Jeff Beck is truly one of the great stylists when it comes to guitar playing. Blow by Blow is my all-time favorite Jeff Beck record. I would frequently close Deaconlight with "Diamond Dust" to end the show on a mellow note (although he is playing electric). This record has so many layers it's hard to describe. At least right now with all the mayhem going on in my house. Plus I love the cover.

This is one of the records I had on vinyl, 8-track, and cassette. One day when I was in 11th grade I drove our big blue tacky AMC Pacer to school and put the cassette case on the dashboard while I was in class. I wanted everyone to see how cool I was by listening to Jeff Beck. Like I could really be cool driving a Pacer! Shortly after that I got my yellow MGB-GT, which I hoped would absolve me from the uncool-factor of driving the Pacer and even worse, our gray VistaCruiser station wagon. When I had to drive that land yacht, I would go park where no-one could see me in it. Anyway, When I got back to the Pacer (or Spacer, as I called it), the plastic cassette case had melted. So much for cool. Dumb!

In spite of his great talent, Jeff Beck got off the radar for awhile during the "Second British Invasion." By the end of the 1970s power chords were more in favor than styling. Fortunately, his talent has survived all trends and this record still sounds great today. I do, however, think he looks a little like Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel.

-- April 30, 2005 (DD)