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Reaching up into the stars
Ritchie Blackmore pays tribute to the late Jeff Beck:
First met Jeff Beck around 64-65 and it was a session where we were both playing guitars and Jimmy Page was producing. I couldn’t believe how incredible he was, not only with his technique but his sound too. I became a fan of his ever since. He could reach up into the stars and make magic with his playing. His choice of notes were always absolutely perfect.
This whole thing is a shock. We shall always remember Jeff as the best rock and roll player.
Thanks to Blabbermouth for the quote.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Another Blackmore-Beck connection is that both recorded for a Screaming Lord Sutch album (Beck in studio 1970, Blackmore live 1972).
January 14th, 2023 at 02:52Blackmore & Beck & the 1960’s. I have just watched a few Screaming Lord Sutch documentaries & I couldn’t see a Jeff Beck link there, although I thought I noticed an image of Blackmore at one point. Unfortunately I didn’t notice any of the live video bits with Blackmore performing. Some historical stories say Beck was in that band in the earlier 60’s & Beck was also involved on that 1969 Sutch album Lord Sutch & Heavy friends (named as the worst album ever in a BBC poll), along with Page, Keith Moon, Nicky Hopkins, Mathew Fisher & a few other prominent British musicians. Fisher & Carlo Little the drummer are from Sutch’s early band I think, well Little was most definitely.. What an era indeed. So many wonderful musicians that went on to bigger things. Nice to see Blackmore pay respect to Jeff Beck. Cheers.
January 14th, 2023 at 03:19There are 2 Screamimg Lord Sutch albums from the late 60’s & the live recording Hands of Jack The Ripper live) has Blackmore & Keith Moon with Carlo Little also on the drums. The first studio album has John Bonham on drums apparently, not Keith Moon. According to what I have read. It definitely sounds like Blackmore on the live album. Cheers.
January 14th, 2023 at 03:38Jeff Beck was phenomenal. Just something about those guitarists who came to prominence in the early days: Page, Blackmore, Clapton, Hendrix, Harrison, and a couple others. Just an amalgamation of great natural talent, years of hard work, and the right era to express it in.
January 14th, 2023 at 06:15Wasn’t it rumored that Jeff Beck played on Ritchie’s Green Bullfrog recording? There was supposedly an interview where Ian Paice confirmed it, but later on it just turned out to be a rumor.
January 14th, 2023 at 16:20@ 5 -Big Jim Sullivan, Blackmore & Albert Lee are the guitarists on the Green Bullfrog sessions from my memory. These albums including the two Screaming Lord Sutch albums with Green Bullfrog all seem to perpetuate certain rumours as to who is actually playing on them. Roger Glover is mentioned on the Bullfrog cover but is not on it, Jon Lord isn’t either as some would think when we hear the Hammond organ. Jeff Beck, was he is in Lord Sutch’s band back in the early days? I need to dig further with that also as there are a few doubts there as well. Well I now have a link to a good list of Sutch’s band members & no Jeff Beck as I thought. Those two guest collaboration albums in the late 60’s & early 70’s would be were the Beck references has been stated by other articles that I have read online these last few days. Cheers.
https://forgottenbands.blogspot.com/2009/10/screaming-lord-sutch-savages-in-60s.html
January 15th, 2023 at 02:28A great, abstract painter with a style immediately recognizable, and with a vibrato of his own. Highly emotive. But also without a catalogue of songs as such, unlike Page, Blackmore and Iommi. He chose to take the instrumental route, which included a lot of covers he could make his own. His 70s was two albums by the Jeff Beck Group, one by Beck, Bogert & Appice, Blow by Blow and Wired. RB’s was Mk 2, 3 + Rainbow. I know whose catalogue I hold in the highest regard. This is not to knock Beck, just putting the GOAT tag into perspective.
January 15th, 2023 at 08:19@7 Yep. My favorite is Ritchie, but all those guitarists brought something to the table that the other greats couldn’t do as well. It was like the time Ian Gillan was saying he could never get his voice to do what Dan McCafferty’s did. Well, no, nor could Dan do what Ian did. So, I just enjoy their unique talents for what they are.
January 15th, 2023 at 18:50We were certainly incredibly fortunate to have all those individually different musicians from that early era. No one sounded like anyone else. Of course there was the occasional similar blues based style but not where you couldn’t recognise who it was playing etc. And did anyone over play? Well there was a bit of showing off at times from a few but not the same as what transpired throughout the 80’s & beyond. Right time right place I guess. Cheers.
January 16th, 2023 at 09:55I never heard anything on the Lord Sutch album or Green Bullfrog that sounded remotely like Jeff Beck, not that I’ve listened to either album a lot, they are both a chore even for completists like me.
Why does no one mention that Nick Simper is the bassist on at least some of the tracks of the Hands of Jack the Ripper live album? Legend has it that Blackmore and him never spoke a word with each other before, during and after that gig as this took place 1971, long after the demise of Mk I.
January 16th, 2023 at 14:54I thought I noticed Nick Simper’s name on that album, also possibly Noel Redding on the studio album, I think. I did wonder about Simpers name though with Blackmore there & all. Plus the fact that some musicians names are mentioned & that may not be correct, depending on what factual evidence one is reading at the time. The same with Keith Moon. The Jeff Beck name dropping I read when he passed away appeared in a few media articles regarding his earlier career with the Sutch. However I always doubted that one as I have never read anything before about that. They probably meant the late 60’s studio album with those other big names, to print a story or two. I haven’t listened to that studio album & probably never will as Sutch is, well, the least said there the better. I will have to admit I have never looked up Lord Sutch before at all although always aware of Blackmore playing in his band. Sutch is annoying on those early career live’ video clips, on those documentaries I watched, I had to fast forward at times. No doubt that may be why the late 60’s studio album was voted ‘the worst album ever’ on that BBC poll. Cheers.
January 16th, 2023 at 20:26I remember that when the Green Bullfrog album reapeared with the Ritchie quote that the rumor at the time is that it was a recording of a jam session during a Jeff Beck birthday party. But it turns out that none of that was true. I haven’t found anything that indicates that Beck was involved.
BTW, I like tht album.
January 17th, 2023 at 04:26Frankly, I think by 1971 Jeff Beck was so discriminate in what music he liked and with whom he played, I cannot envisage him with someone as non-musical as Lord Sutch. Ritchie does these things for a laugh (and in Lord Sutch’s case: nostalgia) – after all he is not above playing on William Shatner albums either. : – )
January 17th, 2023 at 17:01I like the Green Bullfrog album, most of the songs . At least back then Blackmore was more ‘open’ to playing soul & funk songs. Obviously before he became a cranky & more selective in his choices. However as history shows, it was a turn up & riff & solo party atmosphere & then keep on moving never to venture there again. Before the DP touring & issues with other people started to get to him. I think Jeff Beck does have a more lenient attitude towards different genres than Blackmore, so to me I could imagine him doing almost anything. Cheers.
January 17th, 2023 at 20:16Beck liked his freedom, but he was open-minded to most forms of music. He’s on record for saying that Blow by Blow and Wired weren’t Jazz, but simply slightly more ambitious rock as he wouldn’t dare describe himself as a Jazz player at all.
Ritchie likes to have things his own way AND everybody follow him as well which is a pity because his musical brush is so original it adds something to most kinds of music even if he is not calling all the shots. That has been detrimental to his recognition among the general public as one of the best British guitarists to come out of the 60ies/earliest 70ies. There are loads of people who love Clapton and Beck without caring for (or even really knowing) either The Yardbirds, Beck, Bogert & Appice or Cream, but I’ve never met anyone who likes Ritchie as a guitarist who is not attached to Purple or Rainbow.
January 18th, 2023 at 15:49Yes indeed, ole Ritchie has kept a low profile in many ways over his career, but I suppose he is a recluse of sorts so that isn’t surprising. Also his attitude may have something to do with it, the media don’t like being ignored etc. I have come across people from the 1960’s, meaning older than me & now into their 70’s & they have said to me when we were talking music ‘that guitarist from that band DP, he is a very fine player’ etc, etc. They only knew of Blackmore & DP from a scant few MK1 songs & that was it. They are not into rock music at all & probably just skipped the whole thing in many ways. Jon Lord also used to get the odd mention. However the other two Beck & Clapton, well the earlier & mid 60’s had them in the spotlight more, even if some people didn’t get into the Yardbirds etc. They both were ‘out there’ where as Blackmore was still lurking in the shadows. I wasn’t surprised (but was hoping for) the fact Blackmore wasn’t mentioned in media articles re Beck’s passing. Clapton of course was. And they mentioned Screaming Lord Sutch etc. Cheers.
January 18th, 2023 at 20:53Looking at Jeff Beck’s early career & it took about 10 years before he found his niche. I have been listening to Beck, Bogart & Appice, the early Jeff Beck Group & the 2nd version of that band also. Working with a vocalist just didn’t seem to work out for him, so finally he nailed it in a sense & continued to do so in various ways. There are a few good songs & instrumentals with those earlier bands, but it seems something is missing, not working out. All this observing is of course with the benefit of hindsight. He did very well & apparently loathed the limelight & playing large venues etc. He allegedly had a decent vintage car collection of sorts also. A good life well lived. Cheers.
January 19th, 2023 at 04:07Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, two former guitarist of Deep Purple having some fun on stage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzdXFLui6rI&ab_channel=DreamcatcherEvents
January 19th, 2023 at 17:48Candice: “And what happens if we try Greensleeves in a 4/4 instead of the 3/4 time signature everybody has heard to death?”
Ritchie: “Hold my beer, honey …”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsErp-Hql0I
January 20th, 2023 at 00:13Stumbled upon this Jeff Beck car show interview & a look at his car collection of sorts after watching a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young documentary following David Crosby’s passing. The things we find on the tube. If anyone is interested in rockers & their cars. Cheers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3v5XH91Q_8
January 20th, 2023 at 04:52Beck did at least 2 sides for Lord Sutch back in October 1964. ‘Dracula’s Daughter’ b/w ‘Come Back Baby.’ The session was produced by Joe Meek. Blackmore and Beck played together on a Page produced session but it has yet to surface. I have around 150 sides with Blackmore from his 62′ to 67′ period but none have Beck/Page on them. Blackmore and Page have been reported to have done 400+ sessions independent of one another of course. The lads were in high demand before they became the legends that we now know them for.
January 21st, 2023 at 10:24After a break of a few days from researching Jeff Beck’s link to Screaming Lord Sutch I have found this information on the second link below regarding Beck’s band The Tridents briefly backing Sutch at the Eel Pie club in 1964. According to the information on the first link below, Beck didn’t play on Dracula’s Daughter, original Savages guitarist Geoff Mew did & Beck only played on the b -side Come Back Baby. The plot thickens indeed. All these different musicians & bands linked to Sutch, it is a wonder anyone could keep up with it all. Cheers.
Dracula’s Daughter ;
https://thebookofbands2.blogspot.com/2008/10/screaming-lord-sutch-joe-meek.html
Backing bands for Sutch;
January 22nd, 2023 at 23:52https://thebookofbands2.blogspot.com/2009/05/other-bands-that-backed-sutch.html