REQUIRED LISTENING: a musician's personal notes about favorite artists.
THE JEFF BECK GROUP
Truth.
Truth is a part of Rock History because it introduced the world to: Rod Stewart AND to a power trio built
around a frontman and a guitar hero. For the time, this was a NEW sound and vision. Jeff Beck left the Yardbirds in the
midst of their success and ending his tenure as co-lead guitarist with Jimmy Page, to start his own band. The group's
first album, Truth, has long been called a prototype for the first Led Zeppelin album but I disagree.
Anyway, Truth has many elements to it, including blues rock ("Blues Deluxe," "Let Me Love
You" and "Rock My Plimsoul"), hard rock ("Shapes of Things" and "I Ain't Superstitious")
along with acoustic rock ("Morning Dew" and "Greensleeves"). Jeff Beck is clearly a master at whatever
he wants to do and Rod Stewart was a perfect compliment. The Jeff Beck Group also included Ron Wood on bass (before he
became the great guitarist in the Faces and Rolling Stones) along with drummer Micky Waller. This lineup only recorded
two albums together before imploding in bad personal chemistry. That's all right though, because everyone went on to
have great careers and we have the Truth.
Also on this album is "Beck's Bolero" which included a lineup of Beck, Jimmy Page, Keith Moon, Nicky Hopkins and
John Paul Jones. This was the session that could have become Led Zeppelin. Keith Moon actually penned the name Led Zeppelin at this time -- saying that they'd go over like a lead balloon.
posted: August 2004. |
