Beck's Bolero
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"Beck's Bolero" is a rock instrumental recorded by English guitarist Jeff Beck in 1966. It is Beck's first solo recording and has been described as "one of the great rock instrumentals, epic in scope, harmonically and rhythmically ambitious yet infused with primal energy".Template:Sfn "Beck's Bolero" features a prominent melody with multiple guitar parts propelled by a rhythm inspired by Maurice Ravel's Boléro.
The recording session brought together a group of musicians, including Jimmy Page, Keith Moon, John Paul Jones, and Nicky Hopkins, who later agreed that the line up was a first attempt at what became Led Zeppelin. However, there is an ongoing disagreement over the composer as well as producer credits. Despite being credited solely to Page, Beck claims that he made significant contributions to the composition. Likewise, Page and Simon Napier-Bell each claim to have produced it, while Mickie Most received the credit.
"Beck's Bolero" was not released until ten months after recording and then only as the B-side to Beck's first single. When it finally received greater exposure on Beck's debut album Truth in the latter part of 1968, it was still considered quite advanced even though it was over two years old,<ref name="Unterberger">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and is considered a key early track in the development of hard rock and heavy metal. One of his favorite works, Beck continued to perform it throughout his career, and several renditions have been recorded by other musicians.
Background
The recording session for "Beck's Bolero" was conceived of as a side project for Jeff Beck while he was a member of the Yardbirds.Template:Sfn "It was decided that it would be a good idea for me to record some of my own stuff ... partly to stop me moaning about the Yardbirds", Beck recalled.Template:Sfn Also, the Yardbirds' management was encouraging individual band members to bring attention to the band through success in solo projects.Template:Sfn Studio time was booked for May 1966 at the IBC Studios in London.Template:Sfn To prepare for the session, Beck called on long-time friend and studio guitarist Jimmy Page, who had recommended Beck as Eric Clapton's replacement in the Yardbirds, to work up some ideas for songs to record.Template:Sfn
Although there is a disagreement over credits for the composition, both Beck and Page agree that Page began by playing some chords on a twelve-string guitar using a rhythm based on Boléro.Template:Sfn Boléro is a one-movement orchestral piece composed by Maurice Ravel in 1928 and is "built on a persistent, repeating motif supported by a snare drum ... re-creating the Spanish 'bolero' dance pattern for full orchestra", according to Beck biographer Martin Power.Template:Sfn A melody line for guitar was developed along with a middle section to break up the rhythm, reminiscent of the Yardbirds' arrangements for "For Your Love" and "Shapes of Things".Template:Sfn
With at least the outline of one song and Page on board to play guitar, Beck approached Keith Moon of the Who, whom he considered one of his favourite drummers.Template:Sfn Moon was unhappy with the Who at the time and readily agreed to participate.Template:Sfn To avoid a confrontation with Pete Townshend and Kit Lambert, the Who's manager, Moon wished to do so incognito.Template:Sfn He recommended bandmate John Entwistle, who was similarly discontented with the Who, to provide the bass.Template:Sfn
Recording
Recording took place at IBC Studios in London on 16 and 17 May 1966.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn Moon arrived at the studio disguised in sunglasses and a Russian cossack hat.Template:Sfn "Moonie turned up," Beck recalled, "and I never expected it, because he was so scatty, and you never knew if he was going to show. But once he was in there, we started it off and I went and heard the playback and went, 'Jeez, this is the beginning of something amazing. You guys are not going anywhere.' Page on rhythm guitar, me on lead, John Paul Jones on bass – it's done! …And to cap it all we had Glyn Johns engineering. This is the motherlode! And the next day it was all over."<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
When Entwistle did not show, studio musicians John Paul Jones and Nicky Hopkins were brought in at the last minute to provide bass and piano.Template:Sfn An unsubstantiated account holds that Ritchie Blackmore may have been involved,Template:Sfn but his participation has not been acknowledged by Beck, Page or others at the session.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Simon Napier-Bell, the Yardbirds' producer who had originally promoted the idea, was present for the recording.Template:Sfn
Beck used a Gibson Les Paul played through a Vox AC30 amplifier and Page played a Fender Electric XII twelve-string electric guitar.Template:Sfn Halfway through the song, Moon smashed the drum microphone with his stick; "You can actually hear him screaming as he does it," Beck remembered,Template:Sfn "so all you can hear from then on is cymbals!"Template:Sfn After Moon and Napier-Bell left, Beck and Page added overdubs and sound treatments to complete the track.Template:Sfn According to Beck, two or three songs were recorded at the session, but "Beck's Bolero" was the only one released.Template:Sfn
Composition
"Beck's Bolero" is roughly divided into three parts. The first begins with a reworking of Ravel's two-chord progression, transposed to the key of A.Template:Sfn Power points out that by using a 12-string guitar, Page is able to take advantage of the instrument's "rich chiming quality to emulate the distinct, orchestral 'bolero' sound".Template:Sfn Beck then introduces the melody line on electric guitar with a fuzz-tone effect producing indefinite sustain; alternating between major and minor modes, it is described as "haunting" by PowerTemplate:Sfn and as a "distinctive piercing, sinister tone" by critic Richie Unterberger.<ref name="Unterberger" /> In the second section, the piano, bass, and drums come in and the tension builds.<ref name="Unterberger" /> Unterberger describes the third section as "suddenly set[ting] off from the main motif into a beautiful serene section highlighting slide-glissando guitars",<ref name="Unterberger" /> with Beck's echo-laden slide sounding similar to a steel guitar.Template:Sfn The fourth section returns to the main melody with overlaid drawn-out descending slide.<ref name="Unterberger" /> According to Beck, "the phasing was Jimmy's idea ... I played a load of waffle and he reversed it".Template:Sfn The tension mounts as Moon adds drum flourishes, climaxing with a break.<ref name="Unterberger" />
The second part begins with Moon's simultaneous drum break and scream and launches in a hard rock direction.Template:Sfn "It was my idea to cut off in the middle, Yardbirds-style", Beck commented, "Keith upped the tempo and gave it an extra kick. It's like a bit of the Who, a bit of the Yardbirds and a bit of me".Template:Sfn The amply-distorted guitar provides "a thick-toned, descending riff", according to Power.Template:Sfn He also describes the break, inspired by the Yardbirds' rave-up technique, as "eerily presag[ing] the coming era of hard rock and heavy metal".Template:Sfn The third part returns to the main motif with added guitar fills.<ref name="Unterberger" /> The melody line is abandoned in the second section and replaced with multiple interwoven takes of guitar effects, including phasing, echo, and controlled feedback.<ref name="Unterberger" /> It concludes with a few bars of hard blues rock-style lead guitar and an abrupt ending.Template:Sfn<ref name="Unterberger" />
Releases
The record release of "Beck's Bolero" was delayed for ten months, when Jeff Beck began his solo career after leaving the Yardbirds. It appeared as the B-side of his first single, "Hi Ho Silver Lining", which was released on 10 March 1967 in the UK (Columbia DB 8151) and 3 April 1967 in the US (Epic 5–10157). The initial UK pressing of the single listed the title as "Bolero" with Jeff Beck as the composer, while later pressings showed "Beck's Bolero" and "J. Page".Template:Sfn The single reached number fourteen in the UK Singles Chart,<ref> {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and number 123 in the US Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.Template:Sfn "Hi Ho Silver Lining" was ignored by American underground FM radio,Template:Sfn but "Beck's Bolero" became a staple of the new radio format.Template:Sfn
In 1968, the instrumental gained wider exposure when it was included on the Jeff Beck Group debut album, Truth. Released in the US in July, the album reached number 15 in the Billboard 200 album chart one month later.Template:Sfn Truth was issued in October in the UK, but it did not appear in the album charts.<ref> {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On the British monaural releases, "Beck's Bolero" has a fifteen-second backwards guitar coda. This version is included as a bonus track on the 2006 remastered Truth CD and on the Sundazed Music reissue of the original mono vinyl album. The original album liner notes do not list the personnel for "Beck's Bolero" – Jones' and Hopkins' contributions are noted for other songs along with "Timpani by 'You Know Who'",<ref> Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> the "Who" being Moon.Template:Sfn
"Beck's Bolero" remained one of Beck's favourite piecesTemplate:Sfn and he performed it numerous times, often as his opening number. A live version in 2008 appears on his Live at Ronnie Scott's album and video.<ref name="Unterberger" /> On 4 April 2009, Page formally inducted Beck into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and together they performed "Beck's Bolero" at the induction ceremony, with Page playing the original 1965 Fender XII guitar he used for the 1966 recording session.Template:Sfn
Disagreement over credits
Production
Beck's later producer, Mickie Most, the Yardbirds' producer, Simon Napier-Bell, and Jimmy Page have each claimed to be the recording's producer.Template:Sfn At the time of the release of "Beck's Bolero", Beck was under contract to Most. Although he was not involved in the recording, under the terms of the contract, Most received a "mandated production credit"Template:Sfn and it is his name that appears on the single and album credits. Napier-Bell, who was at least present for the recording, has claimed that his involvement was substantial: Template:Quote However, according to Jimmy Page, "the track was done and then the producer, Simon Napier-Bell, just disappeared ... [he] just sort of left me and Jeff to do it. Jeff was playing and I was [at the recording console]."Template:Sfn Page asserts that he in fact was the instrumental's actual producer.Template:Sfn In an interview before its release and his involvement with Most, Beck commented, "I've got an example of my production together with Jimmy Page and it's an instrumental", but does not mention Napier-Bell.Template:Sfn
Composition
The initial Columbia Records pressing of the single listed the title as "Bolero" and "Jeff Beck" as the composer.Template:Sfn However, Jimmy Page filed for the composer credit for "Beck's Bolero" and it is his name that appears on the credits for all but the initial release.Template:Sfn Nonetheless, Beck has claimed credit for his contributions to the composition.Template:Sfn Both Beck and Page agree that Page came up with the Boléro-influenced chords and rhythm.Template:Sfn However, Beck specifically claims that key features of the instrumental—the haunting melody line and the second part "hard-rock" break—are his.Template:Sfn Beck adds that the break contains "the first heavy metal riff ever written and I wrote it".Template:Sfn While not addressing the specifics, Page asserts "I wrote it, played on it, produced it ... and I don't give a damn what [Jeff] says. That's the truth",Template:Sfn but adds "the slide bits are his".Template:Sfn Beck later put it behind him: "No, I didn't get a songwriting credit, but you win some and lose some down the years".Template:Sfn Over the years, he and Page have made several appearances together in concerts and for interviews.Template:Sfn
Legacy
Beck, Page, Hopkins, Jones, and Moon were pleased with the outcome of the recording session and there was talk of forming a working group and additional recordings.Template:Sfn This led to the famous quip, "Yeah, it'll go down like a lead zeppelin",Template:Sfn which Page later used, with a slight spelling change, for his new group.Template:Sfn Page ascribed it to Moon,Template:Sfn while Beck's and Led Zeppelin's later manager Peter Grant claimed Moon used the phrase "go down like a lead balloon", to which Entwistle added "more like a lead zeppelin".Template:Sfn Group biographer Keith Shadwick notes that forming an actual group at the time "was never a realistic option", due to existing contractual obligations.Template:Sfn
For all their attempts at secrecy, Townshend learned of Moon's move. Beck recalled, "I remember [Pete] Townshend looking daggers at me when he heard it ... because it was a bit near the mark. He didn't want anybody meddling with that territory [his band, the Who] at all".Template:Sfn Townshend also took to referring to Beck and Page as "flashy little guitarists of very little brain" for their perceived subterfugeTemplate:Sfn (Page responded with "Townshend got into feedback because he couldn't play single notes").Template:Sfn In a later interview, Townshend explained Template:Quote Differences with Moon were resolved and he returned to the Who shortly after the recording.Template:Sfn One month later, Page joined the Yardbirds and together with Beck became one of the first dual-lead guitar teams in popular rock.Template:Sfn In 1968, Hopkins became a member of the Jeff Beck Group<ref> {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and for performances of "Beck's Bolero" during their first US tour in June, singer Rod Stewart played the rhythm guitar part.Template:Sfn Also in 1968, Page started Led Zeppelin with Jones.Template:Sfn Page incorporated some of the melody lineTemplate:Sfn and bolero rhythmTemplate:Sfn into the medley portion of "How Many More Times" for the Led Zeppelin debut album.
"Beck's Bolero" appears on various "best of" listsTemplate:Sfn and in Guitar Masters: Intimate Portraits, Alan di Perna describes it as "one of the great rock instrumentals, epic in scope, harmonically and rhythmically ambitious yet infused with primal energy".Template:Sfn The May 1966 recording pre-dated other mid-1960s hard rock/psychedelic rock milestones, such as the formation of Cream, Jimi Hendrix's arrival in England,Template:Sfn the Beatles' Revolver album, and the rise of the San Francisco Sound. Guitarist Mike Bloomfield recalled that "Beck's Bolero" had a "significant impact on Jimi Hendrix, who named it among his favorite tracks".Template:Sfn Beck recalled performing a live version with Hendrix on lead guitar, but a recording has not been forthcoming.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn
According to Paul Hornsby, who played with Duane Allman in Hour Glass in 1967–1968 before the Allman Brothers Band, "Beck's Bolero" inspired Allman to take up slide guitar. After hearing Beck's record, Allman "loved that slide part and told me he was going to learn to play it", Hornsby recalled.Template:Sfn In 1970, Joe Walsh adapted the slide-guitar section of "Beck's Bolero" for a James Gang song. Titled "The Bomber", the multi-part suite also includes a rendition of Ravel's Boléro and appears on the James Gang Rides Again album.<ref> {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Personnel
- Jeff Beck – lead guitar
- Jimmy Page – rhythm guitar
- John Paul Jones – bass
- Nicky Hopkins – piano
- Keith Moon – drums
Footnotes
References
Sources
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