There are still a large number of rock bands that worship at the altar of Led Zeppelin. From millions of imitators in the 1970s to Greta Van Fleet’s meticulous imitation of the band’s mannerisms in the present era, the internal chemistry between each band member has left a lasting effect on what rock and roll was supposed to be. Many of them failed to match tunes like ‘Ten Years Gone’ and ‘Kashmir’. However, Phil Collen believed that Jeff Beck might have given the group a run for their money.
However, Jimmy Page and Beck did not approach the situation from opposing perspectives. Throughout their careers in the English blues scene, Page and Beck frequently crossed paths while working in the Yardbirds, including an apocryphal lineup in which Page was reduced to playing bass during live gigs.
When Beck turned on his amplifier to play, there was no question over who was the better guitarist. No one since Jimi Hendrix had been able to make the guitar sound like it was talking when they played. This frequently resulted in Beck getting anxious with the whammy bar when he performed live.
Although Page’s chops remained remarkable after playing in the studio, he was still taking notes from Beck’s performance. Throughout Led Zeppelin’s career, Page pushed the instrument’s limitations, much like his idol. He scraped the strings with a violin bow. He also experimented with various tunings to get a chiming sound on tracks like ‘The Rain Song’.
Phil Collen was learning his first licks from Mott the Hoople and David Bowie. At that time, the majority of rock fans already deemed Page and Beck untouchable. Although Def Leppard’s iconic licks infused with Zeppelin swagger, Collen has always championed Beck’s guitar skills.
Beck declined the invitation to play at the Woodstock event in 1969 and went back home, around the same time Jimi Hendrix became the most famous musician. With rock and roll great Rod Stewart on the lineup at the time, Collen believed Beck could have competed with Zeppelin if he had shared the stage with Hendrix.
When discussing the original Jeff Beck band with Rod Stewart singing lead, Collen believed he could outperform anything Page did. He told Guitar World, “It was completely instrumental, which was way better. It highlighted his guitar skills. And then we got Stewart in the Faces, so everyone benefited from their not performing Woodstock. Even though if they had, they could have been as successful as Led Zeppelin.”
While Beck continued to discover his own voice, he left a lasting impression on every guitar player who came after him. Even if you’re just starting out on guitar and attempting to eke out the fundamental sounds of the blues, chances are you’ll come across a trick Jeff Beck invented without even realizing it.
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Let’s get the facts straight here. Page was never ‘reduced to playing bass’ in the Yardbirds because of Beck’s greatness. When Clapton left the Yardbirds, Page was asked if he wanted to join. He politely declined because he was currently enjoying success as one of London’s top session guitarists, but it was Page that suggested Beck for the role. Beck was offered the job, and in thanks he gave Page a Fender Telecaster guitar which Page painted up and which became his prime performance guitar in Zeppelin until he swapped to a Les Paul in 1970. The Telecaster gifted by Beck is the same guitar that can be seen on Zeppelin’s March 1969 Danish TV and ‘Supershow’ performances. Fast forward a couple of years and Yardbirds bassist Paul Samwell Smith was leaving the Yardbirds to focus on production (he produced Cat Stevens’ ‘Tea for the Tillerman’, ‘Teaser and the Firecat’ and ‘Catch Bull at Four’ albums a few years later), so the Yardbirds needed a replacement bassist. By this time Page was tiring of being a session man and wanted to be in a band. Multi-instrumentalist he was, he initially stepped directly into Samwell Smith’s role as bassist, but not because he wasn’t good enough to play guitar. The intention was always that Yardbirds rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja wood take over bass and the Yardbirds would continue with a phenomenal dual lead guitar attack of both Beck and Page. So Page only played bass in the Yardbirds for a few months in 1966 while Dreja was learning the bass parts before switching to co-lead guitarist with Beck. Beck unfortunately was so volatile that he was sacked only a few months after Page joined him as co-lead guitarist, so only three songs were recorded with both Beck and Page on guitar; the single Happening Ten Years Time Ago/Psycho Daisies, and a remake of Train Kept a Rollin’ called Stroll On for the Antonioni film ‘Blow Up’.
All the great guitarists of 60-70s had their genre and style ! As a teenager and young man,I caught the guitarists mentioned above ! What are you doing with Hendrix =The best !He wouldn’t have been able to make Page’s music all his life if he lived to this day !