148: Jeff Beck - Truth (1968)
"Jeff Beck was on another planet. ... He was one of the few guitarists that when playing live would actually listen to me sing and respond."
—Rod Stewart
Jeff Beck had shown off his guitar genius with several fiery mid-1960s hit singles by the Yardbirds; he’d even scored some UK top-30 hits as an unlikely singing star. But all that was prologue to Truth, his 1968 solo debut album. Joined by future Rolling Stone Ron Wood and a then-unknown Rod Stewart, Beck laid down a standout batch of electric blues songs - plus a showtune and an olde English folk song to show off his versatility. Truth has always been one of Ben’s favorite albums, and he joins Rich and Dan to talk about it.
Miscellany
Some good video primers about Jeff Beck as a guitarist include this extended episode from the Academy of Tone by Thomas Blug, a session guitarist who has worked with Jeff Beck, and this shorter video by popular YouTube music streamer Rick Beato, about Beck’s one-of-a-kind style.
Jeff Beck’s collaborative album with Johnny Depp is called 18, and it was actually the final studio album Jeff Beck released before his death. We haven’t heard it, but it received mixed reviews.
Some obnoxious motorcyclists were cruising through Ben’s neighborhood during the recording, and you can hear them a bit on his track, but Producer Mike did his best to cut them out.
Other links
The official Jeff Beck website (jeffbeck.com)
Jeff Beck and Buddy Guy perform "Let Me Love You Baby" (YouTube)
“I Ain’t Superstitious” in Casino (YouTube)
Discord & Rhyme’s Truth playlist (Spotify)
Discord & Rhyme’s merch store (TeePublic)
Discord & Rhyme Roll Call
Ben Marlin (host)
Rich Bunnell (moderator)
Dan Watkins
Truth tracklist
Shapes of Things
Let Me Love You
Morning Dew
You Shook Me
Ol’ Man River
Greensleeves
Rock My Plimsoul
Beck’s Bolero
Blues De Luxe
I Ain’t Superstitious
Other clips used
Jeff Beck:
Love Is Blue
Constipated Duck
Scatterbrain
All Shook Up
Led Boots
Hi Ho Silver Lining
She’s a Woman
Blue Wind
Freeway Jam
Others:
Beck - Where It's At
Franz Ignaz Beck - Symphony in F Major, Op. 3, No. 1: IV. Presto
The Yardbirds - Happenings Ten Years Time Ago
The Yardbirds - Shapes of Things
Rod Stewart - The Motown Song
Buddy Guy - Let Me Love You Baby
Bonnie Dobson - Morning Dew
Led Zeppelin - Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
Cream - White Room
Muddy Waters - You Shook Me
Led Zeppelin - You Shook Me
Frank Zappa - I'm the Slime
Paul Robeson - Ol' Man River
The Beach Boys - Ol' Man River
The Moody Blues - What Child Is This?
Allan Sherman - Sir Greenbaum's Madrigal
Led Zeppelin - Black Mountain Side
King's Quest II OST - Greensleeves
B.B. King - Rock Me Baby
The Plimsouls - A Million Miles Away
The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Rock Me Baby (Live at Monterey)
Maurice Ravel - Boléro
B.B. King - Gambler's Blues
Led Zeppelin - Since I've Been Loving You
Howlin' Wolf - I Ain't Superstitious
The Yardbirds - Heart Full of Soul
Faces - Stay with Me
Rod Stewart - Hot Legs
Band/album personnel
Jeff Beck – electric guitars, acoustic guitar on "Greensleeves"; pedal steel guitar on "Shapes of Things"; bass guitar on "Ol' Man River"; co-lead vocals on "Let Me Love You"
Rod Stewart – lead vocals
Ronnie Wood – bass guitar
Micky Waller – drums
John Paul Jones – bass guitar on "Beck's Bolero"; Hammond organ on "Ol' Man River" and "You Shook Me"
Nicky Hopkins – piano on "Morning Dew,” "You Shook Me,” "Beck's Bolero" and "Blues Deluxe"
Keith Moon – drums on "Beck's Bolero"; timpani on "Ol' Man River"
Jimmy Page – 12-string electric guitar on "Beck's Bolero"
Unknown Scottish bagpipe player – bagpipes on "Morning Dew"
Mickie Most – producer
Ken Scott – engineer
Credits
“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of:
Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf
Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste
The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...
Faith No More - Midlife Crisis
Herbie Hancock - Hornets
Kraftwerk - Autobahn
Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen
Jeff Beck - Let Me Love You (this episode only)
You can buy or stream Truth and other albums by Jeff Beck at your local record store, or the usual suspects such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Amazon. Follow Discord & Rhyme on Instagram @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Editing is by Rich Bunnell, and special thanks to our own Mike DeFabio, the Other Leading Brand, for production and original music. See you next album, and keep as cool as you can.