Produced by Chic’s Nile Rodgers, it presented a dramatic shift for Beck in that it primarily featured vocal-led pop tracks, a change from his largely instrumental 70s output. Beck is featured in ZZ Top’s live video for “Sixteen Tons,” from the group’s 2016 compilation album Live—Greatest Hits from Around the World.

Yes, a few key instruments are missing (like the white mid-Seventies Strat he played on Blow by Blow and Wired), but the inclusion of a few personal favorites that he only played at home and never previously revealed to the public make up for it. Like his childhood friend Jimmy Page, he was grounded in blues but not beholden to it, an aesthetic choice that separated him from Eric Clapton, the guitarist he replaced in the trail-blazing British Invasion group the Yardbirds. Beck-Ola was very much in the “heavy” style of Truth – Spanish Boots is particularly fantastic – but subsequent releases dabbled in funk, jazz and soul.It was such an honour to have known Jeff and an incredible honor to have had him play on my most recent album.

It’s unfortunate that his final project wound up as the torpid Depp collaboration “18 ,” but even that record felt true to Beck’s artistry. When Jimmy Page joined, briefly creating a lineup with two lead guitarists, their sound got more extreme still.Fender’s original DuPont Duco custom color guitars match the colors of various Cadillacs, Corvettes and other Chevrolet models built during this era. Beck lacked the commercial instincts of his old friend, a trait that painfully paired with his nasty habit of alienating his lead singers.