Like Clapton, Page and Hendrix, Jeff Beck could play the guitar very, very well. His introverted personality kept him out of the limelight, but everybody knew he was good. Beck actually replaced Clapton in the Yardbirds (1965), but left in 1966 and formed a band with Rod Stewart and Ron Wood and a year later. After their debut (Truth, 1968), the Jeff Beck group released my favorite, Beck-Ola, the following year. It was the last album he released with Stewart and Wood before they went on to form another great band of the 1970s, The Faces.

      Beck was a blues guitarist in every respect. He could make his Fender speak. Jimmy Page once said he made "every 17-year-old (want to) learn guitar in the late 1960s." Beck-Ola was risky. He covers Elvis twice in "Jailhouse Rock" and "All Shook Up." "Spanish Boots" is pure Beck, and the solo is tremendous. "Girl From Mill Valley" features unofficial Rolling Stones keyboardist Nicky Hopkins on the piano and, though a mellow track, shows the strength of his band. "Hangman’s Knee" is blues-rock that would surprise you even today, and Stewart's raunchy vocals on this record caught him at what I believe was the peak of his career. "Rice Pudding," another instrumental, closes out a very energetic album that after listening to it last week, reminded me why I bought it in the first place over 25 years ago.

      Beck has played with everybody (literally), including Buddy Guy, Stevie Wonder,and Roger Waters, and is credited with soundtracks, tours and solo projects for the last 40 years. He can play blues, rock, jazz, classical or funk. He still tours and, as an avid car buff, I even saw him on Speed Channel last month.

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