The late legendary guitarist Jeff Beck was one of the most versatile guitar players of all time and inspired countless artists over the decades. He was a member of The Yardbirds, his early solo career was a direct influence to Hard Rock’s evolution, being a huge inspiration for Led Zeppelin and over the decades he recorded Jazz, Blues and more. He was an influence to many famous guitar players, including the AC/DC co-founder and guitarist Angus Young. The musician even revealed once which were two albums by Jeff Beck that he liked.
The 2 Jeff Beck albums that Angus Young likes
In 1986 Jeff Beck was already one of the most influential guitarists in the world and AC/DC one of the most successful bands of all time. In that year Angus Young was interviewed by Guitar World and he was complaining how some guitarists were boring when playing live. As an example, he praised Jeff Beck, who could play really well without making the audience bored.
“There are guys out there who can play real good without boring people. Jeff Beck is one of them. He’s more of a technical guy, but when he wants to rock and roll he sure knows how to do it with guts. I really like the early albums he did with Rod Stewart,” Angus Young said.
“Truth” (1968)
Rod Stewart was the vocalist of the Jeff Beck Group on two albums and the first one was “Truth”, released in 1968. The album had many famous tracks like a version of The Yardbirds’ “Shapes of Things”. Also “You Shook Me” (Classic Blues track later on recorded by Led Zeppelin), “Beck’s Bolero” (Written by Jimmy Page) and “I Ain’t Superstitious” (Another Blues classic written by Willie Dixon).
At the time the band was formed by Jeff Beck (Guitar), Rod Stewart (Vocals), Micky Waller (Drums) and the Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood. However, in Beck’s band, Wood was the bassist.
Curiously, Angus and Malcolm Young had the chance to see The Yardbirds playing live when they were kids. He recalled a few times that they got really excited and were expecting to see Jeff Beck playing. However, Beck had already left the group and that day they saw Jimmy Page playing.
“Beck-Ola” (1969)
“Beck-Ola”, released in 1969, was the second and final album which had Rod Stewart as the vocalist. It had praised versions of Elvis’ songs like “All Shook Up” and “Jailhouse Rock”. Other praised tracks written by the Jeff Beck Group were “Spanish Boots” and “Girl From Mill Valley”.
Besides Beck and Stewart, the band was also formed by Nicky Hopkins (Piano), Tony Newman (Drums) and Ronnie Wood (Bass). When the record was released, it peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200 charts.
Angus Young saw Jeff Beck really as an innovator. He even mentioned his name when he lamented Eddie Van Halen’s death in 2020. Angus compared the talent of the late Dutch guitarist with famous British players like Beck, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton.