Jeff Beck Can Play Anything, Anytime.

Guitar god Jeff Beck is touring with Imelda Mey’s Irish rockabilly band, performing tributes to his youthful influences. Among the numbers he plays is this incredibly faithful rendition of Les Paul and Mary Ford’s How High The Moon. You can hear the original here.  The video below is a live performance from Les Paul’s club, Iridium, in NYC.

Here’s the thing about Jeff Beck. He can play any style, in any voice, at any time. He’s, by far, the best of the three canonical rock gods (the other two being Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page).  I’m not saying that I like him better than Jimmy Page, but I’m saying that Beck’s playing over the last half century (yikes) combined with the varied styles he’s played (blues, rock, fusion, jazz, rockabilly) as well as his ten million guest slots on other people’s songs (from Jon Bon Jovi to Tina Turner)… makes him the most accomplished of the three. Jimmy’s been retired for at least a decade, Clapton is still being Clapton (which is cool, but it’s a smaller circle of light, even if it burns brighter).

So watch a master’s tribute to another master. It’s the coolest thing ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAUAAn46ji0

Youdopia, Les Paul is amazing. His playing is amazing. His impact of music is virtually unparalleled in the 20th Century. He invented multitrack recording (as demonstrated in the video above) and overdubs, he perfected the solid body electric guitar, he played with some of the greats like Bing Crosby, Chet Atkins, and of course, Mary Ford. He’s still alive and in his mid 90′s. This video (below) was from a couple of years ago, when he was in his early 90′s. There’s not much playing, but there’s lots of playfulness. Les’ solo on How High The Moon is still one of the best ever recorded, and he did it on acoustic gauge strings with a wound third. All hail the man. Coolest Shit Ever.