There is still a vast array of rock bands that worship at the altar of Led Zeppelin. From the millions of imitators in the 1970s to Greta Van Fleet’s elaborate way of copying the band’s mannerisms in the modern age, that internal chemistry between every band member has left an indelible mark on what rock and roll was supposed to be. Although many have struggled to measure up to songs like ‘Ten Years Gone’ and ‘Kashmir’, Phil Collen thought that Jeff Beck could have given the group a run for their money.
Then again, it wasn’t like Jimmy Page and Beck came from two different angles. Throughout their time working in the English blues scene, Page and Beck often crossed paths when working in the Yardbirds, including the apocryphal lineup where Page was relegated to playing bass during their live shows.
Whenever Beck cranked his amplifier to play, there was no contest about the better guitar player. No one since Jimi Hendrix had been able to make the guitar sound like it was talking whenever they played, which often involved Beck getting a bit antsy with the whammy bar whenever he played live.
Although Page still had an impressive set of chops after playing on the studio scene, he was still taking notes from what Beck was doing. Through Led Zeppelin’s run, Page was known for pushing the instrument’s boundaries just like his idol did, including raking the strings with a violin bow and exploring alternate tunings to get a chiming sound out of tracks like ‘The Rain Song’.
As Phil Collen was learning his first licks from the likes of Mott the Hoople and David Bowie, Page and Beck had already been considered untouchable by most rock fans. Although that Zeppelin swagger is coated throughout Def Leppard’s classic licks, Collen always defended what Beck could do with the guitar.
Going solo around the same time Jimi Hendrix became the biggest name in music, Beck would get to play at the Woodstock festival in 1969 before turning it down to fly back home. Having rock and roll legend Rod Stewart in the lineup at that point, Collen thought that Beck could have been on an equal footing with Zeppelin had he managed to share the stage with Hendrix.
When talking about the original Jeff Beck group with Rod Stewart singing lead, Collen thought he could go beyond everything Page ever did, telling Guitar World, “It was all instrumental, which was way better. It highlighted his guitar playing. And then we got Rod Stewart in the Faces, so everyone gained from them not doing Woodstock, even though if they’d done it, they could’ve been as big as Led Zeppelin”.
While Beck would continue finding his voice on his own, he still had a massive impact on every guitar player who came after him. Even if you’re just starting on guitar and trying to eke out the fundamental sounds of the blues, chances are you’ll stumble upon a trick Jeff Beck pioneered without even realising it.
