Editing Jeff Beck (section)

== Style and influence ==

[[File:Jeff Beck 2009 MOJO Awards.jpg|thumb|Beck at the 2009 [[MOJO Awards]]]]

Described by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as "one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock",<ref name="rollingstone.com" /> Beck cited his major influences as [[Les Paul]], [[the Shadows]], [[Cliff Gallup]], [[Ravi Shankar]], [[Roy Buchanan]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.djnoble.demon.co.uk/ints/JEFFBEC.KIN.html|author=Noble, Douglas|title=Jeff Beck Interview taken from The Guitar Magazine' Vol 3 No 4, June 1993|publisher=djnoble.demon.co.uk|access-date=1 February 2010|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304215553/http://www.djnoble.demon.co.uk/ints/JEFFBEC.KIN.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Chet Atkins]], [[Django Reinhardt]], [[Steve Cropper]] and [[Lonnie Mack]].<ref>Interview with Mojo magazine, June 2009</ref>{{sfn|Foster|Cunningham|2000|pp=13, 119, 120, 315}} Beck said [[John McLaughlin (musician)|John McLaughlin]] "has given us so many different facets of the guitar and introduced thousands of us to [[world music]], by blending Indian music with jazz and classical. I'd say he was the best guitarist alive."<ref>Interview with ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'' magazine, March 2010.</ref> McLaughlin also praised Beck, calling Beck his favorite [[progressive rock]] artist.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/john-mclaughlin-chooses-his-favourite-prog-artist |title=John McLaughlin Chooses His Favourite Prog Artist... |last=Ewing |first=Jerry |date=16 December 2015 |work=Prog |access-date=16 June 2023 |archive-date=15 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240615111846/https://www.loudersound.com/features/john-mclaughlin-chooses-his-favourite-prog-artist |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to musicologist and historian [[Bob Gulla]], Beck is credited for popularising the use of [[audio feedback]] and [[Distortion (music)|distortion]] on guitar. During his short time with the Yardbirds, Beck's experimentation with feedback, distortion, and "fuzz" tone "pushed the band into directions that would open the door for [[psychedelic rock]]" while "jolt[ing] British rock forward", according to Gulla.<ref name="Gulla" /> While Beck was not the first rock guitarist to experiment with electronic distortion, he nonetheless helped to redefine the sound and role of the electric guitar in rock music.  His use of a commercial fuzz box for the Yardbirds' "[[Heart Full of Soul]]" (June 1965) has been cited as perhaps the first significant use of the effect.<ref>{{cite book| last = Lavezzoli| first = Peter| title = The Dawn of Indian Music in the West| year = 2006| location = New York City| publisher = [[Continuum International Publishing Group|Continuum]]| isbn = 978-0-8264-1815-9| pages = 154–155}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last = French| first = David| year = 2020| title = Heart Full of Soul: Keith Relf of the Yardbirds| location = Jefferson, North Carolina| publisher = [[McFarland & Company]]| isbn = 978-1-4766-8011-8| pages = 41–43}}</ref> Beck's work with the Yardbirds and the Jeff Beck Group's 1968 album ''[[Truth (Jeff Beck album)|Truth]]'' were seminal influences on [[heavy metal music]], which emerged in full force in the early 1970s.<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1564|pure_url=yes}} Truth Jeff Beck: Review]. ''[[AllMusic]]''</ref> Gulla identifies one of Beck's characteristic traits to be his sense of pitch, particularly in exercising the [[whammy bar]] to create sounds ranging from "nose-diving bombs to subtle, perfectly pitched harmonic melodies".<ref name="Gulla">{{cite book|page=26|last=Gulla|first=Bob|authorlink=Bob Gulla|year=2009|title=Guitar Gods: The 25 Players Who Made Rock History|publisher=[[Greenwood Press]]|isbn=9780313358067}}</ref>

According to guitarist and author [[Jack Wilkins]], Beck is regarded alongside [[Jimi Hendrix]] and Eric Clapton as one of his generation's greatest guitarists, receiving praise for his technical skill and versatile playing.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wilkins|first1=Jack|authorlink=Jack Wilkins|last2=Rubie|first2=Peter|year=2006|page=74|title=Essential Guitar|publisher=[[Adams Media]]|isbn=9781598691368}}</ref> [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] finds him to be "as innovative as Jimmy Page, as tasteful as Eric Clapton, and nearly as visionary as Jimi Hendrix", although unable to achieve their mainstream success, "primarily because of the haphazard way he approached his career" while often lacking a star singer to help make his music more accessible.<ref name="allmusic" /> On his recorded output by 1991, Erlewine remarked that "never has such a gifted musician had such a spotty discography", believing Beck had largely released "remarkably uneven" solo records and only "a few terrific albums".<ref>{{cite book|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|chapter=Jeff Beck|year=2002|title=All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul|publisher=[[Backbeat Books]]|isbn=9780879306533|editor1-last=Woodstra|editor1-first=Chris|editor2-last=Erlewine|editor2-first=Stephen Thomas|editor3-last=Bogdanov|editor3-first=Vladimir}}</ref> In ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|Christgau's Record Guide]]'' (1981), [[Robert Christgau]] essentialised Beck as "a technician" and questioned his ability to "improvise long lines, or jazz it up with a modicum of delicacy, or for that matter get funky",<ref>{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|authorlink=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=0-89919-025-1|chapter=Jeff Beck}}</ref> although he later observed a "customary focus, loyalty, and consistency of taste".<ref name="CG80s">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|year=1990|chapter=Jeff Beck|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s]]|publisher=[[Pantheon Books]]|isbn=067973015X}}</ref>

In 2015, Beck was ranked No. 5 in ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists". In an accompanying essay, guitarist [[Mike Campbell (musician)|Mike Campbell]] applauded Beck for his "brilliant technique" and "personality" in his playing, including a sense of humour, expressed through the growl of his wah-wah effects. Campbell also credited Beck with expanding the boundaries of the blues, particularly in his two collaborations with Stewart.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-guitarists-20111123/jeff-beck-20111122|title=100 Greatest Guitarists – 5) Jeff Beck|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=10 July 2013|archive-date=9 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130709211255/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-guitarists-20111123/jeff-beck-20111122|url-status=live}}</ref>