{"id":703480,"date":"2026-07-21T14:23:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T14:23:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/703480\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T14:23:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T14:23:15","slug":"the-1970-song-that-made-jeff-beck-worry-about-jimi-hendrix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/703480\/","title":{"rendered":"The 1970 song that made Jeff Beck worry about Jimi Hendrix"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jeff<\/p>\n

Credit: Far Out \/ Grant Gouldon \/ Bent Rej<\/p>\n

Tue 21 July 2026 13:06, UK <\/p>\n

Ever since he first emerged in the 1960s, Jimi Hendrix<\/a> was cited as a one-of-a-kind guitarist and offered a playing style that hadn\u2019t been demonstrated by anyone else before him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While his career was cut tragically short, he\u2019s still regarded as the leading light when it comes to rock guitar to this day, with very few having been able to emulate his ability on the six-string successfully, and many players of a rock and blues persuasion today idolise him as a totemic figure who changed the world of guitar-oriented music.<\/p>\n

Alongside Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding, he formed his band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, in 1966, and quickly began to gain notoriety for his electrifying ability and innovation on the fretboard. His playing style was freakish, noisy, but in its completely freewheeling nature, it sounded completely limitless. There was no questioning that Hendrix was a prodigy when it came to playing, but just as remarkable was his ability to write songs.<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s self-titled debut album, released in 1967, is virtually flawless, and the third album, Electric Ladyland, while released less than two years later, signifying how prolific he was, was an even more astounding record. There were hits spread across these two albums, with tracks such as \u2018Hey Joe\u2019 and \u2018Purple Haze\u2019 gracing the former and \u2018Crosstown Traffic\u2019 and his Bob Dylan cover, \u2018All Along The Watchtower\u2019 being among the highlights on the latter.<\/p>\n

However, in the midst of all of these raucous singles were striking feats of godlike guitar playing. He was operating at the top of his game, yet he was also teetering on a precipice.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

\"Jimi<\/a>Credit: Bent Rej<\/p>\n

Even the album that is sandwiched between these two releases, Axis: Bold As Love, is an astounding record, and while it doesn\u2019t get as much recognition from fans and critics as being on the same level of greatness as his other two studio albums, it\u2019s still a resounding achievement and worthy of gushing praise. <\/p>\n

There are virtually no misses in the main album discography of Jimi Hendrix, and if we were to judge his career solely on this trio of releases, then there would be little to complain about. However, one other notable titan of rock guitar believed that there were a number of missteps in Hendrix\u2019s career that often get brushed under the carpet.<\/p>\n

In between albums, there was an immense pressure placed on the Seattleite to continue performing at the highest level, which at times was insurmountable. Speaking about the patchiness of his live recordings, Jeff Beck<\/a> noted that not everything Hendrix touched turned to gold, and there are a number of howlers in his repertoire that are best left forgotten about.<\/p>\n

Beck had been an admirer of Hendrix from the get-go. \u201cI saw him at one of his earliest performances in Britain,\u201d he recalled, \u201cand it was quite devastating. He did all the dirty tricks \u2013 setting fire to his guitar, doing swoops up and down his neck, all the great showmanship to put the final nail in our coffin. I had the same temperament as Hendrix in terms of \u2018I\u2019ll kill you\u2019, but he did in such a good package with beautiful song\u201d.<\/p>\n

So, while Beck is by no means a critic of Hendrix\u2019s, he had enough status about him to nitpick over the slightest errors in the work of his peers. \u201cThere was also some bad stuff that he did,\u201d Beck once claimed about his contemporary. \u201cThat \u2018Star-Spangled Banner<\/a>\u2019 on the Isle of Wight album, that business where I think his mind was gone a bit because of the intense pressure on him.\u201d <\/p>\n

For the legendary Yardbird, the performance was so bad that it was worrying, clearly emblematic of the pressures that Hendrix was facing. \u201cThat shook me,\u201d he recalled. \u201cI said to myself, \u2018Jimi, c\u2019mon, go back into the studio and start some new stuff,\u2019 because playing live to people expecting miracles every night was just too much for him, really.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was a sentiment reflected by the likes of Pete Townshend and Keith Richards, too. They witnessed firsthand the decline of a peer who was wilting under the weight of an unfair expectation to always be radical and supreme.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s difficult to predict whether these bouts of succumbing to intense pressure would have had a long-term effect on Hendrix\u2019s output had he not passed away at such a young age, but Beck wasn\u2019t wrong when he identified there being some faults in his performances that were caused by the immense weight placed on his shoulders.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, the legacy that he left behind with his studio releases and some of the more impeccable live releases has done little to tarnish his status as one of the greatest guitarists to have ever lived, even if he didn\u2019t have long to prove himself on this earth.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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