Beck's Bolero

Beck's Bolero

"Beck's Bolero" is a short, rock-based instrumental piece heavily influenced by Maurice Ravel's "Bolero", recorded by Jeff Beck with Jimmy Page on guitar, John Paul Jones on bass, Nicky Hopkins on piano, and Keith Moon on drums. This song is considered by many critics to be an important work in the early development of both the Heavy Metal and progressive rock genres.

The song is roughly divided into three parts. The first part being two lead guitars playing separate melodies over a bolero rhythm; the first a rock lead in a moderately overdriven tone; the other playing a slide piece in a clean slinky tone resembling a steel guitar. A simultaneous drum break and vocal scream is heard at halfway (courtesy of Moon, who knocked over his recording mic in the process, resulting in his crash cymbal being heard over the other percussion for the rest of the piece), after which the band begins playing a powerful blues-rock section. The first fuzzbox-distorted lead guitar eventually emerges from the sonic sludge along with the bolero rhythm, this time being played with percussive flourishes. Shortly thereafter, another lead guitar playing its own melody. The song is then brought to a very abrupt end as the band simply stops playing.

There are differing accounts of the events leading to this recording; one account refers to a recording session in May 1966, when Beck was still with The Yardbirds, while others suggest that the session took place after Beck had left the Yardbirds in November 1966. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:ewfozff5eh8k Allmusic] ] The latter version indicates that "Beck's Bolero" was originally going to be the name of a supergroup which these players intended to form, but Jimmy Page was unavailable due to contractual obligations with The Yardbirds.

The song was first released as the b-side of a Jeff Beck solo single in March 1967, and was later on released on the 1968 album "Truth".

Although Page is officially credited for the arrangement, Beck has also claimed to be the primary creator of the piece. This has remained a point of contention between the two. Page later incorporated parts of it in Led Zeppelin's "How Many More Times" as an inside joke referencing the dispute.

In an interview he gave in 1977, Page commented:

In a separate interview, also given in 1977, Page expressed his recollections more bluntly:

Cover versions

Les Fradkin & Get Wet released a very close cover version of the song on their "A Day At The Beach" CD in 2004.

Eric Johnson covered the song on the "Freeway Jam: To Beck and Back" Jeff Beck tribute CD in 2007.

External links

* [http://www.djnoble.demon.co.uk/ints/JEFFBEC.KON.html The Guitar Magazine interview with Jeff Beck about "Beck's Bolero"] (1993)

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Beck's Bolero — est une courte pièce instrumentale aux accents rock qui fut fortement influencée par le Bolero de Maurice Ravel. La pièce a été enregistrée par Jeff Beck avec Jimmy Page à la guitare, John Paul Jones à la basse, Nicky Hopkins au piano et Keith… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Bolero (Ravel) — Boléro (Ravel) Pour les articles homonymes, voir Boléro (homonymie). Boléro …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Boléro (Maurice Ravel) — Boléro (Ravel) Pour les articles homonymes, voir Boléro (homonymie). Boléro …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Boléro de Ravel — Boléro (Ravel) Pour les articles homonymes, voir Boléro (homonymie). Boléro …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Boléro de ravel — Boléro (Ravel) Pour les articles homonymes, voir Boléro (homonymie). Boléro …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Bolero (Ravel) — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Este artículo trata sobre la obra musical de Ravel. Para otros usos de este término, véase Bolero (desambiguación) …   Wikipedia Español

  • Boléro (Ravel) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Boléro (homonymie). Boléro Orchestre …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Truth (Jeff Beck) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Truth. Truth Album par Jeff Beck Sortie 1968 Durée 40:16 Genre …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jeff Beck — Infobox musical artist Name = Jeff Beck Img capt = Jeff Beck performing at the Crossroads Guitar Festival 2007 Img size = Landscape = Background = non vocal instrumentalist Birth name = Alias = Born = birth date and age|1944|6|24|df=y Wallington …   Wikipedia

  • Jeff Beck — (2005) Nom Geoffrey Arnold Beck Naissance 24 juin  …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”