Tune in today, August 2nd, to Volume 106, 6 PM East, 3 PM West.

(Reminder: Starting today Lefsetz Live will be broadcast an hour earlier.)

Phone #: 844-6-VOLUME, 844-686-5863

Twitter: @lefsetz or @siriusxmvolume/#lefsetzlive

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1

It is better. But it is subtle. But wasn’t the goal to get closer to the music in the seventies? If you want to get closer to the music you want Qobuz. But you’ve got to have the equipment to reproduce the sound.

Audio split back in the nineties. The main market became all-in-ones, not much better than boom boxes. And there was a small market that went upscale, way upscale. Suddenly a stereo system didn’t cost a few thousand dollars, but tens of thousands of dollars. And if you wanted to replicate the experience of the seventies and you actually found a retailer with equipment in this price range they were reluctant to sell it to you, because most audio had become multi-channel, as in home theatre systems, did you really want stereo?

This is what the salesman asked me when my Sansui burned up and I went to replace it with an NAD. He kept reinforcing that it was only two channel. Which is exactly what I wanted. And it was far from cheap, $795 sans a turntable amp, which was $150, which I ultimately laid down for a week later.

That Sansui, the AU11000, is worth a fortune now. It served me well, now I wonder if I should have tried to fix it. I bought it because of its fat sound smoothing out the bright JBL L100s and it worked quite well. It too was an integrated amplifier, with 110 watts a channel when most people were only buying ten or twenty, maybe thirty, and I never heard distortion, but this NAD had better specs, could play much louder, but today it’s worth a fraction of the Sansui.

Actually, I purchased my stereo in stages. Because I didn’t want to sacrifice. After I heard the JBLs and my friend Tony had gotten a discount they were suddenly in my price range. I got them for $470, when list was $666, at Pacific Stereo, when discounts were near impossible. And I wanted this Sony receiver that had a hundred watts a channel, but I was convinced that it wouldn’t sound good with the JBLs, and everybody tried to sell me Luxman, but to get as much power as I wanted…it was way out of my price range. And I refused to spend less to get a system that sounded clean at low volume but distorted when I cranked it, ergo the Sansui.

And I continued to use my Dual 1218 turntable for about a week before I realized it was substandard and went to buy a Technics SL1300, the top of the direct drive line, it was fully automatic, as in the tonearm would drop and retract itself, whereas the vaunted SL1200 was the same turntable, but fully manual.

As for the cartridge?

This was just when exotic was breaking. But I didn’t have the bucks for a $1000 cartridge. I figured I’d get the top of the line Shure, the V15 Type III I think it was, which you could get for just shy of two hundred bucks, but the same people who told me not to buy the Sony told me the Shure would be too bright, so I bought a Stanton 681EEE. And that system…SOUNDED FANTASTIC! I didn’t know anybody who had one as good. And it was my respite during the inanity, i.e. the boredom and less than Middlebury quality students, of law school. I could hear certain things that made me feel all warm inside, like Mick Fleetwood’s bass drum when “Gold Dust Woman” goes from the vocal section to the instrumental. As for dropping the needle on “Hotel California” and “Hejira”? That was a religious experience.

But that experience died.

After the stereo reduction of the nineties, the cheap systems, came the MP3. Which inherently didn’t sound that good, albeit much better than the naysayers claimed. And portability was key, first with the Rio and then the iPod. Pushing the limits of sound was not a feature, portability was.

And concomitantly the music itself changed. We had the loudness wars, with mastering engineers making the tracks as hot as possible to sound loud on radio and then the overemphasis on bass, ergo the Beats headphones, and we got so far from the garden that no one could see the flowers.

And now we’ve got hi-res audio.

2

Vinyl is a fetish. You may be following the MoFi story. What everybody believed was an all analog chain turned out to have a digital step. You could only produce so many records via a stamper created from the master tape, and not only was it expensive to go back to the master, the master experienced wear, so…

Digital.

It got a bad name in the eighties, when labels just put LP EQ’ed music on CDs. It was too bright. Over time more quality was extracted from the system, but the die was cast, perception was digital sucked.

But the dirty little secret was that tape was disappearing, all albums were cut digitally. And to produce a vinyl album from a digital master… Why? Isn’t the digital original the best source? Of course! But vinyl has been cut from these digitally-recorded albums and kids all over the world are buying them, utterly ridiculous, especially when you consider that vinyl has inherent flaws of distortion. Note, I’m not talking about vinyl cut from analog tapes, vinyl records of the pre-digital era, the sixties and seventies. That’s a different story. But acts haven’t been cutting analog for decades, at least most of them.

Meanwhile, most fans are completely happy with MP3s or their relative equivalents, like AAC. But the musicians kept bitching that the sound wasn’t good enough, it wasn’t what they heard in the studio, but in truth they rarely went to the big studios anymore, it was too expensive, records were cut at home, in the box, and the big budgets disappeared with the advent of Napster and one can argue how good today’s records actually sound. But one thing is for sure, most people listen to them at a lower quality level. Via their computers, their portable devices via earbuds. And even if you have a good pair of cans, most people don’t have the amplifier in the chain to extract quality sound.

And then Apple and Amazon went hi-res. Big news, not much effect. Because most people just don’t care. If they did, they’d already gotten Deezer or the Norwegian WiMP, which eventually became Tidal. Turned out most people just didn’t care about sound quality, still don’t.

And in truth you still need to pay for the ultimate sound, not as much as the tweaks, but you still have to invest, in an era when $100 is too much for computer speakers.

But something was lost in the messaging in the transition to higher resolutions at Apple and Amazon, they were proffering BETTER THAN CD audio. Not on all tracks, but a significant number. So if you were willing to invest, you heard music better than previously available, there was now more headroom, more clarity, but most people don’t even understand this, never mind care.

3

“Blood on the Tracks” was Dylan’s big comeback.

Actually, it started the year before, with “Planet Waves,” which got huge buzz as a result of the involvement of David Geffen. People bought it on the hype, on the rep, and then it stopped selling completely. And even though in later years “Forever Young” became a classic, helped by Howard Cosell’s quotation of it regarding Muhammad Ali, “Planet Waves” was not an auspicious comeback.

But the 1974 tour with the Band was. Which yielded the double live album “Before the Flood,” which most people probably haven’t listened to in decades, but certainly put the focus back on Bob. Still, no one was expecting “Blood on the Tracks.”

And history would be completely different if Bob didn’t discard the original tapes and recut the LP with his old Minnesota buddies, relative nobodies. It’s about catching lightning in a bottle, and Dylan did. And has never reached this peak since. Then again, Dylan has had multiple peaks.

After “Blood on the Tracks” came “Desire,” which was, desired that is, after the ubiquity of “Blood on the Tracks,” and it was good, but it couldn’t top “Blood on the Tracks,” nothing could.

And then came “Street-Legal,” a disappointment, and Dylan went Christian and released “Slow Train Coming.”

The track everybody heard was “Gotta Serve Somebody,” and it was good, but many were turned off by this religious turn, to their detriment, “Slow Train Coming” is one of the absolute best Bob Dylan albums. It’s very simple, Barry Beckett and Mark Knopfler.

Beckett was one of the Swampers. Insiders knew his genius, most outsiders did not. Becket didn’t overplay, his work was subtle, but so in the pocket, so right, it’s the apotheosis, listening to Beckett play will make you a believer in music, there’s religion in what he extracts from the keys.

As for Knopfler… Dire Straits was big, but this was before 1985’s “Brother in Arms.” Actually, it was before “Making Movies.” This was after the second Dire Straits album, “Communiqué,” which was nowhere near as commercially successful as the debut with “Sultans of Swing,” but the musical community knew. Knopfler was special, something different from the bluesmeisters of the sixties.

Start with “When You Gonna Wake Up” and “Man Gave Names to All the Animals,” but play all of “Slow Train Coming,” it’s got a warmth absent from other Dylan albums, but it’s still edgy.

But the follow-up, “Saved,” was barely listenable, and then it’s follow-up, “Shot of Love,” was even worse. How did Dylan lose the formula?

Dylan wanted to get back to where he once belonged, so he recruited Knopfler, absent from “Saved” and “Shot of Love,” and recorded “Infidels,” which not only was a return to form, it even got MTV play. The two tracks that everybody knows are “Jokerman” and “Neighborhood Bully,” but my favorite, the absolute killer, is “I and I.”

4

“Been so long since a strange woman has slept in my bed

Look how sweet she sleeps, how free must be her dreams”

Dylan is not in your face, he’s telling a story. And the story is integral to the track, but what brings it together, what injects magic, is the guitars of Mark Knopfler and Mick Taylor. Then again, let’s not forget Sly and Robbie, on drums and bass, adding that island feel, as well as the unheralded Alan Clark on keyboards. “I and I” sounds like a jam in the studio, as in cut for those in attendance, not the audience. It sounds personal. And listening you go on a journey, a trip, to the Middle East, you’re removed from today’s world but ultimately placed right in the center of it.

“Think I’ll go out and go for a walk

Not much happenin’ here, nothin’ ever does

Besides, if she wakes up now, she’ll just want me to talk

I got nothin’ to say, ‘specially about whatever was”

He doesn’t want to talk! Dylan never does, even though he’s got so much to say, i.e. the Musicares speech of a few years back. Bob’s observing, and he’s letting us into his vision.

And the wisdom of Dylan’s sixties words is still extant:

“Took an untrodden path once, where the swift don’t win the race

It goes to the worthy, who can divide the word of truth.

So what we’ve got with “I and I” is a minor masterpiece, one in which the music and the song, the melody and the lyrics, all fuse together to create a feeling you cannot get anywhere else but music. “I and I” penetrates you, you may be cooking dinner, you may be driving, but it’s not background music, you’re nodding your head involuntarily, the groove is just that precious.

5

Now the great thing about Qobuz is the app tells you exactly what resolution you’re hearing the audio in, something which Apple and Amazon do not.

And in truth, not every cut is hi-res, a good bunch are CD quality. And I’m surfing through the tracks, comparing quality, and then my brain says…”I and I.” It’s one of my test tracks.

Like Supertramp’s “Bloody Well Right,” from “Crime of the Century.” If only today’s kids listened to “Crime of the Century” instead of trying to build apps or trading crypto our culture would be much improved. “Crime of the Century” is about alienation, the negatives of school and society, back when artists were the other, and that was enough before money became paramount. And even though “Breakfast in America” with its slew of radio hits is the most famous Supertramp album, “Crime of the Century” is the best, by far.

And the reason I mention it is because “Bloody Well Right” is the cut I used to demo audio equipment. I’d bought an FM tuner a year after my other stereo components. A top of the line Yamaha. What is that worth in today’s digital age? Well, it’s got a nice wooden cabinet. And in 1979, I wanted to buy a tape deck. Everybody said cassettes made on Nakamichis sounded great on Nakamichis, but not so good on other tape decks. This ultimately turned out to be true. It was between a thousand dollar Aiwa or the top of the line Nakamichi, the 582, at $795. I wanted to buy the Aiwa, but when we made tapes of “Bloody Well Right” on both devices at Federated, it was clear, the Nakamichi was superior, it rendered the sound just a bit cleaner, anybody could hear it.

Like with “I and I” on Qobuz as opposed to Apple and Amazon.

Really, I was starting to wonder if there was a difference, and if said difference was really a matter of volume, which will play tricks with your ears. I had no intention of writing, but then…

I pulled up “I and I” on Qobuz.

And that initial Mark Knopfler guitar, it was richer, it was warmer, it was a listening experience I knew but had been long gone.

And Qobuz says “I and I” is playing in “Hi-Res 24-Bit 96kHz.” And for the uninformed, CD quality is 16 bit 44.1 kHz.

Are you getting this, I’m listening to “I and I” in better audio quality than ever previously available. Better than all the CDs ever produced, never mind MP3s.

But was this sound really better than what was available on Amazon and Apple.

I went to Amazon. Where the track was listed as being in Ultra HD.

And to be honest, it sounded damn good, close, but…

I kept going back and forth, it was clear, on Qobuz I was just a little closer to the music, I couldn’t only hear the sounds, I could see the players.

And it wasn’t only Knopfler.

I kept comparing his guitar intro on the three platforms.

But then I let the track play on Qobuz. WHEW! Dylan was no longer a sound, he was a person, you could hear the air around him, he was positively human, listening to him on Qobuz was more insightful than reading a slew of reviews. Because Bob Dylan is an actual person, a human being, flesh and blood, just like you and me, and if the audio quality is good enough, you can hear this, he’s not above us, but amongst us.

That’s the power of music. That’s the power of high quality audio. It’s the same as it ever was, as you get closer the rewards increase. But we’ve been moving away for decades! Hell, people don’t even make records the same way anymore. They’re not full spectrum, they’re made for impact, and that doesn’t always square with quality listening.

Now let’s be clear, to hear this quality you need an external DAC. Otherwise it’s literally impossible, the platforms can tell, call it the magic of computers. But you can get a reasonable external DAC for a hundred bucks.

And, once again, I’m listening via the Dragonfly Cobalt, which is a much bigger difference than any streaming platform, the Dragonfly turbocharges the sound, cleans and broadens it, it’s a revelation.

Assuming you have the system that allows you to hear it.

That could be great headphones via your smartphone, but in truth most people don’t have headphones of this quality, then again, even hundred dollar headphones can oftentimes illustrate the difference, show you the potential.

Or a great system at home. Whether it be a big rig stereo, which few still possess, if they ever did, or expensive computer speakers, which almost no one has.

But it’s not out of reach. Sure, Qobuz is a few dollars more than Apple and Amazon, but not by much. And you’re in a walled garden away from your friends, but…

In truth listening is not a social experience, but a personal one. You may be able to share a meal, but you can’t share your ears.

“Took a stranger to teach me, to look into justice’s beautiful face”

This stranger is telling you I can hear Dylan reach, I can hear his guttural vocalizations, I am closer to the music than ever before.

And that’s exactly where I want to be.

Evolve or die.

Every time a tech company capitulates to its audience and rolls back the future it’s a mistake. The best example being Netflix saying it was going to become a streaming company and the hoi polloi bitching that they still needed to rent DVDs by mail. Who’d want to stream movies? Well, despite Netflix backtracking, saying it was going to split into two companies, the streaming giant was right all along. Rent any DVDs by mail recently? Never mind streaming decimating linear television while ushering in the true golden age of television, now the superior art form. The boob tube? It’s not even a tube anymore!

And Disney and HBO ultimately woke up, after getting over their short term profit mania of licensing their shows to others.

Bottom line? Sharing photos is old school.

I could go back to the days of AOL and illustrate all the stuff that ruled then which looks positively quaint today. Like their constant hosting of online discussions with celebrities. Sure, we still have Reddit AMAs, but they’re not top of mind at all.

This is the history of tech, moving forward.

A personal example. I’m an early adopter. I was visible online when very few were. Therefore, I heard from all these people I knew during my life that I’d lost touch with, I was reachable. Now EVERYBODY is reachable. That’s what Facebook has wrought, and it’s positively old school and I no longer hear from ancient buddies. And to tell you the truth, I’m not interested in seeing you brag online. And I’m not even that interested in what you’re doing moment by moment. All that sharing… Now I know why I lost touch with you in the first place.

So TikTok is not static, it’s entertainment. Talk to any of the big TV streamers, they fear TikTok more than each other. TikTok eats up three hours a day of the young ‘uns’ lives. Leaving little time to stream TV. As for network… Do these kids even have cable access?

And TikTok is about something different from Instagram, it’s about ENTERTAINMENT! Seeing what is cool. Sure, there’s a train-wreck factor, but it’s hard to tear yourself away from the endless videos. It’s the hotspot of the internet in 2022 when the entire digital infrastructure is de rigueur, expected, part of the fabric.

So why are the Kardashian/Jenners so upset about these changes?

THE MONEY!

You see they’ve got all these followers, and therefore they can charge advertisers 650k to a million dollars for a post. Talk about easy money.

But one of the reasons TikTok is so successful is because it’s democratized, the winners don’t necessarily take all. The algorithm promotes the new and different. So, it’s kind of like the lottery, anybody can win, as long as you buy a ticket.

But the lottery requires no skill. With TikTok the number one criterion for success is creativity, and this is anathema to the brain dead. Which is why all the music sounds the same, why all the movies are based on comic book characters. Because the big companies with money don’t want to take any risk, they want sure shots. But individuals? They cook up all kinds of wild things, in an effort to gain views and internet fame and possibly some money too.

This is not the Kardashian/Jenner paradigm, which is built like a traditional business. I.e. you build a base and you keep expanding upon it. You don’t want your core skills to be superseded and you don’t want a level playing field.

Video is much different from stills. The Kardashian/Jenners have employed makeup, airbrushing and plastic surgery to success. But when you’ve got to move… And the most successful TikToks are the least professional ones. All the old values of recorded entertainment, the raw, the credible, the incredible, are important on TikTok. How you look? Much less important.

So, everyone making bank from stills on Instagram doesn’t want it to shift to the much harder to produce, much more authentic video. They’ve got to learn a new skill and unless their posts are great, the algorithm won’t proffer them and…

As for the nobodies clamoring for the old photo format… Look at Facebook itself, positively a social media also-ran. Oldsters doing the same thing they did ten years ago, trading info. Even Meta itself said this is not how you do it anymore, it’s all about direct messages, texts, iMessage, that’s how you reach your buds, privately. And chances are most people don’t see your posts on social media anyway, unless…

You’re a Kardashian/Jenner with millions of followers.

Only a small minority will actually see the posts, but it’s just like network television… Ratings are terrible compared to the days of yore, but advertising on network is still the best way to reach the most people.

As for advertisers themselves, they’ve tightened the purse strings, they’re not sure all that money they were throwing around online was paying dividends. Just like sponsorship in music. If you want to get a big company involved in your tour, you’d better be able to demonstrate how they’re going to get their money back, the value, because hanging with rock stars is no longer enough.

It all goes back to Steve Jobs. You do no market research, because that will just tell you where you’ve been. And the public has no concept of the future until you deliver it.

It’s no longer about personal sharing, it’s about ENTERTAINMENT! You’ve got to earn those views through quality, otherwise the algorithm won’t cough you up.

Flipping the story over… You can never trust the big tech kahunas. Google changes its algorithm, Amazon goes into competition with you as it charges ever more to play… You’ve got to be nimble to survive in the online world, if you keep doing the same thing you’re going to find yourself out of time. Like rock music.

Instagram just blinked, a la Netflix, but don’t expect this to last.

And as Clayton Christensen said, if a company is not willing to disrupt itself, it will be disrupted by someone else. In this case, Meta’s platforms by TikTok.

As for Meta… It was disrupted by Apple. Meta kept saying tracking was good. For the small company. For business. But in truth, it was good for the company itself. But customers hated the lack of privacy. And therefore Apple allowed you to hide your identity and almost everybody now does.

But Meta sees the end of the road, which is why it’s investing so much money in VR, i.e. the metaverse. Will Facebook succeed? That’s yet to be seen. But one thing is for sure, Zuckerberg realizes if he rests on his laurels and just keeps doing what he’s doing he’s screwed, better to throw the long ball.

The people already voted, they want short form video a la TikTok.

The fact that there are celebs complaining about change… When have they ever been right?

The labels said the CD was superior to all other formats, especially traded MP3s.

The acts said you can’t cherry-pick tunes.

All these complaints were superseded by streaming music platforms like Spotify. The public didn’t even understand Spotify when it was launched. But now streaming music is everything, that’s where all the money is, that’s what the consumers want, despite all this hype on vinyl and the manipulated charts.

A classic rock band may be able to tour on its ancient hits, but not a tech company. In tech you have to constantly innovate, because he not busy born is busy dying.

From: Tim Palmer

Subject: Sandy Roberton

Bob,

I’m completely devastated to report that my manager of almost 40 years, the legendary Sandy Roberton has died.

I first met him while I was engineering for a German producer/client of Sandy’s called Zeus B. Held in London. We were working on the Dead or Alive album. Sandy took me for a Chinese lunch on King’s Road, offered to manage me, and the rest is history. I was 22 and we have been friends and worked together ever since.

He was an incredible man, full of energy and determination. To say ‘he never stopped’ would be totally accurate. He was always available and was always coming up with new ideas.

Even at the very end of his battle against cancer, he made me laugh out loud with one of his texts. I asked him how he was doing and told him that I was thinking about him and he replied ‘Would you be interested in mixing the new Andrea Bocelli album?’ From his hospital bed, instead of trying to get well, he was still calling labels and looking for projects for his clients!

Sandy has done everything from being an artist and performing in the 60s, to being a manager for many artists and running publishing companies. He produced records for many years, but finally decided he wanted to represent producers and set up World’s End Management in 1980 with Paul Brown (in the World’s End part of Chelsea, hence the name ‘World’s End management’)

After taking me on, he got things moving fast, he took me to meet all the labels and helped me navigate the waters. The gigs he managed to secure for me were incredible, especially as I was pretty inexperienced at that point.

I was working with Robert Plant and David Bowie before I was 26.

Sandy changed the landscape for producers and especially mixers. In the same way that Jimmy Hill got soccer players the money they deserved, Sandy pushed for better deals and royalties for his producers and succeeded in getting them …even for mixers which was pretty unknown at that time. He basically created the genre of producer management.

I always remember him calling me at Ridge Farm Studios and telling me he had secured a royalty for me on the Pearl Jam Ten album, he said ‘One day, one of these albums will blow up and you will thank me’… he was right…I still thank him to this day.

In 1985 Sandy moved to LA to start World’s End America and the days of the World’s End Management offices on Martel Ave in Hollywood were legendary. I think Sandy was managing about 60 producers by this time. I used to love to just stop by to see Sandy, read all the trade mags, and hang with the gang. It was an exciting time for us all. Sandy was running the biggest and best producer management company of that time..

Another perfect Sandy story…In the 90’s things were starting to get a little quieter for me than usual and Sandy called me to ask if I would consider mixing some songs on the upcoming Michael Hutchence (INXS) album. This was soon after Michael had sadly died.

In true SR style…

‘Look, Bono is a guest vocalist on one of these songs, do an amazing job mixing these tracks and Bono will hear them and ask you to mix on the next U2 album’

I laughed at his thought process and positive thinking, but that’s exactly what happened!

In recent history, as our industry changed so much, Sandy and I both adapted to new ways of working. Sadly this meant we both retreated to our home studios, and home offices, and we didn’t see each other so much.

Sandy eventually returned to London.

I was very fortunate to be able to see Sandy a couple of weeks ago. His health deteriorated so fast, the only blessing is that he didn’t have to suffer for too long.

I am not a religious man, but if Sandy does get to meet Saint Peter, Sandy Roberton will be on the guest list!

Sandy, thank you for all the friendship, the advice, the conversation, the laughs, and the hard work. I would not have managed to have this career without you.

Godspeed Sandy!

www.timpalmer.com

www.facebook.com/timpalmermixer

Instagram and Twitter timpalmermixer

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From: Harvey Goldsmith

Subject: RE: Mailbag last note on Springsteen

Dear Bob,

Re Bruce Springsteen

I have read a lot of correspondence regarding this matter.

Maybe I am not making myself clear enough.

The issues over ticket pricing and demand have been raging for years.

In truth the issue is not complicated.

The fault and the final decision on the way tickets are distributed and priced lies fairly and squarely on the management/ Artist.

The promoter is today always bidding on an act and will give it its best shot.

It is ultimately the manager who dictates terms, if the manager is doing a good job for the artist.

Promoters and ticket agents are trying to make a profit out of the terms agreed through the agent on behalf of the artist/manager.

If the manager/artist has no regard for its fans then scalping and price gauging will take place.

If the manager has a duty of care for the artists fans, then in discussion with the promoter steps can be taken to virtually prevent or at least

Severely limit tickets being inflated.

I work with a number of artists and managers who do not want their tickets gauged.

It is in their remit to instruct.

My argument with Landau/Springsteen is clearly they do not.

How does Ed Sheeran mange to tour globally with huge demand and prevent this ???

Easy

His manager tells the promoter that he wants tickets sold at the price issued and does not tolerate inflated prices or scalping.

 

My issue lies totally with management not the promoter ( unless the promoter is doing it without the knowledge of the artist)

Harvey Goldsmith

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From: Adam Hartley

Subject: Thank you so much for continuing to sing the praises of the Dragonfly Cobalt

Bob

Thank you so much for continuing to sing the praises of the Dragonfly Cobalt. Next to my iPhone 12 Pro Max, I think it’s by far the best piece of technology that I’ve bought in years. It’s easily the most revolutionary piece of music/audio/hi-fi technology I’ve owned since my very first iPod.

That comment from Gordon Rankin has led me to switch from Apple Music to Qobuz today and OMFG, why have I not done this before? It’s just wonderful. I keep going back to my standards and discovering new things (Blue, Harvest, Kind of Blue) and most importantly also discovering TONS of new insanely great-sounding music (new Orbital album “30”, Floating Point’s “Promises”, The Weather Station’s “Ignorance” and 100s more).

AMAZING.

Adam

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________________________________

RE: JEFF BECK

___

I first saw Jeff Beck when he toured on Wired.   He played dazzling lines that nobody had ever imagined ever…it was electrifying.

In the 80’s at shows he’d pull impossible sounds from his strat with just his fingers…I remember guitar players like myself in the audience yelling WTF!?   He was ten years in the future as we listened and watched in awe.  “Where Were You”?  As Dave Gilmour said in the Beck documentary, it is basically impossible to play…that word again.

I got to interview Beck for MTV when he was on a double bill tour with Stevie Ray Vaughan in 1989.  He was humble, and noted that he felt he’d been passed by the newer generation of players…”Adrian Belew and guys like that.”   An hour later interviewing SRV I asked what it was like to tour with Beck.  I mentioned how he’d seemed humble and Stevie laughed, telling me a couple nights earlier Beck had sent it into outer space.   A year later I got to replay the Beck conversation with Belew (a master at getting new sounds out of the electric guitar) he was “no no no Jeff Beck is the greatest player alive…introduce me to him and I’ll tell him!”

Like you wrote, Beck is STILL

Michael Alex

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Beck really stretches what a guitar can do! His version of “A Day in the Life” is mesmerizing.

I had the pleasure of providing lighting for some of his tours so I went to as many shows as possible and he always blew me away. I loved watching the audience at his co-headline tours with Stevie Ray, Santana, and other great players. Guitar heaven!

John Lobel

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By the way, as another sign of Jeff Beck’s progressive ways, he recently hired the drummer Anika Niles, who never had a gig of that stature before…..she built her career on YouTube—without living in any of the traditional “music cities” that young musicians are advised to live in—and her being hired by Jeff Beck is another very significant sign of the existence of a very real and very viable “new model” of career success that can be pursued in the digital age….

Regards,
Mark Feldman

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Thank you so much for this piece on Jeff Beck. I remember seeing Jeff Beck for the first time in Carnegie Hall in 1971 or 72 and he was amazing. As a teenager back then I was a huge fan of Jeff Beck and constantly argued with people that he was one of the best guitar players ever. I definitely had ongoing arguments with the Led Zeppelin crowd contending that Jeff back was a better guitar player than Jimmy Page.  Fun times.

I saw him recently which I think was that 2018 tour that you spoke of. The innovation of that guy and his constant exploration into new things is truly amazing. And I loved the way your piece just captured the essence of the amazing greatness of this man. Just constantly pushing that envelope. As a musician it is an attribute to admire.

As always I so appreciate the great work that you do as it always brings joy to my heart.

Charlie Vanture

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I was at the Garden for the Ronnie Lane benefit years back. Everyone from the British firmament was there paying tribute.

There were 2 moments that stuck with me: Joe Cocker stopping everyone in their tracks with the ‘Help From My Friends’ scream, and the way Jeff Beck blew Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton back to the cheap seats. Beck’s sound is transcendent and all about feel!

Amen Bob, great writing on the man…..

Steve Chrismar

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You forget that Jeff is also very humble, down to earth and soft spoken. My husband, Dennis, original drummer of Foreigner who retired 30 years ago was recording with The Roy Young Band in Kent, England in 1972.  Beck who was a neighbor happened to have come by just in time to lend a hand and help my husband repair our old (banger) car which had broken down. He was the nicest guy.

🙂

Iona S. Elliott

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I can still remember a moment in the film The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball when the whole group is onstage doing a version of “I Shall Be Released” led by Sting. Beck is a few feet behind the singer when he suddenly rips out this monstrous riff which causes about half the performers to turn back in wonder. That’s how good he is. And don’t forget “Wired,” not as lauded as “Blow By Blow” but still a classic of the genre that he sort of invented.

David Vawter

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Hi Bob, you are spot on here.
I’ve said for years that JB can make a guitar sound like he soaring with condors at 20000 ft one minute, and wallow with pigs in the mud the next.
To my amusement, my kid repeated that back to me a week ago.
Cherers, good article.
Andrew Parr

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For me, a closet Jeff Beck fan, the zenith was “Guitar Shop”. I saw that tour in 1989 with Stevie Ray Vaughn.

It’s an amazing album, and still one I use testing speakers or audio setups.

This album sounds close to Guitar Shop!

Al Jones

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The guitar solo on Jon Bon Jovi’s “Blaze of Glory”, not Richie Sambora. It’s Beck.

Colin Boyd

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Agreed Bob, “Cause We’ve Ended Now As Lovers” is the greatest guitar instrumental ever recorded. Felt that way some 50 years ago, still feel the same…transcendent!

Paul Kalenak

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As a guitar player, I couldn’t agree more. Hendrix was brilliant, Beck is incandescent.

Craig Anderton

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What a waste of an opportunity bringing in Depp . I shall skip the singing tracks and mix liberally with the latest Frampton instrumental album for summer night playlist…

Steve Lillywhite

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There’s Jeff Beck.. then there is everyone else!

NO ONE plays like he does and I have seen it up close having the honor of working with him in the past.

We just did a Festival with him and Johnny the other night in Europe and he just gets better and better every time. Like the finest wine on Earth. 

Just stunning playing and a great band.

He was so good it does bring tears to your eyes.

His new take on Caroline No just kills me. I have not heard the rest of the record yet..

I did meet Johnny and he was probably the nicest most humble cat I have ever met. He knows who he is on stage with and they had a great time.

I have said it before and I mean it. Jeff is God’s guitar player!

Luke