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Jeff Beck is returning to his roots -- in more ways than one. And he's taking Rod Stewart along with him.
The 66-year-old guitar hero says he and his former Jeff Beck Group frontman have slowly begun working on their first album in more than 40 years. Emphasis on slowly.
"I just spent a week doing demos for him -- and was promptly told they were in the wrong key, so we're back to Square 1," laughs Beck down the line from London. "And Rod's just had another child, so we have to wait for him to be free. But we're working on it.
"We want this to be the best album that both of us have ever made. But we only want to do it if it's great. We're not going to release anything that doesn't meet our standards. We want to revisit the spirit that was in those two albums that I did with Rod, and I sense this is probably a good time to do it, to let the world know that we started it all," he chuckles.
But the hot-rodder isn't just spinning his wheels while he waits for Stewart to reconnect with the young turk of Truth and Beck-Ola. His latest release is an equally nostalgic affair of a different stripe: The live CD and DVD Rock 'n' Roll Party Honouring Les Paul. Featuring rockabilly revivalist Imelda May on vocals -- and recorded on what would have been Paul's 95th birthday at the New York jazz club where he played weekly -- the album is a joyous tribute to the late guitar legend and inventor, who was a friend of Beck as well as one of his mentors.
Fresh from scoring a trio of Grammys -- and delivering the coolest acceptance of the festivities: "Thank you. That's it. S--- speech." -- the affable but straightforward Beck shared his thoughts on Paul's impact, Gene Vincent's fashion sense and hairy armpits.
Congrats on the new Grammys. How does it feel to finally break out of the rock instrumental ghetto after five awards -- and into the pop instrumental ghetto?
It was amazing. I understand the only person other than me to win both categories was Les Paul.
How timely. I talk to a lot guitarists in this racket, and almost all of them say you're God. But what does that make Les Paul?
Er, an underdog, I suppose. Serves him right; he shouldn't have been so good.
Is he your go-to guy?
Not necessarily. It's just that he was there when I was really small. He was the kernel that grew into the tree, as it were. Later, you find out people like Django Reinhardt were there before Les. But Les was so pivotal in electric guitar playing. He's the guy that put it on the map. No question. And he understood everything about sounds and recording and circuits and valves and all that. There wasn't much he didn't know. And he also knew how to make you laugh.
In the show, you don't just play Les's songs and licks; you play them in his style. Did that take a lot of practice?
No. Part of the upside of this whole project was the enjoyment of being able to play those solos, which I slavishly learned when I was about 14 and first got a guitar -- a proper professional guitar, not a hollowed-out log. I just spent hours listening and learning, but never was able to apply those solos in the songs of the time. So this was a golden opportunity in 2010.
It's also a tribute to some of your other early rockabilly heroes like Cliff Gallup, Scotty Moore, Paul Burlison and Hank Marvin. How do you see them fitting in with Les?
We just didn't think it was a good idea to do a whole evening of Les Paul hits without bringing in some others who were clearly affected, if not by his style, his sound. So even the non-Les Paul tracks were clearly in keeping. It was a party for Les, but I wanted people to enjoy the whole spectrum of rock 'n' roll from that era. And no one complained.
Even your clothes were a perfect reproduction of an old Gene Vincent outfit, right down to the blue cap. Where did you get that?
I've got a very nice lady that makes my clothes. I knew I would be playing with guys that looked like they walked out of the '50s, so I had to have something. And I thought the most iconic rock 'n' roll shirt I've ever seen is that Gene Vincent one. So I said, 'I'll have that.'
Are you going to tour with this show?
We're doing 11 gigs in America in out-of-the-way places. We're going into the hot-rod underground. In California especially, there's a whole car and rockabilly culture we hope will come. They're all in smaller theatres, because you can enjoy the music better. We probably would tour a lot more, but Imelda's very busy. She's doing very well in her own right. It's her bloody fault.
This is one of the strangest questions I've ever asked anyone, but I notice you often play sleeveless and when you raise your arms, it looks pretty smooth there. Do you shave your armpits?
No, I don't. I do hate hairy armpits, but I don't do that. So why have I got such fabulous hair, but don't have hairy armpits? It's a medical phenomenon. Now, I think we should get off this topic as quickly as possible.
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