily to touch.

The radio was never off.

I think my mum put it there
just to shut me up.

And the Les Paul influence
was because

some programme or other
had 'How High The Moon'

and every time
it came on the radio

I would run to the kitchen
and say, "Mum, what's this?"

And she'd go,
"Oh, I've read about that guy,

he's just a box of tricks,

he's a phoney."

I went, this is interesting,
'electric guitar', 'phoney'.

You know,
to a kid it's intriguing.

She said, "Look, it was revealed
that he can't play that fast,

it's all sped up."

And I said, "Well, I like
the sound he's making.

It doesn't matter
if it's sped up."

I was interested
in the guitar solos

on the records
my sister was playing.

'Hound Dog', for example
and 'Rock Around The Clock'.

This was heaven.

And I started to analyse sound
in great detail.

Eddie Cochran had a slap echo,

Cliff Gallup had a slap echo.

It was just too good.

Those records still sound
astonishingly good.

Once I got to know Jeff

and talk to him
about his influences,

he liked that guy that
was with Gene Vincent a lot,

Cliff Gallup.

My sister went to the Sutton
Granada and saw this film

and she said,
"You have to see it,

it's just the most amazing
technicolour film

of everything you like,
everything we like."

And I went with some friends

to see 'Vincent and
the Blue Caps' in colour.

It was life-changing.

That is the best rock 'n' roll
film ever made.

Everything that I loved seemed
to be coming from America.

The cars, the music.

I couldn't see any way
of ever getting there.

I'm talking about
no money at all.

My sister came in
one day from school

and threw this piece of paper
with a phone number on it.

"Here's the number
of a geek at school

who's got a weird looking
guitar like yours."

And she agreed to take
this bus ride over to Epsom,

where we knocked on the door

and this fresh-faced little kid
answered the door

and he invited us in.

Well, he came round to my house.

I was living at home, of course,
with my parents,

and Jeff came in and he had
a homemade guitar

and I also had a homemade guitar
there as well.

And we just sort of clicked
immediately.

It was like two brothers almost.

It was just a joyous thing

to find somebody else
who had this common interest.

He'd come round
and we'd hang out

and I'd play records to him.

He had equipment,
he had a tape recorder,

all the goodies,
and a great record collection.

Mouth-watering collection.

I had such an eclectic mix
of records, even as a teenager.

It was a great adventure,

finding other people who might
know a different chord to you

or finding a record shop

where they were importing
say Vee-Jay records,

the Chicago movement of the 50s,
the Blues movement,

as opposed to
all the Chess catalogue...

There was lots of
pilgrimages involved.

All of those guitarists
from that point,

we all learnt from records.

We used to sit there listening
and go back over the solo,

never mind the song,
never mind the singer.

"What the hell's that going on?"

"How is this sounding
like a ricochet effect?"

"Why does it sound so exciting?"

You wanted to see if
you could play what was on.

It's quite an accomplishment
to hear something

that's really, really,
really amazing to you

and really moved you,

but then really actually work
towards being able to play it.

You've got a partner in crime,

you've got somebody
to hammer out ideas.

When you've learnt something

that sounds
reasonably impressive,

you want somebody
to see what they think of it.

We were really keen on
exactly the same things

with the Gene Vincent records
and Ricky Nelson records.

There were always fine
guitar solos by James Burton

and one of the things that
we would ask of each other was:

"What's your version
of 'My Babe'?"

"OK, yeah, what's yours?"

That seemed to be a sort of
a communal ground

between most guitarists
around that time,

to see how well other guys
could cut this solo.

I used to love going over there,
to have something that was so...

close to my heart, you know.

And to my ears as well,
it hit all the jackpots.

It seemed like everybody was
coming out of art school

in the 50s
when rock 'n' roll first started

to reach out
from America to here.

It was a great way of escaping

any form of work, I think,
any form of day job.

I did love it.

I did love the fact that
there was a place you could go

and draw, and learn
the basics of art.

I had 2 years
of great fun there,

but the music
took over because

mid-week there was a gig
in town,

not far from where I lived.

And that kept me going,
just that one gig.

Then two gigs a week came in
and so on.

And unfortunately I had to bail
before the end of the course.

Music was our hobby.

And then we ended up
being professionals.

When the Yardbirds came about,

Eric was the force
to be reckoned with.

They had Eric,
so why did they want me?

I don't understand that.

They were looking
for hit records.

And we weren't making
any music of that nature.

His name was used
as a replacement.

They were telling me, in a way,

that I wasn't that vital
to the organisation so...

So I went to see him.
He was with the Tridents.

'Cause I wanted to see,

"Was he really as good
as they made out?"

And he had all these
sound effects going on.

And I thought, "My God,
I'm gone, I'm long gone."

I actually thought about
retiring then

because I thought
I'm in the wrong business.

But seeing Jeff, I thought,
"They're onto a good thing."

I like the Yardbirds a lot.

I liked that
'Heart Full of Soul'.

Sitar-like playing of Jeff's.

He's such a distinctive player,

he didn't follow
anyone else, really.

He's just completely
out there on his own.

They had a sitar player
in the studio.

And he was thinking in sort of
13 and 1/4 time signature.

And they said, "No, it's 4/4."

And I said,
"It's sort of like this."

And I got the octave,
the G octave,

and then played
dee-doo-do-di-di.

And I said, "Why the hell
have we got him here?

I can play that."

I think he was a hard rock
pioneer from day one.

He was doing stuff
that didn't exist,

except for him.

When I first heard
The Yardbirds,

when I heard Jeff's playing,

it was noticeably different,
even then to my young ears.

There was a sound to his guitar
that kind of stood out

and was different from
the usual pop stuff.

There was something about it,
the notes he was playing.

I mean,
it was more lyrical to me.

And within a month,
we were flying over to America.

I'd not only been to America,

but I'd recorded
at the famous Sun Studios

and Chess Records.

Shapes of Things, amazing.

I remember that distinctly.

How is it
we've had to come this far

to get the sound we want?

In England,
the studios didn't get it.

The engineers back in England
were more pure.

They didn't like anything
that rattled or squeaked.

I'd be: "Bring on the squeaks,
we don't care about that."

Instantly,
we hear the playback,

we're all looking at each other
going, "This is the stuff."

Jeff would come round

and he'd play me the sort of
first cuts of the records.

And I remember him playing
'Shapes of Things'

and when it came to the solo

I thought, "This is the most
extraordinary solo."

Ravi Shankar was playing

quite a big part
in The Beatles and stuff

and I used to sit
over at Page's house

listening to ragas,
Vilayat Khan and Ravi Shankar

and just marvelling.

How could this be adopted
in the guitar?

This bending of the string

to such an extent that you could
play a melody with one bend.

The work that Jeff did
in the Yardbirds

was of paramount importance
to guitar-based groups

because he had
an incredible ear

and he set
an amazing standard.

And also that his technique
was extraordinary as well.

And I must say,
when I heard that,

I really understood
what Jeff was really capable of.

The Yardbirds had
a crazy manager,

and I remember
Giorgio freaking.

Steam was coming
out of his ears

when I played that solo he went,

"This is exactly why
you're in this band."

"You are opening up
surreal avenues,

like avant-garde avenues,
for the guitar, in this band."

Giorgio was great,

but I think there was some
skulduggery going on

with the money,
I don't know.

All I know is
I never made any of it.

I think I must've
threatened to leave

unless they got rid of him,
then Simon Napier-Bell appeared

and agreed to take over.

Within 5 minutes,
Jimmy Page is in the band,

and we were
on the set of Blow-Up.

Nobody knew
what it was gonna be like.

As most movies,
they don't really tell you.

I was just told that Antonioni
was a great director, surreal,

and it just seemed
like a cool thing.

And the cheque for 3,000
was amazing.

I don't think any of
the band had ever seen

that kind of money
in one lump.

They all went out and invested
sensibly in fruit and veg shops.

Shop, it's a business.

And I invested in
a '63 split window Corvette,

which was
the only sensible thing

for a person like me to do.

I had a girlfriend in LA

and it was a comfortable place,
this weather was amazing.

And I left all that
to go on this tour

with the Yardbirds.

I'd never played
in America before.

It was a shock
and really surreal

from everything I thought
that it was going to be.

The Dick Clark Caravan of Stars

was a conglomeration of acts
that would all get on stage

and do two or three songs.

They would tour in buses.

You had to be a real trooper.

They would go out on the road
and do 60 dates in 60 days.

That was very, very odd

because it was a collection
of teenybop stars, teenyboppers.

For a very young audience.

In a bus that stank

and it was crammed with people
that didn't really like us.

We didn't get on
with the rest of the cast.

There was a toilet
that got busted

and that didn't work

and people had to sleep
in the luggage racks.

But Jeff missed all that
because he left pretty early

after just a few dates.

After two gigs, I thought
I've just nearly killed myself

to do 15 minutes on stage

for the two hits
plus one other song.

That's it.
It was a quick turnaround.

Jerry Lewis' son
was on the tour.

Gary Lewis and the Playboys.

And I thought:
"This is so middle America."

We're telling people that
we're part of this, we're not.

The Yardbirds were completely
on the road

to forging a unique career,
you know.

And they threw it
into this ridiculous mixing box.

And I said, "Jim,"

I called him to my room,

I said, "Jim,
I've just had the horrors.

Here's my guitar,
you take lead tomorrow.

I'm not even gonna
take the guitar."

That was the end of me.
No girlfriend, no Yardbirds,

no nothing.

But I had my Corvette parked
in my mothers sideway.

So I was free to dream again.

Jeff and I met up
at the Sheffield Mojo.

When I was doing the circuit
up and down the motorway

in my first group, The Birds.

We got on really well

and he was telling me about
this gig with the Yardbirds,

and kind of spoke...

"Well, if we ever are not
in the setup we're in now,

one day we'll work together."

One of the good things
about the Yardbirds times

was that we'd come back
from a tour maybe up north

and even at 2 a.m. we'd stop off
at the Cromwellian Club.

After the Yardbirds I thought,

there's nothing to stop me
from going back there on my own.

And the guy on the door went:
"Jeff, nice to see you back."

That night,
there was not much going on.

There were Motown records
playing and I'm thinking,

"This is sad,
I'm sitting alone with a beer."

There was one other guy
in the corner

and it was Rod Stewart.

We talked a little bit.

And he said
he was forming a band,

he'd left the Yardbirds.

I was out of work and I think
I may have mentioned Woody

and said
he's out of work as well.

So it was three
out-of-work musicians

and we formed a band.

His collaboration
with Rod Stewart

was kind of legendary.

One of the best things that Rod
ever did, as well as Jeff,

on that 'Truth' album.

It was the huskiness that was
rare to have in a white singer.

I loved it.

The band, with Micky Waller,

myself on bass,
and Jeff on the guitar,

the holes and the spaces
that it left for Rod's voice

in its rawness...

Jeff used to really
treasure Rod's voice.

And treasure all the things that
could happen in those spaces.

He believed in me,
he really did.

He wanted a proper singer
in his band.

He had a voice that was so...

the vital instrument
within the band

that you didn't need
a rhythm guitar.

Jeff's virtuoso performances

tied up with Rod's Blues-type
vocals on that album.

That was
an absolutely seminal album.

'Truth' has 'Rock My Plimsoul'.

It's got
'I Ain't Superstitious'.

It's really my favourite
Jeff Beck, stylistically.

You know, it's more
in your face rock 'n' roll.

Jeff didn't just wanna play
what Muddy Waters had played

and Howlin' Wolf.

He wanted to take it more
Chicago-ish and more electric

and just take it out of that
basic idiom that it's in.

You know, and electrify it,
make it more...

More arrangements.

Even though
the song's a 12-bar Blues,

we arranged the songs
to sound more interesting.

Right, let's go.

I thought I'd sing it in...

I can sing it in harmony,
can't I?

Sing however you want.

But stop me, I'll try something
on the first few chords.

If it sounds suss,
stop me, right?

Make my voice
nearly in the background.

Mickie Most,

he didn't wanna know
about Rod at all.

He said, "You're the artist.
Your name is on the label."

I said, "No,
I'm not interested in that.

I'm interested in being part
of a great rock band.

Or a Blues band."

Mickie just believed in
the old dollar.

Make it as quick as you can

and really wanted us
to be a pop band.

You know, much to our dismay.

'Cause that's not
what we wanna do.

He didn't see any point
in having me, really.

He wanted Jeff to sing.

Why was he such
a reluctant pop star?

I guess that just wasn't really
what he ever wanted to do.

I don't know
how that song came about.

Some sort of pressure,
if you like, from Mickie Most,

to try and come up with a hit,

but I think
he very quickly realised

that that wasn't ever going
to be what he wanted to do.

Absolutely his prerogative.

But it's given
lots of other people

an enormous amount of pleasure.

Much more pleasure
than it ever gave him.

It was like
being asked to wear a pink frock

and walk on top of a bus
down Oxford Street.

It was framing me
with this embarrassing pop song

that wasn't me,

but over the years
I've become warmed to it

because it makes
people feel happy.

Jeff, I believe, asked Mickie

if I could sing
'Hi Ho Silver Lining'...

But Mickie said no.

But you can hear me yodelling
in the background on the chorus.

Just when you think
you're getting there,

you realise
you're about 6 months away.

I kicked off
in Mickie Most's office.

And on this particular argument
Peter Grant was there

and he was smiling at me
and was going...

It was as though the smile was
saying: "Give him some stick.

He needs to be put in his
place," meaning Mickie.

Shortly after that, he must have
had a word with Mickie

and said, "Look,
Jeff was in the Yardbirds,

he already opened the door
in America for himself

to go back with a band."

There's an underground scene
over there.

Steppenwolf was happening,
FM radio was happening.

There were venues
and there was press

and there were
radio stations and

you could build an act
by coming and touring.

So this was mind-boggling.

I remember when Woody and I
drove across the Brooklyn Bridge

in the back of a limo
with Peter Grant, the manager.

I mean it was just heaven.

"Here we are."

But it was a 5-month tour.

It was hard work,
but it was great fun.

When we went to America,
we opened at Fillmore East.

Talk about jump in the deep end.

That's the famous night when Rod
wouldn't come on stage. He hid.

That was the night
I hid behind the amps.

Absolutely true story

because I thought,
"I'm in America, New York

and I'm trying to sound
like a black singer."

And there's gonna be loads of
black people out there

and they'll throw things at me."
"Phoney!" "Fake!"

But lo and behold, I came out
and it was all loads of hippies.

And it was the start of
a wonderful, wonderful career.

We stormed the place.

We blew the dead off the stage.

Robert Shelton
from the New York Times

gave us a write up.

Peter Grant rang me at 7am, said
"Have you read the review?"

"I don't wanna hear it."
He said, "No, it's amazing."

He read it to me,

about the Pinter play,
the interaction of...

And I read it and I thought,
"Right, what do we do now?"

We had it reproduced
and sent ahead.

We had it sent through
all the places

on the way
to the west coast.

So by the time
we got to Fillmore West,

we'd already broken the ground,

and broken into
the American scene,

which was fantastic.

We all decided
to try and write songs

and Ronnie and I sat around
his mum's council flat

for hours and hours
with a blank piece of paper

until we got a bottle of wine
out and we finished that.

Then we were able
to write a song called 'Plynth'.

'Plynth', I'm very proud of

'cause that was one
of my compositions

where I wrote the words.

Moisture from the ocean
fills the sky

Falls back down to the ground
as time goes by

I was very proud of my bass
sound and that whole thing

with the drums and the guitar.

And Rod's soulful singing,
and Nicky's piano playing.

It was a magic combination.

It was an honour
to be in the band,

to be quite honest with you,

along with Micky Waller
and Nicky Hopkins,

and Ronnie Wood,
it was a great band.

If you think about how
long ago that was and

what an impact they must
have had at the time...

He's so unique and original.

'Truth' and 'Beck-Ola'
really stood out,

sort of benchmark
rock 'n' roll records.

Definitely big statements
for the time.

The sounds of those records
are definitely...

I still use them as touchstones
for even what I do today

because nothing sounds
like those records.

And I was lucky enough
to see them live

two or three times
and it was really exciting.

You never knew if he was
gonna show up or not.

I mean,
some of the stories about

quitting in the middle
of a tour, I mean that's like...

You know, that's pretty heavy.

But that's Jeff.

There was a rift between
me and Rod at that time.

I don't know how it came about.

It cast a bit of doubt,
you know, like...

I didn't wanna bank too much
on the next tour

in case it didn't happen.

I saw this big festival
looming up on the calendar

and I was nervous about it.

I thought
we're not ready for that.

We're not ready to go up against
Sly and the Family Stone.

The Woodstock Festival
was 2 weeks away

when the Beck Group
kind of collapsed.

And I thought, "It's a shame,

because there's a big gig
coming up in a couple of weeks."

Woodstock.

He disappeared,
in the middle of the night.

Next morning, he was gone.

We get a phone call,
"Jeff gone home."

When I saw the film

I just thought,
"Thank God for my integrity.

Thank God that the little
birdie whispered 'Don't do it'."

Because I'd have been up there

dated and frozen
with that image,

with the music
not being quite right.

I did the right thing.

He could've explained it to us
and that would've made sense.

But I do agree,
I'm glad we didn't do it.

Once again, I'm back
to my mum's house again.

He's not particularly
wrapped up in his success.

Just assume not discuss music
and the guitar.

Rather talk about the movies
that he likes

and certainly his cars.

My gran used to take me
to the cinema

and she took me to see
a posh film,

but the supporting film
was Hot Rod Gang.

She just freaked out and said,
"This is not suitable."

Because the word
'gang' was in it.

And she said,
"Right, we're leaving."

"Let's go out of the cinema

and come back
when the main feature starts."

I clung onto the seat.

The opening sequence shows
these two hot rods

racing one another
on opposite sides of the street.

Totally cool.

And I was hit,
smitten right away.

For a B movie,
it was pretty nonsensical.

I still watch it
from time to time,

as it was
such a massive impact.

Come on, let's go!

Hot Rods has always been
his passion

from when he was really young,

and then he started
building them.

The way he puts it
most of the time,

you know, music
and guitar is his job

and that's his pastime

when he gets back home
off tour.

He's always tinkered
with his cars

since as long as I've known him.

I think the first time
I went to his house

the hood of his Corvette
was open,

he might've been
under the hood.

The fact that

Jeff builds those cars
and does it so well,

it's obvious he's a man
of two passions, I think.

Guitar and cars.

Your senses are sharpened
because you built it.

Even if you had
a professionally built car,

you're still driving
an early car.

Maybe a Ford or a Chevy, 30s.

And they don't handle the same
as a late model car.

And I'm going over this hill,
no top of the car,

just 30 mph
over this little gentle incline,

get to the top of it
and the car starts to go

straight onto
the oncoming traffic,

without me touching the wheel.

I turn the wheel in the opposite
lock and it still kept going.

I hit this poor chap in this
Morris Traveller, head on.

Broke his legs,
broke my face up,

back injury, leg injury.

I got taken into Maidstone
General, who were amazing.

I mean, just incredible.

We had a cheerful chappy
that used to come round

and shave you
and bring you tea.

I was recovering

and then this guy decided
to bring me a music paper.

He was a Scouser, he went:

"Your mate's gone
joined The Faces."

I went, "Terrific."

You didn't need to hear that
right at that particular time.

I think the biggest problem
for Jeff is finding somebody

to front the band that
really fit what he's doing.

He had arguably one of the best
singers at the time in his band.

How long did that band last?
A couple of years?

Rod Stewart was great,
but more often than not,

I think one of the reasons

why he ended up
being an instrumentalist

is just that it was hard
to find anybody

that really interpreted
the music correctly,

or just had the right energy,
or whatever it was.

I got to Epic in mid '72

and the Orange album had come
out a few months before that.

The name of the album
is Jeff Beck Group,

but we all always referred
to it as the Orange album

because there was a photo
of the orange on the cover.

I started looking round for
players that could really...

Like drummers, I was always
focused on drummers.

They are the life of the band,
they are the driving force.

You get your drummer right,
you're pretty much set for life.

We obviously lost

a lot of regular contact,
but when I did see Jeff,

he'd always be keen on
his latest line-up.

He'd always rave
about different drummers.

He'd say: "I've got this guy
called Cosy Powell.

Listen to what I'm doing."

I loved Cosy.

I picked him out
of a line-up of 20-odd drummers.

Mickie Most's secretary
organised this whole audition.

And she said,
"Jeff, I know you're late

but you don't need
to look at anybody else.

There's your brother
over there."

Looking like the same,
same hair.

"Alright, hi, Jeff, I'm Cosy."

Then he started playing.

And you saw people
putting their cymbals

back in their cases.

They were packing their drums
ready, they knew that was it.

Then Max Middleton
came up with the idea

of a simple melody,
a bluesy thing,

with a bottleneck.

And he said, "Why don't we write
three melodies?"

And there are
three melodies in there.

One plays the counter melody

and then there's a third descant
on top of that.

And I remember thinking
this is a cacophony of noise.

Steve Cropper came down
and said,

"Man, this is really amazing."

Because I was doing these parts
individually and dubbing on.

And I wasn't hearing the blend,
I was only doing individually.

Because if I'd heard guitar
number 1,

I would not have been able
to play against it.

And when I went up and heard all
three put together, you know,

"Let's buy Max
a round of drinks for that one."

I think there's no question

that 'Definitely Maybe'
led the way to 'Blow by Blow'.

With a detour, with Jeff
there's always a detour.

Well, I've always liked

playing on other people's
records and not being named.

I mean, that thing where Stevie
calls out Jeff

on 'Looking For
Another Pure Love'

Do it, Jeff.

And it is actually great
when it happens but I think...

I, like Jeff,
like playing on records

where we're just
kind of the mystery agent

and we like the idea...
I like the idea of someone

being able to identify me
by what I'm playing.

Stevie's record company
needed him to do something.

And I wasn't doing anything.

And Epic said, "What if we got
you in the studio with Stevie?"

I couldn't wait
for this to happen.

So the deal was I was to play
a couple of tracks

on Stevie's album
'Talking Book'

and he'd write me
a couple of tracks,

one of which
was 'Superstition'.

He said, "What about
we write a song,

we get a song with superstitions
that you know about?"

"That we Americans
maybe don't know about."

And I said, "Well, we don't walk
under ladders for bad luck."

And I said,
"If you dropped a mirror,

that would be
7 years' bad luck."

I started playing the drums

in a break, he'd gone out
for lunch, and he'd come back

and he was clapping along
to my beat...my rhythm.

I said, "Stevie, it's not...
I'm not a drummer."

He goes, "Yeah, you are now.

Don't stop."

He just grabbed the clavinet
and started playing that vamp.

And I'm thinking,
"Christ, I'm playing drums

to Stevie Wonder."

They were pretty cool,

just a simple thing
that I could play.

And then he went, "OK,
I'll lay the track down."

'Cause I was messing up
with the fills and stuff.

And he came
and sat at the same kit

and played
exactly what I was playing,

but better.

And he made space
for a five-chord turnaround,

all right away,

and then he went straight in
and put a bassline on

and that was it.

When that bassline came

the whole studio
turned upside down.

Then he went
and put the lyrics on,

and that was how
that song was made.

Jeff, do your thing, son!

But then, when the demo
went back to Motown,

Berry Gordy heard it,
he said,

"This is the best thing
you've ever written."

So, out comes Stevie's single

and it's a smash,
number one,

and it still is
the biggest seller, I think,

of all time of his singles.

And it worked out OK because
it was a much better version

than the one we did, I think.

We did a heavy metal version.

I don't think
he cared for it too much.

When I heard Stevie Wonder's
version of that song,

that's a definitive version
of that song, you know.

Nobody should ever cover it,
just leave it alone

otherwise it'll just sound
like a bar band butchering it.

Not so with Jeff Beck.
Not so.

And when Beck, Bogert & Appice
recorded it,

it stood on its own
like another entity again.

They were great.

They were just incredibly
exciting to play with.

I'd seen the Fudge
three or four times.

They blew me away.

It's pretty powerful.

Unknowingly,

maybe Stevie had written
the ultimate power trio song

because the double bass drums
that Carmine used were perfect.

Timmy's busy bass playing
with that riff.

What more could...

They sang as well,
so we got two singers,

a bass player and a drummer.

Good morning, it's over.

I mean, there's a certain amount
of "fuck you-ness"

to everything Jeff does.

And I think there's a big dose
of that in that song.

But unfortunately,

we couldn't match any song
to that level, that quality.

So there was never really
a proper album.

We toured and we were
knocking people out the park.

It was great.

We played Crystal Palace

and, you know,
girls swimming across this pond

to get to the front
of the stage.

It was great.

And I thought,
"Well, this isn't gonna wait."

And we were getting
a ridiculously good response.

And then along comes
the mental writer's blocks.

We weren't writing
very good songs.

They were making a second album

and it just
kind of petered out.

The managers had to get together
and effect a divorce.

The record company didn't have
a whole lot to do with it.

We were observers, spectators.

It just exploded, you know.

Sadly, it did.

He's not as wrapped up

in being a rock star
and that whole thing.

He can be true to his art
and still take...

He leaves it there,
then he goes home,

works on his cars,
lives out in the country.

So I think he's found a really
good balance between the two.

I was working on

the wrecked rod
of the '69 accident

and I had
a transistor radio playing.

I was lying on the ground
doing something,

doing this back axle
or whatever.

Rainwater was streaming past me
and I thought,

“I'm in the gutter, I've ended
up back in the gutter."

And it almost
washed the radio away.

And it was McLaughlin playing
on Jack Johnson.

That amazing album.

Miles, I mean please.
It's a wonderful thing.

And then you hear McLaughlin
going in there.

And it was a moment
where I just went in,

stopped work, went in
and made a cup of tea

continued listening,

and that was it, I just thought
there's a door open now.

This is what I wanna do.

It's more focused on
guitar only,

and it negates
the necessity for a vocalist.

There's no point
in going round the world

trying to find
another Rod Stewart.

What a great line-up
of musicians.

The brilliant Max Middleton
playing keyboards.

Richard Bailey and Phil Chenn
on drums and bass

and produced by George Martin
at AIR Studios.

I gave the album
the title 'Blow by Blow'

because the word 'blow'
means many things.

But I was using it
in the sense of a jazz thing.

When you do an extemporary bit,
you are giving it a blow.

To look at the joy
on George's face

when he discovered that
we were gonna have fun.

Jeff and I met up
and he invited me to the studio

and he was telling me
how George

was really just letting him
play and stretch.

He was recording all the things

and then making
the finished version.

He was somebody who would
really understand

the precision of Jeff's playing

and just how different
and how separate it was

from anybody elses.

George Martin really understood

that Jeff was a serious
musician.

He wasn't a producer
with a singular vision

of how he thought it would be
that he would want to impose.

I don't suppose anyone
would have much luck

imposing their vision on Jeff.

Jeff could be temperamental,
but never a big problem.

I mean, if he felt frustrated

because he wouldn't be getting
what he wanted,

sometimes
he would get very upset

and in fact
he did fling his guitar

right across the studio
at one point.

But people are temperamental,
that's all right.

They blow off steam.

As long as they don't throw it
at me, I'm all right.

We didn't have any problems,
we got on very well.

He loves exploring the guitar

and when he does hear
something that catches his ear

or gives him a new idea,
he gets deeply into it.

John McLaughlin was kicking
my back at the time.

The Mahavishnu Orchestra,
that played a big part.

Jeff's always said

the Mahavishnu Orchestra
is like his 'one'.

He still holds it
as his Holy Grail.

"This is what inspired me
to start pushing things

to the next level."

One tune that has some
of that Mahavishnu feel

is 'Scatterbrain'.

It started as a schizophrenic
run that I did

when I was nervous
in a dressing room.

2 seconds before going on,
I went...

And Max being the calculated
S.O.B that he is,

he said, "You know that
annoying scale you play,

I've written some chords
underneath it."

He said, "If you move it up
a semi-tone,

I can make a track out of it."

And before we knew it,
we had this song.

Yeah, that's a really...
It's a chop buster, that song.

He really was getting away

from the straight rock stuff
that he was doing.

And he wanted to open it up
to a more melodic

and a little softer
and jazzier angle.

George loved it.

And he started putting
the string arrangements to it.

Just bare bones creativity
on the spot.

When I suggested to him that we
use an orchestra with it,

he was a little bit
taken aback, I think.

And for me,
it was a fairly risky thing

because Jeff
had never done this before.

And I wondered whether
the audience would accept

the fact that Jeff Beck was
working with a string sound.

George was open to anything

and the most encouraging,
the most kindest person.

And boy,
did he get a great sound.

'Cause We've Ended As Lovers'

is the stand-out track
of all time for me.

I mean,
I just think that is Jeff

at his most beautiful,
lyrical...

It's a Stevie Wonder song,
of course,

which must be pointed out.

When I heard that album
I just thought, "Oh, wow."

Her voice was like
a crystal stream flowing.

And I started playing
'Cause We've Ended As Lovers',

playing the melody
that Syreeta sang.

Max Middleton said,
"That's beautiful, what is it?"

And I played him
the Syreeta version, he went,

"Why don't we do that
as an instrumental?"

Jeffs an amazing person

because he can get
the most incredible sound

out of an electric guitar.

Even after he's flung it
across the studio,

he will still pick it up,
wiggle it a bit,

and make great sounds.

And he uses the guitar
as his voice.

He sings with his guitar.

And I don't know
any other guitar player like it.

'Blow By Blow' was an
instantaneous success

upon release.

It really look off
like a rocket,

shot up the charts.

Turns out that lots of
Jeff Beck fans out there

were just waiting for an album

in which they could hear him
play maximum guitar.

Max and George,

the two of them
were like two peas in a pod

because of their musicianship,
the keyboard...

Max would come up
with these twisted chords,

enter the Pork Pie Hat
with the Charlie Mingus stuff.

'Goodbye Pork Pie Hat',
written by Charles Mingus,

is an ode, really, to the great
sax player, Lester Young.

It really stands out

as being something
very special and different.

Something unexpected
from Jeff.

After we finished,
there was dead silence.

I went, "Oh..."

And George went...
You could hear the button go,

and he said,
"Jeff, that was very tasteful."

To this day, I tell people,
"Boy, if you wanna learn guitar

there's all the scales and
arpeggios and stuff,

but you need
to learn two solos."

And they're both relatively easy
to learn because they're slow,

'Goodbye Pork Pie Hat'
on 'Wired'

and 'Cause We've Ended
As Lovers'

'cause that's where the feel is.

I got a letter
from Charlie Mingus,

and it said, "Dear Jeff,

I was so knocked out with your
version of 'Pork Pie Hat'."

That's when we had
the world at our feet.

We could do anything
we wanted.

Jeff is like a rock 'n' roll
musician who understands jazz.

That's a very rare animal.

We went to see
Mahavishnu Orchestra in Zurich.

We were playing
in the same week

so we ended up being at a party
in the same hotel.

We had the greatest time.

I got to know
the Mahavishnu Orchestra.

McLaughlin, Jan Hammer,
Billy Cobham, Jerry Goodman.

It was just amazing.

I ended up getting
really great contact and talking

because we really had
very much in common.

Jan knew me.

He said, "Course I know you,
the Yardbirds,

I know all the stuff."

So this is the great
bonding session that took place.

This was before 'Wired'.

He was pretty much finished.
I think he had some rough mixes.

The album was virtually done,
but not finished.

George Martin had to leave.

He was committed
to do an album by America.

George left, without the
finishing touches

being applied to the album.

There's still some overdubs,
certainly some mixing.

So I had to say
goodbye to George.

Jan was interested,

I would fly over there
and watch this magician

do his stuff on this record.

I just did quick mixes of this,
and basically all those mixes

ended up being the masters
for the album.

So more than half the album
was mixed here.

And then we did
one tune from scratch,

which was called 'Blue Wind'.

And he said, "Play this riff."

The two notes,
and I said, "Come on, Jan.

This is kiddie stuff."
He went, "Trust me."

And I didn't like it at all.

It was a very simple riff
and a combination of things.

And by the time
I added the drums to it

and my keyboard synthesisers...

He got these Auratones and
stuck them on his mantelpiece.

He cranked it
and these speakers were shaking.

I went, "OK, I get it now."

It gave a great platform
for solos.

It was all about embellishing
and showing off,

taking flight with your solos.

It just turned out
to be a great tune

that has been living on
for decades now.

It was incredible
to play with Jan Hammer,

with Jeff Beck
at the Hollywood Bowl.

Jeff had always
talked about Jan before.

Jeff loves Jan,
obviously, they have a great...

...and vice versa...

...they have
a great relationship.

I'm sitting there,
looking at both of them

and watching them interacting.

You can see the years
of friendship and mutual respect

and adoration that they have
for one another.

'Star Cycle' was interesting

because again,
I recorded the whole track here,

in the old studio, with
a sequencer, and I played drums.

Then I took the tape to Ramport,
The Who's studio, in London.

And we added
all the lead parts on top of it.

That song has a very particular
melody.

And again, the whole thing
Is about the trade-off

between Jan and Jeff.

How their minds work together
is incredible.

They can really bounce off
of each other and it's just...

It's like fireworks.

He's just inspired

by whatever the dynamic is
that's on the stage.

That's what he's looking for,
he's looking for inspiration.

A reason to strike that string
and make that next sound.

That's the reason I always love
playing with him

because it's gonna be so fresh.

And he's gonna pull something
out of his sleeve

that makes you say
"How did you do that?"

You think that guitar
is so limited

and people sometimes
even demonstrate

how limited guitar is by playing
basically a couple of riffs

and that's the whole career.

Jeff has opened it up
to so many areas

that it's really hard
to keep up.

I came back to Epic in 1980

after the 'There and Back'
album,

during which time
I failed to convince Jeff

to do even one album for Epic.

Years had gone by

and I didn't wanna
go along with that.

The '80s, you know,

'push button music'
and all that.

I certainly visited Jeff
at his home.

He was a most gracious host,

showed me his cars
in the garage,

which he was spending
a significant amount of his time

working on, very happily.

There was no place for me

so I just buried myself
in my workshop.

And it got to the point

where I think they forgot
I was even on Epic label.

And I ended up driving
to different sessions.

Any artist would be thrilled

to have Jeff contribute
to their work.

So the fact that over the years
he's guested on albums,

from such a diverse
array of acts,

from Stevie Wonder,
to Stanley Clarke,

to Diana Ross,
to Mick Jagger,

to Tina Turner,
on and on and on.

And I loved guesting with them.
I loved every minute of that.

He's kind of guided his career
the way he wanted.

And there's something to be said
for taking time off

and regrouping,

rather than having a record
company breathing down your neck

for a new record every year.

Epic Records thought it'd be
a great idea to get an artist

to drop me a broad hint
by painting this surreal garage

with a guitar up on the ramp,
instead of a car.

I loved it,
I love that cover.

It was me, I mean that was it.

They couldn't have...
They hit it bullseye.

That was me.

Without a doubt, 'Guitar Shop'
was a real return to form.

And that was their jolt,
you know.

I put my back into the album

with Tony Hymas
and Terry Bozzio.

The results were really
groundbreaking, in a way,

for a three-piece
to put out so much power.

It was a power trio with
keyboards instead of bass.

His approach
is super, super rhythmic.

So in order for that to work,

you have to have
a back line that gets it.

I think Terry Bozzio
had a lot to do with that.

He's worked with
amazingly great drummers.

So, I mean, I've stood
in some tall company.

When you hear the song,
it lives up to its name

of 'Big Block',

which obviously refers to
a large-sized engine

in an automobile.

His playing is amazing.

The 'Big Block' riff
is fuckin' awesome.

The heavy,
sexy riff in the middle,

that was all my stuff.

Big Block' is great.
What a classic.

What a classic.

A powerhouse tune.

That's a pure example, I think,

of a lot of power and energy
that's in Jeff's show.

It's full of
aggression and spirit.

It's got a nasty overtone to it.

There's this underlying,

reoccurring riff that's
happening the whole time.

The main riff on the bass
that's low enough to give space

for the guitar
to do absolutely anything.

So he just goes mental.

The sounds he gets out of that
instrument still shocks me.

It's so definite,
and he so definitely sounds

like he knows where he's going
and exactly what he wants to do

and he's going to
execute it perfectly.

It's always got melody,
but it's also got great attack

and a sort of
aggressive fire to it.

It's brilliant.

Jeff not using a pick,
I learned a lot from that.

So I actually alternate

between using a pick
and not using a pick

because you're just
that much more connected

and there's an emotional
thing that happens

when you do it that way
that sings and soars

above and beyond
using a guitar pick.

The early days in the Yardbirds,

he was still playing
with a pick,

but then he developed playing
without a pick.

Then he concentrated more
on Stratocaster.

And he had the guitar
so fine-tuned

to every nuance,

and the tonality of it,
the tension of it,

that he developed a style

that was totally unique.

And that's pretty magical.

'Where Were You', basically,
ls impossible.

It's just an impossible tune.

It's that song where he plays
a melody with harmonics.

He's got such a sensitive ear

to know exactly
when things are in pitch.

The way he has his Strat set up

for whammy bar stuff
is quite extraordinary.

His playing whole melodies
on harmonics,

which are pulled through
two or three tones

in perfect pitch
all the time.

And believe me, I've tried it.

He makes it sound easy.

He was invited
to come along and play

at a memorial service for
Richard Wright after he died.

I mean, Rick loved that track.

Rick often said that he was
his favourite guitar player,

much to my chagrin.

He came and played it live
and it was just like the record.

And perfect.

Just to know that that piece,
which I wrote, reached people,

that was very satisfying.

And Elton told me that he

and Freddie Mercury
used to sit and listen to it.

I went, "Oh, right?"

It's amazing, isn't it?

That some idea ends up
on a record

and then people's lives
are affected, in some way.

Jeff's always tried to challenge

what the stereotype
of guitar playing is,

or the stereotype of music
or just...

find new ways of expressing

his take on what's happening
in music right now.

Whether it's collaborating
with different people

or finding new sounds.

He's always got
something in his mind

that he wants to do and change.

He will listen to everything.

I mean, he will intake anything

from Ornette Coleman
to the Spice Girls

and anything in between.

And he's able to filter it
into something usable.

Me and Jennifer got on quite
well doing this crazy stuff.

I've got a big
sound system in the car

and 'Nadia' started up.

This is the most amazing thing
I've ever heard.

And I played it again and again
on the way to the studio.

And I said, "Listen to this.

I'm going to mimic that singer."

It was the most difficult thing
I've ever done.

Those Indian singers,
they twist and turn.

It's almost beyond belief
what they can do,

leaping from note to note
in the scales they sing.

The Indian vocals
are very hard to emulate.

There's such subtle nuances
and little tiny bends.

I actually made him loops
of each little chunk of melody

and looped it
maybe 10 or 15 times

so he could focus on just that,

which I don't think
he ever did before,

to break it down
so scientifically like that.

But of course,
he's gonna make it his own.

It's a perfect example
of expanding the instrument

beyond anybody's imagination.

That it took his hands
and his brain

to be able to take it that far.

When I talk to
other guitar players about him,

there's no question.

I mean, there's everybody else
and then there's Jeff Beck.

I don't even know how
he's doing it half the time.

He's combining the tremolo arm
with bending,

and with volume.

There's so much going on

between his left hand
and his right hand

and what the right hand
is doing,

all the independence
that it has.

It's all about
making that voice.

Playing 5 nights
at Ronnie Scotts,

Jeff always wanted
to play at Ronnie's, you know.

The fact that we pulled that off
was pretty amazing

'cause it's just
a little jazz club.

Everybody's been there.

Rollins...
I saw Art Blakey there.

And I saw Elvin Jones.

These people belong in there

and there's Jeff Beck up there,
no, no, no.

How wrong was I?

Amazing.

I can't believe this, I just...
You know, you people,

but on top of this,
I'd like to welcome to the stage

somebody who knows their way
around a Stratocaster.

It was an honour to get up
with him in that venue.

And the fact
that he asked me to play.

I mean,
tremendously touching

that he would want me
to get up and play with him.

Mr Eric Clapton is here tonight.

I may as well
fuck off home then.

They were trying to figure out
what to play and Clapton said,

"Why don't we play
'You Need Love'?"

We had basically
all of Led Zeppelin there,

all the surviving members.

And it was funny playing
'You Need Love"

because it was where they got
'Whole Lotta Love' from.

That was their influence
for writing that song.

Jeff and I, we go back to
really early teens.

And let me tell you,
that was a long while ago.

But we must've been about 13-14
when we first met

and we stayed friends
all the way through and...

That was a surprise,

the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,
to have Jimmy go up there

and call me up to present me
with the award.

I was really flattered.

And what he said
really brought me to tears.

You'd sort of listen to Jeff
along the way

and you'd go, "Wow,
he's getting really good, Jeff."

And you'd hear him
a few years later

and he'd just keep getting
better and better,

and he still has,
all the way through.

He leaves us as mere mortals,
believe me,

just wondering and
having so much respect for him.

And I tell you, I'm really
honoured to be here

to induct Jeff into the
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

'cause he's done so much for
rock 'n' roll and always will.

The plan was, at sound check,
that we play 'Beck's Bolero'.

And I thought, "Yeah, OK.

I'll bring over the original
guitar I played it on,"

which is a Fender 12-string,
electric 12-string.

And so I took it over there
and we had a rehearsal.

Somehow, I think me and Tal
called up Jeff.

And I said, "It's really a shame

that we're not playing
a Zeppelin song."

I mean, we're gonna play
with Jimmy Page.

I got a phone call
just before we were due to go.

And he said, "I've been
having a chat with the band

and they thought
it might be a good idea

if we, instead of
just doing 'Bolero',

if we did 'Immigrant Song'.

And I said, "Oh yeah?

Well, this is really
gonna be interesting."

Because we hadn't
had a rehearsal.

Right here, Jimmy!

Great!

The tech behind the stage
apparently is freaking out.

The sound guys, they're like...

Nobody knows what's going on,
but the audience went berserk.

He was just soloing everything.

He'd throw the vocal lead in,

just to show everybody
how on top of it he was.

I still get goose bumps

when I think about that
right now.

The band are having great fun
doing this riff

and then we segue through
into Bolero'

and it's absolutely amazing.

These people that came out
of that same era

with the same influences

and look at the voices
that emerged.

Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck.

And then there was Clapton
and Hendrix.

These guys all look that same
raw material and did that.

Just distinct different
branches.

Every time I think of it,
it's mind-numbing.

And Jeff really is just
totally a voice like no other.

I love his big, vast swing.

He'll go from something so
rocking and so aggressive,

down to something so tender
and so sweet

and everything in between,

and it really is a perfect
mirror on all the emotions

of being a human being
and being alive.

It just covers the gamut
of human emotion.

You could recognise Gilmour
and Hendrix,

the same way you can recognise
Jeff within a phrase, a note.

There wouldn't be
icons of guitar playing

if they didn't have
their stamp.

And that's what I think
every aspiring guitarist,

including myself,
wants to achieve one day.

So I think they're all unique,
but Jeff's is...

a little bit more 'out there'.

He was doing his set

and then I had to go on
after 'Nessun Dorma'.

I was like,
"You must be kidding, man.

This is a showstopper,
I can't follow that."

There's not too many musicians
who can do that.

That's a vocal tune
for a reason.

It's really about
just his sort of...

these two hands
and a piece of wood

and the things
he's able to do with it,

but he does it with
a lot of emotion and soul

and expression.

All those years ago
you had a band that featured

Rod Stewart as your vocalist.

It's always seemed somewhat
self-defeating to me

to attempt to replace Rod
with another male vocalist.

Jeff has a really cool knack
for picking female singers

with his choices like
Imelda May, Joss Stone,

and Beth Hart.

There's a perfect example of
three absolutely amazing females

that go with his style,

and the type of energy
that he wants to portray

and the type of energy
he wants his band to portray

at that particular time.

The type of fire
he wants to have.

I had an opportunity
to go write with Jeff.

We wrote a couple of
beautiful songs together

and I thought that was It.

Then he called me and asked me
if I'd be his singer.

That was incredible.

I didn't get to sing
a lot of songs,

but I did get to sit on the side
of the stage and watch him play

and understand why he's the most
innovative guitarist

of all time.

Jeff really appreciates singers.

You know,
he's always listening to singers

and the way
that they articulate.

Beth Hart is somebody I've
actually worked with before

and she's great
and she's very soulful.

As a singer,

he knows what kind of song
will be best for you.

And he turned me onto that song
and I loved it.

Here he is
50 years later,

after his girlfriend takes him
out on that stage

and he looks up and he says
"God, I wanna play here so bad",

and 50 years later
he plays there.

Sold out, gorgeous,
kills it.

It's just wonderful.

One of my favourite records
that he's done is 'Loud Hailer'.

It's incredibly modern.

And having a singer like that
to work off of,

he's chosen well.

There's a lot of pressure
opening Jeff's show.

This is like
50 years of Jeff Beck.

Rosie's stomping around
the Hollywood Bow/

and all these top of the heap
rich guys down at the front

not knowing what's going on.

He always decides to do

something which nobody'd
expect him to do.

Working with us,
this unknown band from Camden.

Jeff's always supported young
artists, especially women.

He's had a history

of having really great
female musicians with him.

Female singers, guitar players,
bass players.

And not only the point of
just the criteria

of someone being a female,

but someone being female
and very talented.

And that get along
great with him and his wife.

What time do you call this?

I met Jeff at Roger Taylors
birthday party.

It was a funny encounter
because Roger said,

"Here, come and meet Jeff",
then I turned around,

and realised
who I was talking to.

I think the first thing
I said to him was,

"Oh fuck, you're Jeff Beck."

I've installed the engine
in your absence,

so that bit's now done.

Who do you like?
She said, "Albert Collins."

Ding! A light went on
and I thought, that's unusual,

to have a female young guitarist
that likes Albert Collins.

Then she said, "If you wanna
see me play in my band,

I'm playing in this pub."

So we go up there,
totally blown away.

He's always trying
something new.

The most recent album,
'Loud Hailer',

is not like any album
he's done before.

He's collaborating with people
who are like himself,

venturing forward
info new musical territory.

That'll keep you young.

The whole point is that,
Jeff still, at his age,

is trying to pioneer things
and do things differently,

not just playing the same stuff
that he always plays.

He's pushing it a bit,
getting excited about new people

and making new music.

Looking back,
it feels like fairyland.

Like, "How the hell
did that happen?"

Just sitting around a fireplace
drinking Prosecco

and writing music
with a legend.

There was a lot of chatting
about things

that were Interesting him
in the world

and after that,
everything came quite easily.

It was done under this roof.

It was a beautiful,
very natural experience.

That was Carmen's
chord sequence, I think,

then I came up with
the little fills and stuff.

I wasn't expecting that.

The depth of that song.

I love the sentiment behind
'Scared For The Children'

Something that we all felt
quite close to.

I play the least amount of notes

that actually mean something,
I suppose.

If there was any game playing
that'd be it really.

The chords are so nice.

Just to sit on the chord
and do it.

I mean, that's what I do.

Jeff's solo in 'Scared For The
Children' suave at first,

and then explodes
in the second half.

That hint to Jimi Hendrix,
kind of that quote.

The best time is on
a really nice-sounding stage,

live, that's when
I can really pour it on.

Jeff is probably one of the most
influential guitar players

alive today.

And whenever I get to play
with him it's an experience

that affects my drumming
and my musicianship.

He makes me play better.

Every time I see him
his averages are so high,

but every performance is one
place where he is transcended

and I go, "Oh, OK.

I'd better go home
and pick my guitar up again.""

He's just naturally interested
in making music

and has enough faith
in his music to know that

all that stuff about the
business just doesn't matter.

To have the attitude that he has

where he's always ready
for something new

and he doesn't know it all,
even though he does,

I think that's magical.

There's a difference between
playing music and being music.

And that's how he is set apart
because he is music.

Jeff seems to embody the sound
that he produces.

And I've watched him
take someone else's guitar,

who was just playing
a moment before,

pick it up,
with no effects, no nothing,

and start playing

and the sound
of that same instrument

is just completely different.

It's this unique talent,

this unique musical sensibility,
vocabulary,

inspiration
and willingness to take risks.

Jumping off cliffs.

And that all shows up
in his music.

People do need to...

up their awareness about him.

I mean, where have they been?

There is no one else that has
been as consistently good,

exciting, out there,
looking for new things,

adventurous, maverick,

since he started in the 60s.

He just loves music.

I think...

If you stop wanting to play,

if you're not inspired
by what you hear

then you might as well sit at
home by the fire and watch TV,

but obviously he's still got
something left to say.

I haven't given up hope, Jeff.

"The voice, The guitar."

The good thing about guitarists

is that everyone's got
their own character playing.

That's something which
we all do understand.

But we could all be talking
for hours and hours,

and years and years,
decades and decades,

but the most important thing,

the thing that you can't
actually put into words,

is what you actually hear
in that music.

And that is the key
to all of this,

of Jeff's playing
and why Jeff is so brilliant.

Because it's what he manages
to convey with his guitar.

And that has to be heard
to be believed.

I always keep a guitar in nearly
every place in the house

to remind me
that I should be doing that.

And the guitar is always
a constant challenge.

Every time I pick it up,

I pretend
I've just started playing.

And it seems to work.