The Instagram Fracas

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.

Mailbag

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

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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

18

Spotify playlist: https://spoti.fi/3JbXkdT

This album is a masterpiece.

Except when Johnny Depp sings, that’s unlistenable, you can’t click off fast enough.

This collaboration between Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp has gotten positively scathing reviews. The kind that say why was this record made and no one should ever hear it. Which meant that I wasn’t interested in it.

But then…

I’m still fascinated by my Dragonfly Cobalt. I heard from Gordon Rankin, who designed the product, and he said:

“Quality wise Qobuz is the best, Tidal second if you have MQA capable setup, Apple then Amazon.”

Normally I listen to Amazon, because they have more Ultra HD tracks than Apple by far. And I tell you, I can hear the difference, ANYBODY could hear the difference! There’s more presence, more immediacy.

But today I started researching what else was in Hi-Res Lossless on Apple Music, and I ultimately came upon a Reddit thread and someone said “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers” by Jeff Beck.

Everyone should know this track.

The song is payback for “Superstition,” which was written for Jeff and then ultimately taken back by Stevie Wonder, so the no longer Little Stevie wrote “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers” for Jeff.

“Blow By Blow” is the apotheosis of Beck’s recorded work. Not only does it have the iconic version of “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers,” it’s got a cover of the Beatles’ “She’s a Woman” and one of Beck’s signature tunes, “Freeway Jam,” made legendary mostly by the live version with Jan Hammer. That they played all over the radio, whereas “Blow By Blow” not so much. “Blow By Blow” was a secret, well, a well-known one, but the immediacy of the live version was undeniable.

And since that time, Beck has been a journeyman putting out eclectic albums, like “Crazy Legs,” his tribute to Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps, but then came 1999’s “Who Else!” With “Brush with the Blues,” whew!

It’s the only live cut on the LP, and if it weren’t for the occasional cheering you would swear it was cut in the studio, I mean who else can do this so definitively on the fly? NOBODY!

I went to see Beck at the long lamented Universal Amphitheatre on that tour.

It’s hard to describe rock and roll.

It’s hard to describe Jeff Beck.

Beck started when it was about the music, and pretty much only about the music. You had to know how to play to sustain. And that Beck knew how to do.

But he couldn’t write and sing like Jimi Hendrix or Eric Clapton. And he legendarily didn’t get along with people, which even Jimmy Page could do, so Beck was left out in the cold. Well, there was “Truth” with Rod Stewart,” but unfortunately it came out about the same time as the first Led Zeppelin album, and not long thereafter Stewart left the band and went solo. Stewart didn’t need Beck, but Beck needed Stewart. Until Beck decided to ditch the lead singer, to lead the band himself, make the instrumentals the most important element, ergo “Blow By Blow.”

So if you see Jeff…

It’s not like the usual rock act. It’s not the song so much as the playing. Not the singing, but the guitar work. Also, Jeff always surrounds himself with the best players, even another guitarist, Jennifer Batten, who was a woman to boot. Jeff was pushing the envelope, and he was willing to share the stage, because nobody could blow him off it.

So you go to see Jeff Beck and it’s a primal experience. It starts in the chest, not the head. Your whole body resonates with the music, the sound. You can’t ignore it, you can’t talk, you can’t sit on the phone, there’s a channel directly between Jeff and you, it’s electric, but so solid, so ALIVE!

And then Harvey Goldsmith became his manager a little over a decade back and got Beck the appearances he needed for his well-deserved victory lap. But then there was an argument, the partnership ended, and you don’t see Jeff at Musicares or on TV like you used to, and that’s a damn shame. If for no other reason than Jeff is getting older every day. He turned 78 just last month. You see Jeff is a progenitor, positively first wave, he came in with the Beatles and the rest of the original British Invasion. But unlike those on the oldies circuit, Jeff is still testing the limits, he’s not just repeating what he once did to satiate aged boomers wanting to relive their youth, what he’s doing may not be commercially popular but it’s positively now, if not FUTURISTIC!

SO WHY’S HE WASTING HIS TIME WITH JOHNNY DEPP?

Depp can play the guitar, he hangs with rockers, some of the most famous, but he is not in their league, he’s essentially a wannabe. He looks the part, but he has no track record of success in music, and good guitar players are a dime a dozen and he can’t write and he can’t sing. Why is he muddying up, why is he messing with, WHY IS HE WASTING THE TIME OF JEFF BECK?

Pisses me off. Beck was the best and he’s still got the chops, and he doesn’t work that much, we want more of HIM!

So I’m not going to bother listening to the album “18,” the collaboration between Beck and Depp, but after listening to “Truth,” which suffers sonically from its age, my mind flashed on their album and I decided to play it.

First thing I noticed is it was only in Lossless. I can’t understand the rhythm of what’s in Hi-Res and what is not. The funny thing is “18” is in Ultra HD on Amazon Music. And I’m comparing the two now. It’s like a bit of noise has been scrubbed from the Ultra HD take, it’s cleaner, more in focus, and just a bit more immediate. You really think Jeff is playing right in front of you.

But at the time I stay with Apple, because I’m not going to listen for long, it really doesn’t matter that it’s only in Lossless, it sucks anyway, RIGHT?

Well, I start right at the top, with “Midnight Walker,” and Jeff’s presence is immediate, that sting that no one else can replicate with the same tone. And I’m waiting for Johnny Depp and…HE NEVER COMES IN! It’s an instrumental. And it’s not “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers,” but it’s beyond everybody else playing in this sphere. I mean Peter Frampton plays instrumentals extremely well, his last album is phenomenal, but it’s kind of the difference between today’s MVPs and Babe Ruth. Ruth was one step beyond, AND HE DIDN’T EVEN SEEM TO BE TRYING!

Oh, Beck is concentrating, he’s taking the music seriously, but he’s not overdoing it, it’s like listening to a player with the Philharmonic!

Now I’m excited, maybe I have it all wrong, maybe it’s an instrumental album!

But NO! Depp starts to sing near the beginning of the next track, and it’s UNLISTENABLE! It’s not terrible, it’s MEDIOCRE! And nobody has time for mediocre anymore. Beck is still good, but just when you get into his playing Depp starts singing again.

And Depp is singing on the following track, “Time,” and it’s damn near execrable, and I’m done, I get what the reviews are saying. So I stop the music and look at the track listing before I bolt. And I see “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder).” Really? From “Pet Sounds”?

IT’S INCREDIBLE!

No Depp whatsoever. And somehow Beck channels the same gravitas that’s in the Beach Boys original, but it’s up to date, it’s not nostalgia, it’s more than a cover, it’s not even an interpretation, it’s a LEVITATION! As if God stopped by in the studio to show the mere mortals how it’s done.

And then there’s a cover of “Caroline No.”

All the rest of the tracks, Johnny Depp ruins. But these three instrumentals, I’d say they’re world class, but once again, Jeff Beck is OUT OF THIS WORLD!

If only people heard these cuts.

I constantly ask guitar players, famous names, who the best rock guitarist ever is. And almost all of them say Jeff Beck. Occasionally, I hear Jimi Hendrix, but when I press the players they talk about Jimi’s innovation, but when it comes to pure playing, everybody ultimately agrees it’s Jeff Beck. And unlike Hendrix, JEFF BECK IS STILL HERE!

Makes me crazy. At some point Jeff is going to pass and people will be listening to the records lamenting they never saw him.

I saw him back in 2018. Outdoors, where it’s even harder to mesmerize, but he blew minds that night too, just by being him, with no flash, no production, HE’S ENOUGH!

And listening to Jeff play today it occurred to me that when time marches on his work has a much better chance of being remembered than most of the hits, which almost always end up being period pieces. Jeff Beck’s work is TIMELESS! It’s a bridge between what once was and still is.

Well, rock no longer gets any respect. Then again, today’s rock is far from Jeff Beck.

And it’s hard for anybody to be recognized.

But Jeff Beck could do an album of covers and it could become a classic. Rod Stewart’s “Great American Songbook” albums have already been forgotten, another Clive Davis marketing exercise, a dash for cash, but Jeff Beck adds something to the classics, makes them different, the underlying songs are just a jumping off point.

All these aged acts are getting unending hosannas for work they did decades ago, when Jeff Beck is still doing incredible work NOW!

Do I expect Beck covers to be in the Spotify Top 50?

No.

Think of it like Rick Rubin doing those Johnny Cash records. Not bringing Johnny up to date, but stripping away all the dross and just letting his pure essence shine through.

It’s criminal Jeff Beck doesn’t get attention, for not only him, but us, we’re deprived of his music. And that’s what it is, the penumbra is irrelevant. There’s no perfume, no clothing line, just the sound itself, as it’s been from the beginning of time. Jeff Beck is closer to Beethoven and Bach than he is to today’s pop hits. Sure, he may not write, but actually he does, he takes what’s already down and turns it into something brand new. Anybody can just perform the notes, covers albums are rampant, but Jeff Beck is something else, he’s iconic, HE’S THE BEST!

Listen…

Mike Campbell-This Week’s Podcast

We cover it all, from Florida to L.A. to Denny Cordell to Jimmy Iovine to Jeff Lynne to George Drakoulias to the Dirty Knobs and Don Henley. You’re gonna dig this Heartbreaker’s testimony!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mike-campbell/id1316200737?i=1000571437437

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/248baae6-8f71-4d5e-93d6-6387f45f196b/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-mike-campbell

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/episode/mike-campbell-205262200