THE JEFF BECK BULLETIN ISSUE #3

Dear Dick, Still rushing around here like a "Crazy Legs". I should be moving into a "Yardbird World" shop in a month or two, address will be 64 Northdown Road, Cliftonville, Margate, Kent, U.K.. I would wish to stock your mag on Jeff, your latest issue is a "blinder" lots of nice information, Congratulations.

In the shop intend doing a lot more writing. I have just finished writing a Keith Relf discography, listing all known recordings and a whole mass of unreleased items. I intend doing the same with the Yardbirds, Jim McCarty and Jeff Beck. I'll be getting as much Yardbirds related stuff as possible in the shop which of course includes as much Jeff Beck stuff as possible. Best regards, Richard Mackay, Editor, Yardbirds World Magazine. ED. Thanks Richard. You started this whole thing twenty-five years ago!

"Too Much To Lose"

Dick, Here's the tape I promised. The opening act in Charlotte (N.C.) at the BBA show at Park Center on 12 July, 1973 was Dr. John. During Dr. John's set he had a shoulder bag full of glitter that he threw into the audience. When Carmine took his drum solo during "Morning Dew", Tim Bogert came out on stage with the bag, dancing like Dr. John and tossing glitter into the crowd.

Also, something interesting I found in a book the other day; "Ringo Starr, Straight Man or Joker?" By Alan Clayson (1992 Paragon House, Page 260) "Ringo was seen with Jeff Beck and the Pink Floyd's David Gilmour in a promotional film of "Too Much To Lose" by Czechoslovokian Jazz-Rocker Jan Hammer." I've never seen it, have you? John Butts ED: Not yet John but read the Audio/Video update section of this issue for further details.

Beck Fan of 25 Years

Greetings! Recieved winter issue of JBB and have enjoyed it immensely!!!

I have been a Beck fan for close to 25 years. I first saw him perform live with the Rough and Ready tour in Boston. Since then I have been to 15 different shows and once met Jeff in Springfield, Mass. at his hotel. Jeff and John McLaughlin jammed that night in the cocktail lounge along with members of each others band and the lounge band!! Would love to have a tape of that show! With respect to your request for help with the next issue of JBB, I will be happy to assist with set up, layout etc. Keep up the good work, Best Regards, Gregory Gunter ED: Gregory, you're hired faster that Jeff Beck hired Cozy Powell at his 1970 audition!

April 23, 1993 saw the Big Town Playboys start the evening with a very tight, energenic set and then all hell broke loose as vocalist/pianist Mike Sanchez simply announced, "Please welcome Jeff Beck". Without a moment of hesitation the group broke into "Crazy Legs" as from then onwards Mr. "Crazy Fingers" nimbly pulled off all of those exacting Gallup riffs just as he did on the Lp. Also just like the Lp, they blended right from "Crazy Legs" to "Double Talkin' Baby" without skipping a beat! Other highlights from that part of the evening include "Believe", Pretty Baby" and "Baby Blue".

The risk taken at this gig was enormous. Playing at low volume and a clean tone, Jeff had to play each note precisely. All of which he had to do on a much harder to play old Gretsch Duo Jet guitar rather than his customary fast action Fender Stratocasters. It was all worth the risk as that authentic old rockabilly sound was pulled off with style and grace by Jeff. I was amazed at the live recreation of "B-I-Bickey-Bi-Bo Bo Go" which was Cliff Gallup at his wildest. Yet on this song and other numbers, Jeff still managed to throw in some of his up the neck-down the neck patented Beck trademark licks!

Whatever pre-tour apprehensions Jeff may have harboured seemed to have vanished by the time he switched back to his Fender Tele and roared into a spellbinding version of the Freddy King classic "The Stumble". With just a hint of tasteful distortion, Beck launched into a slightly louder solo and hit some nice emotional high notes that accentuated that lovely number. Towards the end of the evening, Mike Sanchez said, "Let's see if you know this one" as they launched into a down and dirty but true to the original version of the Johnny Burnette Trio's "Train Kept A Rollin'". The crowd didn't need any coaxing when Sanchez asked, "You want a little bit more?". As The Big Town Playboys laid down a refreshing medium paced backbeat, all of a sudden Sanchez let the cat out of the surprise bag with the piano intro of "Going Down". Jeff Beck climbed into the upper stratosphere with feedback, harmonics and nasty gut wrenching wails! As if this weren't enough, the volume hushed and Sanchez asked again if the audience wanted a little more (which is like asking if the Pope is Catholic!).

The drummer, Clive Deamer, changed his time signatures and with a one-two-three-four bang and roll it was then the familiar driving tempo of the classic Don Nix song "Going Down" complete with yet more fresh discordant rapid-fire licks from Jeff and sudden band stops featuring some finger lickin' Beck Chickin' Pickin'! I'm telling you people right now that this is the best seven and one half minutes of live Jeff Beck on tape and that includes comparison to any of the FM tracks from the original Jeff Beck Group's Fillmore East-Bill Graham Broadcast Show! A great though slightly anticlimatic "Hold Me, Hug Me, Rock Me" was the encore as Mike Sanchez yelled out one more time, "Ladies and gentlemen, Jeff Beck" and that was it. Whatever you listen to as a Jeff Beck fan, make sure you get a hold of this concert on a private collector's tape! For Beck memorabilia collectors, in addition to the concert tape there was a commemorative T-shirt with the front being the Crazy Legs Lp cover and the back, a picture of the poster advertisement for the Paris gig. Good Hunting! Be seeing you.

Newly uncovered live dates on tape appear listed elsewhere in this magazine...BBA II basic first recorded fundamental tracks. What more can we say!? Andrew Roachford finally scored with "Permanent Shade Of Blue" featuring guest Jeff Beck. It only took almost 3 years for that one to come off...which brings us to Jeff's next Lp. Glen Hughes claimed publicly on an Atlanta radio station that he and Jeff were doing an Lp together and Epic was behind it. "A pipe dream", we are told. Then Jed Lieber tried to present Beck with a few projects with a "cast of thousands" for vocalists. Jeff declined and Jed got on with his career. Not a fun time for Jed and Jeff who didn't see eye to eye with the producer of the "Blue Chips" movie soundtrack. Jeff was cut off completely from the CD release and Jed has few parts. Nile Rodgers was called in to mop up. Shades of "Days Of Thunder" as the only Jeff to be heard on the film is probably a whammy bar bend or two in the early basketball scenes. More on that next issue, so who is Jeff working with? Stewart Copeland (Police, Animal Logic) who Jeff met at Stanley's "Little Big League" sessions. So far Jeff and Stewart have met about twice and have written a couple things according to Jeff's management...And the Gods rained down at Jeff's 50th celebration at his castle. All the power went off and Jeff with guests went outside to refill their champagne glasses with golf ball size hail. Jeff, do you think someone up there is sending you a message to "Get Workin'"!?... Anything mentioned planned, in issues #1 and #2 that didn't make this column - won't....Jeff almost agreed to perform a Michael Kamen classical/rock original score - until Beck phoned mate Clapton and found out that Eric had already publicly performed it! End of project...Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton join Jimmy Page onstage for the video instrumental of "Stairway To Heaven" from the Cow Palace, San Francisco 12/83 ARMS tour. Most pleasing is Jeff's solo on "Good Night Irene" where even a weary Ronnie Lane looks over and smiles in appreciation. Sadly Jeff's set in not on the video... Jeff at the R&R Hall of Fame with Paul Schaeffer and CBS Orchestra doing "People Get Ready". Only video snipets available as in the wry acceptance speech for Rod Stewart. Anybody out there have the whole thing? If you've been sipping on a Budweiser while reading this you're in good company especially if you caught the summer TV Budweiser ad. It features the solo to "Blues Stay Away" from the Crazy Legs Lp. Is this the real thing or a wild goose chase dept. - Supposedly one of the engineers on the Orange Lp died and left a reel to reel of the Memphis Studio sessions to a used record dealer. A colleague in the northeast is checking it out...and finally in the it's definately not dept. - Those supposed Blow By Blow demos are in reality from an obscure Lp by Muscle Shoals sessionist Pete Carr... Adding to the fire is rumor that some or most of the Walden tapes may be Ray Gomez on guitar...Jeff does have a cameo in the Jan Hammer video "Too Much To Lose" along with Ringo Starr. None of the guests actually play though...Beverly Craven's tracks with smokin' licks from Jeff...

To end this column on a positive note, again we reiterate - BBA II Basic Tracks. Be seeing you.

The Man: Jeff Beck

The first time I heard of Jeff Beck was the summer of 1965 when I was playing in Bridgeton, New Jersey during a talent show with a local band. The local radio station had been broadcasting live during the performances of the talent show. During intermission from the live music they played a recording by a group that previously had good air play with a recording "For Your Love" and their second hit had a guitar sound I'd never heard before. The song was "Heart Full Of Soul" and was performed by a group from England called "The Yardbirds" and was released July 1965. Their unique sound and incredible guitar work was from a new guitarist named Jeff Beck. He had previously been in a group called the Tridents and joined the Yardbirds by the suggestion of Jimmy Page who had other obligations with sessions and was unable to join the band to fill Eric Clapton's spot. Eric wanted to play more blues and develope his title of "Slow Hand". During the mid sixties I hunted record shops to find and often nag the store owner to order the 45's and LP's. I remember playing in Lima, Ohio and taking along my records to learn all the riffs I could. I was playing every night during the summer and traveling from club to club. I learned "I'm A Man", "The Nazz Are Blue", "Steeled Blues" and one of my favorites, "I'm Not Talking". The greatist thing was seeing the Yardbirds perform on many of the early music shows like Hullaballoo, Shindig, Ready Steay Go and more.

The Guitar:

I noticed Jeff was playing a Fender Telecaster minus the rhythm pickup making it an Esquire. Jeff's Fender Esquire originally had a white single layer pickguard which Jeff later changed to a black phenolic one. He bought the guitar from John Maus, a guitarist with a recording group called the "Walker Brothers" and they had a hit recording "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore". Several years ago John visited my shop in Santa Barbara and he said he contoured the front (forearm) and back of the body to make it feel more like a Fender Stratocaster. He carefully shaped the wood leaving the original paint and exposed Swamp Ash body.

During the early 60's, Jeff Beck was on tour and bought a 1954 Fender Esquire from the guitarist in the group "Walker Brothers". The Walker Brothers consisted of John Maus (guitar), Scott Engle (bass) and Gary Leeds (drums). In the mid 60's the group went to London for a tour. While touring England, Jeff bought it from John for $60. When on some of the very early Yardbirds' videos recorded during a television show, you can see the guitar first had a white Esquire (no slot for a rhythm pickup) pickguard. A short time later on Yardbirds' videos you can see the black pickguard Jeff put on. Jeff liked the contrast and it looked like the Tele's made just a year earlier. You can see the chips in the pickguard and the neck was the third or fourth according to Ralph Baker, Jeff's long time assistant. During the days of youth watching Jeff Beck, Yardbirds and the British Invasion and famouse television shows like Lloyd Thaxton, Shindig and Hullabaloo, I totally became hooked on Fender Esquires. While working in England during the mid-70's, I worked with a technician named Ron Roka, who worked at the newly opened Fender Soundhouse that was originally located on Tottenham Court Road in London. Ron had a custom shop in the Soundhouse and had advertised for a guitar repairman to assist him with guitar repairs and custom work. I was recording during the evenings at Polydor Records with an artist named Chris Rainbow and had days off. My manager Norman Vandenberg read an advertisement in a local paper that Ron Roka (Roka's Repair) was looking for a guitar repairman. The next day I interviewed and got the job. It was a great time working with Ron and meeting all the players that came to visit and have their instruments worked on. I remember working for The Stones, The Who, Robin Trower, Vinegar Joe, Gerry Rafferty, Roy Wood and Wizzard, Sutherland Brother and Quiver, Suzi Quatro, Super Tramp and Beck, Bogert and Appice. During the time at the Soundhouse, I did the first article on Guitar Pickups for Guitarist Magazine in 1974. Jeff was recording the second (unreleased as of yet) album with Beck, Bogert and Appice at the CBS Studios that was a block from the Fender Soundhouse. While at the Fender Soundhouse I put together the first "Tele-Gib" guitar and gave it to Jeff. It was a Telecaster with two Humbuckers. The bridge on the Telecaster was cut to fit the Humbuckers and to keep the 3 piece brass early 50's bridge saddles. The two Humbuckers came out of an old broken Gibson Flying V that once belonged to Lonnie Mack in Cincinnati, Ohio. Somebody messed with the coils and I rewound them as prototypes for Jeff. The neck pickup was Zebra (cream bobbin facing the bridge) and bridge pickup was Double Cream and both were originally '59 Patent Applied For Humbuckers. I made a pickguard for the Tele-Gib out of dark chocolate vinyl plastic. The lever switch knob was from a handfull that I got from an old telephone switchboard during the mid 60's. The same knob was given to Roy Buchanan and can be seen on the cover of his "Loading Zone" album (Atlantic SD 18219). I gave them to Roy about 1966 when he was playing in Wildwood, New Jersey, a shore resort town near the Atlantic Ocean. Jeff started playing and recording with the "Tele-Gib" in 1974 and recorded tracks on the "Blow By Blow" album. One song you can hear him using the volume controls in on "Cause We've Ended As Lovers". The main reason I made and gave Jeff the Tele-Gib was because I loved the tone he had on the "Truth" album. His tech had taken his sunburst Les Paul into a repair shop for volume control problems and when they got to the next gig Jeff rehearsed and he noticed someone put covers on his "Patent Applied For" pickups. He told his guitar tech to remove the covers because the guitar was feeding back too much. When the covers were removed Jeff noticed that his "Patent Applied For" Humbuckers had been replaced with new Gibson Humbuckers. I felt bad when I heard this and I wanted Jeff to have an instrument that had the tone of a Les Paul. I couldn't afford a Les Paul so I made the Tele-Gib instead and gave it to him. Several days after giving Jeff the guitar while BBA was recording the unreleased second album at the CBS Studios, Ralph Baker came to the Fender Soundhouse with a cloth bag with three guitars in it. Ralph said "Jeff wanted you to take your pick." In the bag was a 51 Telecaster, a mid 50's Stratocaster and my favorite guitar, Jeff's 54' Fender Esquire guitar he used with "The Yardbirds". I picked the Esquire because Jeff used it! I remembered the songs like "Heart Full Of Soul", "I'm A Man", "Train Kept A Rollin'" and "Mister You're A Better Man Than I".

During the early touring years, a British singer by the name of Terry Reid was touring with a joint Rolling Stone, Yardbirds, Reid tour. Terry recalls while he was standing by the equipment loading dock, as the back door was opened he remembers catching the guitar (caseless) as it fell from the back of the truck. Terry remembers Jeff doing all kinds of wild things with the guitar.

Jeff could manipulate the volume and tone controls giving it a Wah Wah effect as in "Train Kept A Rollin'" or "Still I'm Sad". The lever switch would give full treble in the bridge position, variable tone control in the center and full bass in the front position. (See schematic) The bridge pickup has slightly staggered poles. The body was made in 1954 and the neck (the original was broken) was replaced with one made in 1955. During the mid sixties, the Yardbirds were touring the midwest and I had a chance to meet the band and see Jeff play and do his tricks. He would lean on the amp, causing feedback and always looking down at his guitar. During another tour, Jimmy Page was in the band and I asked where Jeff was and Jimmy said he left the band. When I asked Keith (Keith Relf was the singer and front man in the Yardbirds) to play "Nazz Are Blue" I heard Jimmy yell out "The Nazz isn't here". So I figured they wouldn't do the song as long as Jeff wasn't there. During that time Jimmy had Jeff's Esquire on tour with them and their roadie named Brian Conliffe let me play the Esquire and I took photos of it. I photographed it at a concert hall in Lima, Ohio called Springbrook Gardens. While there I saw Jimmy playing another guitar and written on the back of it was "Jeffman" and you can see it in some of my photos. I don't know if it was Jeff's guitar as I never asked Jimmy about it. It may be the one that later was used in Led Zeppelin and later painted psychedelic.

Throughout the years i have had much enjoyment building custom guitars and pickups for Jeff and enjoyed keeping his 32 Ford roadster. I have many great stories and info for later fan club articles. Below is a rundown on the 1954 Fender Esquire used by Jeff Beck in the "Yardbirds".

The Guitar

• Specifications:
  • 1. Esquire pickguard: When Jeff first got it from John Maus it had a white vinyl pickguard and can be seen in earlier "Yardbird" videos and photos. Jeff replaced it with a black Esquire pickguard (no slot for rhythm pickup). The pickguard had a 5 hole pattern with two distinctive chips. The top edge and lower neck slot.
  • 2. Bridge saddles: The 54' steel bridge saddles were completely rusted and were replaced with 52' Telecaster brass saddles from another Telecaster belonging to Jeff.
    • Bridge saddle heights: .371" E-1st, .396" B-2nd, .398" G-3rd, .411" D-4th, .409" A-5th, .395" E-6th.
    • Intonation: E & A saddle: .605", D & G saddle: .686", B & E saddle: .715" (Measured from the inside back plate to the middle of the bridge saddle) Intonation adjustment are round head phillips: 6-32 x 1 1/4" machine screws.
  • 3. The lever knob: Jeff used a white lever knob from a 55' Stratocaster and is still in the case. A recessed 53' Telecaster black bakelite knob was put on it the late 60's.
  • 4. The tuning keys: are stock 1955 Klusons. They are worn but still work well.
  • 5. The strings: have been on the instrument since 1974 are kept de-tuned as to reduce tension and eliminate breaking. E-.009", B-.011", G-.016", D-.024", A-.032", E-.042" .
  • 6. Body: is light Swamp Ash, hand contoured. No dates on the body. Body thickness: 1.770" measured with thin lacquer finish. String ferrules recessed in body slightly below finish surface.
  • 7. The neck: is dated 55' with stock frets and fingerware. Round string guide measures .313" top thickness of neck to the pickguard that measures .063" thick, 7" neck radius. Position markers on fingerboard measure .250" diameter, side dots measure .093".
  • 8. Serial Number: #1056 stamped on the back neck plate. Neck plate measures 2.519" X 2.012", thickness .062", 1/4" radius.
  • 9. Instrument Weight: 6 lbs. 6 oz.
  • 10. Pickup Ohms: 5.86k ohms. Pickup reading may vary depending in tolerance of meter being used for test. Pickup height has not been modified since used by Jeff.
  • 11. Pickup Description: Stock hand wind, G & D poles slightly raised, .197" diameter and .625" length common for such pickups. Magnets are sand cast Alnico and measure 20 gauss. Pickup height from bridge plate: .316" high on treble side, .288" high on bass side.
  • 12. Pickup Control: Wiring: On control plate stock Esquire wiring.
    • Front Position: Mellow sound due to capacitor connected to ground. Tone control inactive in this position.
    • Middle Position: Variable tone control adjustment. Only position tone control works. You can have maximum treble or maximum bass. Swells and Wah Wah effect.
    • Bridge Position: Full treble in this position and tone control inactive.
  • 13. Body Information: Stock well worn and checked Blond finish. The body was hand shaped by John Maus (Walker Brothers) to make it feel and simulate the contours of a Stratocaster. The rhythm pickup cavity is routed for a neck pickup but was not drilled to hold one. The body is well worn with nicks and gouges and the Nitrocellulose lacquer Blond finish has turned various shades of yellow and orange.
  • 14. Body Specifications:
    • Body Thickness: 1.767"
    • Body Length: 15.812"
    • Body Width: Minimum 8.875" Maximum 12.5"
  • 15. Neck Specifications: Nitrocellulose lacquer finish, orange and yellowish and worn thin. The top edge of the fingerboard is rounded towards the edge from both sanding at the factory and extensive wear from playing.
    • Width:
      • Nut: 1.657"
      • 5th fret: 1.837"
      • 8th fret: 1.922"
      • 12th fret: 2.023"
      • 15th fret: 2.095"
      • 21st fret: 2.185"
    • Thickness:
      • Headstock: .562"
      • Nut: .90"
      • 5th fret: .957"
      • 8th fret: .972"
      • 12th fret: .975"
      • 15th fret: .988"
      • 21st fret: .990"
    • Screws:
      • Pickguard: Oval head Phillip, wood screw, steel, plating worn off.
      • Neck: Oval head Phillip, wood screw, steel, plating worn off.
      • Bridge: Oval head Phillip, wood screw, steel, rusted.
      • Tuning Keys: Round head Phillip, wood screw, rusted.
      • Control Plate: Oval head Phillip, wood screw, plating worn off.
      • Lever Switch: Round head slotted, machine screw, plating worn off 6-32.
      • Pickup Height Adjustment: Round head slotted machine screw 6-32 X 1/2".
    • Misc. Information:
      • Lever switch is a Centralab #1452 three way "shorting".
      • Lever knob: Harry Davies Molded, traditional 1950-1954 style common on early Broadcasters, No-Casters, Telecasters and Esquires. Jeff used a white 54' Stratocaster lever knob during the "Yardbirds".
      • Neck slot depth: .610" deep.
    • Bridge Plate: stamped FENDER PAT. PEND. (at the same angle as the pickup)
    • Frets: .075" wide and .022" high.
    • Weight: 5 lbs. 10 oz. This is a very light instrument and would weigh a little more if there were no cutaways or contours.
    • The Esquire can be seen on several "Yardbird" albums and CD covers including; "The Yardbirds", "Rave Up" (Epic LN 24177), "The Yardbirds' Greatest Hits Vol. 1" (Rhino RNLP 70128) and Spanish release "The Yardbirds Play The Blues" (Charley EP-472).

BBA II

These tracks are in no signifigant order or planned release.

• Track One: "Solid Lifter" - Pre-dating Zeppelin's "Kashmir", this continual up the guitar neck chord progression was eventually used live at the last two shows at the Rainbow Theatre, London 1/26/74 as an intro to "Jizz Whizz".
• Track Two: "Jizz Whizz" alternate take - Similar in form to what got released on "Beckology". A little more advanced as far as mixing and overdubs than the other tracks on this tape, which if recorded around the same time (as learned from conversations with Tim and Carmine, I believe to be the case) points out Jeff's eagerness to explore different mixed time changes and chordal sequences that were being influenced by his and Carmine's listenings to Cobham and Mahavishnu. The guitar licks on the take are smokin'!!!!!!! While Gregg Geller was fortunate enough to have been able to secure a finished version of "Jizz Whizz" for the Beckology box, this take can easily stand on it's own!
• Track Three: "Satisfied" - Funkiest track on the planned Lp. Again like "Jizz Whizz", it pointed away from the straight ahead 100 Mph stuff of the early BBA. Nice funky ninth chords from Jeff that would fit right in with a Sly Stone sound. Beck does get in a few over dubbed signature licks between sudden time changes from Bogert and Appice. This tune was to be the show opener at all the UK shows of that final tour. Falsetto R & B harmony courtesy of Tim and Carmine.
• Track Four: "All In Your Mind" - Originally a Vanilla Fudge B side cult classic that surfaced in it's Fudge form last year on a Fudge retrospective CD set. The interesting thing about the BBA version is Jeff's penchant for bringing part of a live show arrangement of a riff and incorporating it on a future studio Lp track. The riff referred to here was the opening of "Living Alone" from the live '73 tours. Also referring back to "Jizz Whizz" on this tape and Beckology we find the live "Morining Dew" hook riff from past tours on that studio track as well.
• Track Five: "Laughin' Lady" - A hummable moving ballad that strarts with a plethora of soft bass runs from Tim Bogert and features strong vocals from Carmine. Jeff gives a tease to what eventually would be great double set solos on the UK '74 tour and on the finished BBA II products I'm sure.
• Track Six: "Prayin'" - One of two tracks that is more in the hard power chord mid BBA era of '73 vein. However, there's an abrupt change in the middle of the song to a reflective soft passage from Jeff that turns around right back into the main power hook. Background harmony once again courtesy of the "Soul Sisters".
• Track Seven: (Get Ready)"Your Lovemaker's Comin' Home" - The other straight ahead power trio track on the Lp finds that old good time boogie beat. Although no overdubs on this take when done live was a featured guitar/bass trade off between once good mates now at this juncture band rivals Jeff Beck and Tim Bogert.
• Track Eight: "Living Life Backward" - Lyrics by Peter Brown (lyricist for Cream). Easily the strangest track on the unreleased Lp. Carmine and Tim's vocals are channelled to come at you from alternating speakers (remember Jeff's stereo imaging on the Truth version of "Rock My Plimsoul"?). Jeff has a recurring, catchy, slightly compressed and phased lead hook that is up on the guitar neck. The whole song reminds you of something the Yardbirds might have done if they were a seventies unit.
• Track Nine: "Got To Find My Woman (Time Is A Lady)" - The other ballad on the planned Lp. Jeff experiments with slightly altered R & B chords to get a unique jazzy feel to the tune. Max Middleton may have been some inspiration for this track since we believe he played on the final version of it recorded at either/both De Lane Lea Wembley Complex and CBS, London. Again the overiding theme of sweet soul lyrics/vocals with Jeff once again experimenting with string slices to induce piercing harmonics which Roy Buchanan pioneered and indeed Beck was to bring back for "Freeway Jam" on his next Lp. Typical studio banter by BBA in these final days as Chris Welch wrote for Melody Maker about this track: Carmine - "I wrote it." Jeff - "Bulls**t, you just wrote the lyrics."

Out eternal thanks to Tim Bogert and "Audioman" for the tapes and Ed Misenti for the Melody Makers of which replaced my copies long since circular filed!

Be seeing you!

As we did with the last issue on the Blow By Blow era, the Beck Bulletin set out to not only retell the story of BBA, but to also fill in the unfinished information gaps left by bits of media stories and interviews. To accomplish this, we first did an informal, friendly chat with Tim Bogert. Next we did much the same with Carmine Appice. Once again we called upon the good graces of manager Ralph Baker as he had been freshly recruited in Jeff's management camp in the mid-BBA era. Plus we again contacted Beckology producer, VP of Warners Brothers Records and mid-seventies Epic A&R Exec, Gregg Geller.

Every red blooded Beck fan knows how the BBA relationship began with the "Things Go Better With Coke" commercial in New York in 1969. In fact a good number of us have four different takes of that session. Tim Bogert recalls, "There was a Fudge roadie there at the Coke session that had also been a roadie for the Yardbirds by the name of Bruce Wayne. Everyone used to kid him about his name because of the BATMAN connection! Anyway, our guitarist Vinnie Martell got so sick that he had to physically leave the session. There we were with the commercial producer ready to go and no guitarist. Bruce said that he knew that Jeff Beck was in town staying at a hotel and offered to try to get him. We had been listening to TRUTH and BECKOLA and needless to say were excited at the prospect of having Jeff do the session with us and a short time later, he just showed up, ready to play."

The paths of Jeff Beck and the Vanilla Fudge would again cross on that once in a lifetime concert in July of '69 at the Singer Bowl in New York. An unbelievable lineup even for those days saw the Jeff Beck Group, Led Zeppelin and Ten Years After all as support acts with the Vanilla Fudge headlining the bill. Needless to say, the Fudge were heavily upstaged and despondant. Jeff was wanting a fresh direction and was tired of touring and bickering with Wood and Stewart about money and tours. As Tim Bogert recalls, "Jeff and I walked off the stage that night, arm around shoulders and swearing that we would fire our respective bands that night to form a new group."

Although that promise didn't come true that night, it did come to reality less than a month later in early August. The initial plan was to have Stewart sing but Rod (the Mod) was being talked into a solo career by Mercury Records and preferred that over the wild rock atmosphere of the American boys in addition to being determined to make it without Jeff. So plans were made to go out as a trio but as we all know, on November 5th, Jeff got sidelined for a few months with that awful car accident.

Tim and Carmine being used to working almost non-stop, decided to form a new group, Cactus, with ex-Detroit Wheels guitarist Jim McCarty. When Jeff's head healed enough to start practicing, he called up Tim and Carmine and as Tim recalls, "Jeff just said, 'I'm ready to play', but of course we couldn't because of Cactus." Carmine added, "We almost didn't have the heart to tell him."(Jeff).

After Jeff's next group lineup had recorded two Epic Lp's and done a couple of tours, they wound up in the summer of 1972 at the Electric Ladyland Studios to start recording some material. Stevie Wonder was also there. Someone at Epic Records told Stevie that Jeff loved his compositions and the two met. Agreements were verbalized to play on each others records and of course Stevie came up with "Superstition" for Jeff in addition to two other tracks that Jeff would later use on Blow By Blow. Jeff called in his group (band!!!) to record "Superstition" and that lineup did at least one take of that. After a heated argument with bassist Clive Chaman (later in this article to become a deja vu') Jeff felt that he wanted a more powerful band to record "Superstition" and have a hit record with it that he so desperately deserved. Max Middleton was kept on to fill in needed keyboard gaps. Everyone else (Cozy Powell, Bob Tench) was let go and Jeff's crew called up Tim and Carmine. Jeff had seen and was intially impressed with a vocalist named Kim Milford who had done some work on Jesus Christ Superstar. Cactus had disbanded so Tim and Carmine showed up that first night at the studio ready to record "Superstition". What has not been known to many Beck fans before is that Milford was also present at that time. "Kim Milford was there the very first night" explains Tim Bogert. "He cut 'Superstition' and a couple of other things." One of those other 'things' was the future BBA classic rearrangement of "Let Me Love You" called "Lose Myself With You", which a well known L.A. Beck collector has a tape of but won't part with it!! for anything less than the Holy Grail!

Just how many versions of "Superstition" came out of that time frame still is unclear even to the memories of those involved. Carmine says, "I replaced Cozy Powell's drums on a version with Stevie Wonder." Tim Bogert recalls the Kim Milford vocal version as well as 'several' versions both with Max and Stevie. Max and Stevie's funky keyboard work at that time sounded so similar that Jeff Beck and "Beckology" producer Gregg Geller had a friendly difference of opinion as to which one was on another particular track (not 'Superstition') thus shelving the idea of putting whatever that track was on "Beckology". Circus Magazine in the 1970's reported the Milford sung version of "Superstition" coming out in Sweden on a Milford single release.

At any rate the new lineup of BBA, M and M rehearsed for a bit and then went out on the road as the new Jeff Beck Group to try out their fresh sound on audiences. The Stanley Theatre in Pittsburgh, PA on August 1, 1972 was their first gig. The set was comprised of tunes from the Rough And Ready and Orange Lp's plus a reworking of "Plynth" which segued into "Shotgun" (Junior Walker tune done previously by the Vanilla Fudge) and of course "Jeff's Boogie". A Cactus penned tune "Oleo" was added to the set as a vehicle for a Tim Bogert bass solo. Additionally, an original rock tune, "Chain Your Lovers To The Bedposts", was added to the show. Tim Bogert cleared up this mystery. When I played him a tape of the Stanley Theatre show, he burst out "That's a Kim Milford original song." Tim the proceeded to sing along with the song over the phone!

Jeff's playing at the time was phenomenal! He still had a Fender Stratocaster and since the band was not yet at the boogie volume it would eventually attain, the Strat cut through the band's sound nicely. They were still doing "Definately Maybe" and the version from the Stanley Theatre is a killer! More dates followed including: Gaelic Park, NY, Tampa, FL and Dallas, TX. After the Dallas show it was now apparent to everyone in the band that Kim Milford did not fit in onstage with the other heavyweight musicians. "Kim Milford wasn't cutting it with the crowd," recalls Tim. Carmine embellishes, "He was like a go-go dancer. The crowd couldn't take him."

On August 9th Jeff Beck hired Bob Tench to finish the tour which swung out to San Jose and San Bernadino on the 10th and 11th. "Boy, was I relieved when we got Bob Tench back" said Carmine.

After the tour some new material was quickly written back in England. It was common in those days for Jeff and the boys to play each other ideas over transatlantic telephone since both parties would opt for their homes after a tour.

The Jeff Beck Group next landed in Europe and played a more thunderous and boogie oriented style. Jeff filled in with more rhythm work, the volume was turned up and Max Middleton went on to other projects (Mick Taylor, Jack Bruce, Pete Brown, etc.). The group still had not changed it's name yet to properly reflect the powerful nature of the trio. Tim Bogert explains, "We were cautious about calling ourselves BBA because we wanted to see what would happen with the West, Bruce and Laing thing."

The trio toured all over Europe with some collectors' tape highlights being Amsterdam, Frankfurt and London. When "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You" segued into "People Get Ready", it featured the Long Island white soul harmonies of Tim and Carmine and gave a breather to the ever increasing thump of Carmine's double bass drums and Tim's powerful bass lines.

It was at this point that the mischevious friendly antics between Jeff and Timmy started to wane. "From then on, I was just a hired bass player", Tim matter of factly puts it. Carmine offered this, "Jeff came to me and asked if Timmy ever just plays the bottom groove?" I said to Jeff, "What you hear is what you get. Tim is such a great bass player that after a few months into a new band, he just starts to go wild and play those amazing solos." Jeff Beck, after the breakup of BBA reflected in the press, "Timmy played what I should have been playing."

Since the U.S. had not really seen the band in it's present form and they did have some new material, the band did a fall '72 October U.S. tour mostly of the east coast including collector taped Boston, MA, Rochester, NY and Passaic, NJ. Audience reaction was mind boggling. Here was Jeff finally revving up his Stratocaster and firing off run after run against the thunder of the Bogert/Appice rhythm section. Tim says, "We were kicking butt. About one out of every three shows was a killer. The money was great." At this time of course Stevie Wonder had made his own "Superstition" a mega hit. Jeff wistfully told the audience at the Music Hall in Boston on October 23 as he was introducing the song, "....and it ain't on Truth." Two other highlights of that tour come to mind. First, Jeff's most amazing renditions of "Jeff's Boogie" to date and secondly, the newly initiated theatrics at the end of the show where Beck would feign death on the stage floor after a pie in the face only to rise and smash one in Carmine's face after asking the audience for approval. This episode is available on trasferred home Super 8mm to VHS silent video to collectors (one for the family album, Jeff?). Carmine recounts, "I used to be in bands in the early days in New York that used to do things like that. Before those gigs in America, we used to do other things...Tim and I would fan down Jeff on stage with towels during his solo in 'Jeff's Boogie' as if to say, boy those solos are so hot, we've got to cool you down. Once in London we even showed up in ripped tuxedos."

Realizing that they had to record a proper Lp to sustain the group any further, the boys planned on entering a studio where childhood influences abounded and also was the studio where Jeff had previously created musical magic when the Yardbirds had recorded there in 1965. Where?...the legendary Chess Studio in Chicago. They didn't have alot of material so they brought in Don Nix who had years earlier penned the Beck classic "Going Down". Don gave Jeff a real earthy, down and dirty "Black Cat Moan", aptly named for the tremendous tones of Jeff's slide guitar and on which Beck also does the moaning vocals. "Lose Myself With You" (the re-worked "Let Me Love You"), "Lady" and "Why Should I Care" were already in the BBA live show format and needed to be put on vinyl. The boys' mutual love of R&B led them to agree on Curtis Mayfield's "I'm So Proud". "Superstition", by now a mega Stevie Wonder hit, was put on the Lp as an afterthought. "Sweet Surrender" beefed up the ballad portion of the Lp, another Don Nix tune and more importantly, a tune that the band didn't have to write. The final track to be decided upon was "Oh To Love You" also the only track that was done basically outside of Chess, in Long Island under Carmine's direction. "Jeff was supposed to play electric sitar on it but wound up almost not playing on it at all." Jeff did do overdubs on it later. Other friends of Tim and Carmine from the 60's groups days, Danny Hutton, Pete French, Duane Hitchings and Jim Greenspoon were called in to help with some arrangement and finishing touches.

Jeff's playing on the Lp is layered technical wizardry. Besides the aforementioned "Black Cat Moan", listen to the heavenly layering on "I'm So Proud". Similar technique is also evident on "Sweet Surrender". Therein lies a bit of the tragic paradox of the group, live they were about thunder, boogie and raucous crowds while in the studio it's the soft stuff that really shines. There is a reason for this schizophrenia however.

Conditions at Chess were horrendous. Tim recalls, "Everything went wrong. The roof leaked. The power went out numerous times during recording. There were just weird vibes. It affected Jeff's mood. Everyone was affected." Carmine then tells us about the final product and what happened to it. "Jeff gave the tapes to Don Nix to take to Memphis for the final mix and told him, 'Make Timmy and Carmine sound good. They're angels.'" That's exactly what Don Nix did, mix down Jeff's guitar while playing up the rhythm section. The result, a great white soul trio with a brilliant but laid back Jeff Beck guitar. The Lp sold well enough to garner a #33 in the charts.

The boys were now officially labeled BBA (which Jeff would later in the British press refer to as 'Baker, Yogurt and Appleseed" alluding to their idenity crisis.) For the ensuing spring U.S. tour, they rehearsed in the famous Rainbow Theatre in London which ironically was also to be the final place of their demise. A couple of test gigs were done, one being the London Imperial College of Printing in February 1973 and then they were off in April after the release of the Lp for one of the most thunderous tours of all time.

Determined to get that trio heavy Rock N' Rhythm wall of sound to cash in on what was left of that wanning market, Jeff switched from the Strat to a Les Paul. Ralph Baker explains, "The early Strats were notorious for the feedback and Jeff just liked the way the Les Paul cut through. He may have been influenced by what Eric (Clapton) achieved sound wise in Cream, having to compete with the other two powerful players."

The live set was strictly from the Lp with "Jeff's Boogie", "Morning Dew" and the medley "Plynth/Shotgun" added. Jeff would tease the crowd during the latter with the hook from the Yardbirds "Heart Full Of Soul". At this juncture a comment made by Jeff made to a journalist while on holiday from this tour seems to shed light on Beck's penchant for recurring little bits from the past as well as ominous influences and alliances for two of his at that point future recordings. "It's the same formula you see at a Tamla/Motown show where they come with a medley and it's so beautifully arranged you feel like you've heard all the numbers. I give 'em a little taste of a number then go onto another trip. Audiences in the States are really listening properly now and the Mahavishnu Orchestra have played a great part in getting 'em by the short and curlies and making 'em listen. I played with Roy Buchanan in Chicago by way, he was on the same bill as us with Wet Willie." (Singer Jim Hall later on the Flash Lp.)

The volume by now in the shows was intense with Univox speaker cabinets lining the stage. Carmine Appice had a big gong to open the show as Jeff would then introduce the "Magic Voice Bag" to do the opening lines to "Superstition". Also Jeff gave Carmine an original Vox Wah Wah pedal from his Yardbird days to use which Carmine did on the Japanese BBA live Lp. Besides knocking the audiences out with the rapid fire high end guitar lead, Jeff also filled in admirably on rhythm with chunky bits from that dark Les Paul.

A new market awaited BBA in Japan. While trios were losing their appeal in the U.S., Japan was just getting into them. BBA were recieved like gods and the two shows at the Koseinin Hall in Osaka were given to CBS/Sony in Japan for release as a double live Lp. This is cosmetically and guitar-riff wise a great double Lp. For years this Lp was very hard to obtain in the U.S. until the Japanese music import/export market opened up in the eighties. I got my copy through a con. I called up Sony in Japan from my college dorm in North Carolina claiming to be a major radio producer doing a special on Jeff Beck hence the need for the record. They sent me on to Epic in New York under my name but it got stolen. I called the then president of CBS records, Irwin Seigelstein to complain. His secretary, Karen Tantone (God bless you forever Karen.) not wanting the complaint to go through, sent me two copies. One I have to this day and the other I gave to WBCN in Boston, MA where a famouse DJ, Maxanne, who was crazy about Jeff got a hold of it and finally gave it to Joe Perry of Aerosmith (a long time Beck fan) for a Christmas present in 1975 or 76. Now you can get the BBA live in Japan in CD format through your local import music store! I asked Ralph Baker why the Lp was never released in the States. "It was designed for Japan only to cash in on success and for a large label (Epic) potential sales would not make it worthwhile tooling up for."

More gigs followed in the States and Europe with tour after tour. BBA made it to TV on the In Concert series playing "Superstition" and "Morning Dew" from their Santa Monica, CA show which is on collectors video. The only other broadcast video of BBA at the time Stateside (they did do French TV) is a rare one we are searching for. It was on a network documentary called "The Trouble With Rock" which told stories of a seedy element trying to muscle in on the success of rock stars. The BBA portion just quickly showed the band with a shotgun armed 'bodyguard' backstage. The 'bodyguard' was employed by an alleged mobster named Anthony Falcone who was forcing protection on CBS artists when they were in New York. Jeff Beck got on the CBS evening news to tell about the incident. Fortunately, Falcone was soon arrested. Suprisingly, Tim Bogert says he and Carmine weren't aware of what was happening but according to him it wasn't suprising at all as he told me, "Carmine and I have always been very well connected."

In the middle of all the BBA constant touring Jeff was summoned by David Bowie to guest at the last Spiders From Mars show in London as a favor to Mick Ronson who idolized Beck. Jeff did the two encores "Jean Genie" and "Round And Round". The agreement was Jeff could nix any deal to include his part of the performance on a later television broadcast, which he did. They broadcast the 1st encore anyway on the American TV show, In Concert. The second encore, featured Jeff on the Magic Bag with Bowie smiling his approval and was broadcast only in Europe although it's available to collectors now. Both performances were to be included in the Bowie movie release but again Jeff balked. Ralph Baker offers, "Jeff didn't feel he had played particularly well and I'm sure he wasn't comfortable with the image." (Bowie/Spiders).

It was during this time period right after a breif rest that an American tour was scheduled for July. Ralph Baker actually joined the BBA camp at this time though initially he explains..."but for that tour I was attached to the P.A. company that was brought over from the U.K." The actual road manager at the time, who was soon to leave, was Clive Colson. As that tour swung from Philadelphia to Tampa, FL, Jeff was getting tour weary and felt annoyed at having to compete with Tim Bogert for volume and soloing. Tim did lend some comic relief at the Charlotte show by imitating the support act, Dr. John, who threw glitter at the crowd from a little bag. After the Tampa show Jeff vanished. According to Ralph, "Tampa was the last gig. Jeff just got fed up and couldn't see the reason for the tour. Tim and Carmine were workers and their manager Phil Basile booked the band in the U.S. so it was natural for Phil to book endless dates. Jeff was a star and had not been part of that routine of work." Tim recalls, "We woke up at the hotel one day and Jeff was just gone." Carmine on the incident, "He had all of our road crew with equipment packed up on the truck ready to go and Jeff had already left. I couldn't believe it even to this day."

All Jeff needed was a rest and in less than a month's time he called Tim and Carmine over to England to record a studio followup to BBA which he hoped would feature some true original stuff from the band recorded close to his home so he wouldn't have to transatlantic travel. I asked Timmy why he went back over when it seemed that the groups end was imminent. "The money was great. We had been kicking butt on stage. Jeff just called and said come over. I was resigned at that point to just being the hired bass player. So I just said, 'Okaayy'." Ralph Baker adds, "I think Jeff had finally got fed up with the transatlantic travel whereas Timmy and Carmine didn't seem to mind."

The Lp was started at Escape Studio in the English countryside near Jeff's home. Most of the early tracks (see BBA II early tracks reviewology in this issue) succeeded to inject more funky guitar chops and white soul harmonies into the BBA boogie formula but there wasn't enough spark to thrill Jeff. The one thing that did interest Beck and probably did more to eventually break up the band than anything else, was this wonderful new energy specific rock/jazz music that Carmine was playing in his new Pantera sports car. Jeff and Carmine would drive around for hours listening to Mahavishnu and Billy Cobham. Jeff Beck was so hooked on that style he referred to Carmine's car stereo in the press as 'The Bible'. When you think back, imagine Jeff listening to Tommy Bolin playing off Jan Hammer on Cobham's "Spectrum" Lp and then have to go back to face the crowds clammering for more BBA endless boogies.

Determined to continue BBA's commercial success however, Jeff engaged in the old saying that if you can't bring the mountain to Mohammed then bring Mohammed to the mountain and thus the exciting and raw instrumental from BBA II. "Jizz Whizz" was hatched from the early Escape sessions and it is apparent that more concentration was given to finishing "Jizz Whizz" first before any of the other tracks. In the end Jeff was displeased with the whole Lp and put off the rest of the Lp recording to take a holiday. Meanwhile there was a growing pressure for BBA to tour in England since they had not done a proper series of engagements there since the fall of '72. They were getting good press in the U.K. and journalist Chris Welch was slated to do a series of articles on them for Melody Maker. A tour was thus planned but had to be postponed for a month until September because Tim Bogert broke his foot in a motorcycle accident in Long Island. The boys finally struck back on the stage with a vengance at a music festival at the Crystal Palace in London where a photo of Beck lashing out with a Les Paul was shot for the cover of Melody Maker.

Having arguments constantly within the band about musical direction, BBA desperately needed a producer to lend an objective direction for the tracks on the Lp. A second attempt was made to salvage the old tracks at De Lane Lea/Wembly Musical complex where Chris Welch go to review some of the new stuff for Melody Maker. In an attempt to secure a producer, BBA (having joked in Melody Maker that they were even considering bringing back Mickie Most to produce) sought after another mutual musical influence, Sly Stone. Ralph Baker explains, "As part of the process of making BBA II the band, Ernest (Chapman) and I went to see Sly at the Record Plant, Sausilito. They (BBA) spent a week recording with Sly under bizarre circumstances. Then Freddie (Stone) had a heart attack and that ended that."

After the Thanksgiving break (Carmine-"Tim and I always went back home for the holidays.") BBA landed themselves at CBS Studios in London for a final attempt to salvage BBA II. Studio volume at the time was a major issue with Jeff. One reported incident in the press was that one day Jeff cranked up the sound through a studio monitor just as Tim Bogert was passing by the speaker. With Tim howling in pain, Carmine was laughing at the joke. In fact, Carmine was probably the reason the band stayed together so long with his New York/New Jersey style of being a homeboy with a whatever happens-carefree attitude.

Jimmy Miller (Stones, Traffic) and engineer Andy Johns were brought in to save the project. Ralph Baker on Miller, "Miller had a good reputation and has again now. He was a non band member, that was the important thing." Old Beck member Max Middleton was called to add keyboards to heighten a key track. Everything possible was done to save the Lp but in the end, Jeff Beck was just not happy with it and the project was put again on what was to become the final holding pattern.

Back in the U.S., Epic Records was waiting with baited breath but they were helpless to do anything since everything was being decided in the U.K. A total news blackout of BBA was an inadvertant result. Beckology producer Gregg Geller who was with Epic at the time said, "I heard that there was a problem with the Lp but that was it."

After the New York holiday, BBA launched what was to be their final tour in January 1974. Ralph Baker offers, "I think the band felt that they owed the U.K. a tour." Remember they only did a couple of September '73 gigs. Melody Maker had saturated the U.K. music press with BBA articles. And extensive array of venues ensured some of which were Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol and Stoke-On-Trent (home of Royal Doulton fine china). The Manchester and Sheffield venues are on collectors tapes and at present we are looking into possibilities of the Bristol show at presstime. The final two show night of the tour was the Rainbow Theatre in London. Most of BBA II was performed at the shows except "Livin' Life Backwards" (A Pete Brown (Cream) composition. Jeff would return the favor on a '74 Pete Brown session, "Nights In Armour") and "Got To Find My Woman". "All In Your Mind" was not done at all the shows but can be heard at the Sheffield gig complete with Jeff's 'Magic Bag'. "Solid Lifter", the instrumental chord climb was enjoined with "Jizz Whizz" as the intro to it. At one show Carmine yelled out, "We're going to be doing songs from the new album, we're sick of the old ones." To which Tim Bogert added, "We're sick anyways." That was a literal statement as Tim had pneumonia the whole tour. "I had pneumonia for the entire U.K. tour and couldn't sing well. Carmine had to do most of the vocals."

At this point the U.S. audiences all of a sudden picked up the trail of BBA again on a syndicated FM radio broadcast of the early show at the Rainbow on January 26th. Epic kept the show for possible release which never occured. The show was bootlegged as "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" on vinyl and part of it was finally used on Beckology.

The last night at the Rainbow, tensions in the band were at a peak. Jeff was dying to do a solo Lp and Tim and Carmine were homesick for the states. Carmine sets the scene, "The band drove in seperate cars to the Rainbow Theatre. Ernest, Jeff and I drove in one car and I think Ralph, Timmy and Allan Dutton (Jeff's 70's guitar tech who looked just like him when he was setting up the stage) drove in the other car." Between the early (FM broadcast show) and the late show the deja vu finally happened as Tim took a hard swing at Jeff. Money was to be made at the second show however and 'the band played on'. Unbeknownst to Jeff's management, Carmine had one of the engineers record four tracks from the second show. On the opener, "Satisfied", you can hear Jeff's anger with the Jan Hammerish phrasings and rapid pulloffs. Beck's slide guitar on "Livin' Alone" is one of the best phrased slide solos ever!! Always a sucker for the 'slow stuff', my favorite from both shows is "Laughin' Lady" where Carmine reprises Stevie Wonders' blurt on "Lookin' For Another Pure Love", "Do it Jeff" as Beck launches into a bending emotional solo. The final track of the four is "Lady" and it never sounded better.

The day after the shows it was all over as Tim left for the States and Carmine stayed on to try and be a part of Jeff's solo project. Ralph Baker on Jeff's final disenchantment with staying on as BBA, "I drove the car on the '74 U.K. tour and it (fusion music Jeff and Carmine listend to) simply highlighted the technically advanced playing of Mahavishnu against the powerful by dated crude rock of BBA." As a postscript to the BBA story the Beck Bulletin has learned from Gregg Geller what no fan has ever known for sure before...that the finished BBA II product did make it's way to the Epic vaults in New York!! Maybe someday....

P.S. Coincidentally, Tim Bogert lived on Beck Avenue in North Hollywood for years until recently moving to Simi Valley. "I took s**t about that for fourteen years!"

Be seeing you

• JBB: Jeff, how did the idea for that lineup evolve and was it planned from the start as a TV gig?
• JB: "Yes, purely the TV company's idea."
• JBB: Was there ever a thought of a few live concert dates with that lineup?
• JB: "No."
• JBB: Who picked the material and how much did you guys rehearse?
• JB: "The TV company and the musicians, they had to be learned quickly!" Thanks Jeff, little things like that mean so much to us. Dick Wyzanski