Jeff Beck at His Best in 11 Songs
“I don’t care about the rules. In fact, if I don’t break the rules at least 10 times in every song then I’m not doing my job properly.” — Jeff Beck
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“Heart Full of Soul” by the Yardbirds
Graham Gouldman, later of 10cc, wrote the Yardbirds’ first hit, “For Your Love,” and their second, 1965’s “Heart Full of Soul.” In the interim, Eric Clapton left the band, unhappy with its musical direction. Clapton was replaced by Jeff Beck, who brought a more experimental style to the band.
Gouldman’s demo of “Heart Full of Soul” may have suggested that Indian music be incorporated into the tune. Producer Giorgio Gomelsky hired a sitar and a tabla player for the session. Beck was unhappy with the sitar player’s take on the instrumental hook.
“The sitar player couldn’t get the 4/4 time signature right; it was a hopeless waste of time,” Beck recalled in the sleeve notes of the box set Beckology. “So I said, ‘Look, is this the figure?’ I had the fuzz machine, a Tone Blender, going. We did one take, it sounded outrageous. So they kept the tabla player, who could just about make it work. They rushed that out, and the rest was a rollercoaster ride.”
