AFTER BEING BOOTED from the Yardbirds in late November 1966, Beck formed three different bands — two iterations of the JeffBeck Group, and the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice — that enjoyed moderate popularity primarily as touring acts. But no matter how much Beck varied his approach with the three bands, the outcome was always the same. Each managed to release two albums (in BBA’s instance a studio and a live album), but none of those records delivered any hits, and commercial success remained elusive. All three groups lasted only a few years before Beck became frustrated or disinterested in the projects and moved on.
Work on the second Beck, Bogert & Appice studio album began in January 1974, but that May, Beck pulled the plug before it was completed and disbanded the group. The guitarist had grown tired of recycling the same old blues-rock riffs and licks he’d been playing for most of his career, and realized that he needed to make a radical shift in direction, if only to preserve his own sanity. The music that excited him the most during this period came from the burgeoning jazz-rock fusion movement, and he soon found himself pulled in that direction.
This story is from the April 2023 edition of Guitar Player.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 2023 edition of Guitar Player.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MY CAREER IN FIVE SONGS
\"La Grange\" aside, these are the songs Billy F. Gibbons considers among his finest achievements.
TIP SHEET
He's played with and learned from the masters. Here are Christone \"Kingfish\" Ingram's best practices for performance.
How I Wrote..."The Story in Your Eyes"
Justin Hayward reveals the story and hidden message behind the Moody Blues' timeless 1971 hit single.
TWA
Krytical Mass KM-01 Reactive Octave Fuzz
FENDER
Tone Master Pro FR-10 Powered Cabinet
TWO NOTES
Special Edition Limited Run Torpedo Captor X
FENDER
Tone Master Pro Floor Modeler
AMERICANA AMBASSADOR
David Grisman details the historic mandolins, guitars and banjos he played on the Acoustic America album, as exhibited at Arizona's Musical Instrument Museum.
CAN'T STOP THE BOP
He's a bebop originator who's played with everyone from Charlie Parker to Jimmy McGriff. Now 96 and fronting a new album, Chicago guitarist George Freeman shows no sign of slowing down
DIRTY DEEDS
Looking for fresh musical inspiration, Kenny Wayne Shepherd left Nashville for Alabama's FAME Studios. The result is Dirt on My Diamonds, Vol. 1, the first half of a new album project that continues his blues-rock evolution.