Jeff Beck | Emotion and Commotion

If an artist is lucky enough to have a long career, the musical world that he or she creates over the years can be vast, ever evolving and revealing. Who would have guessed that monster, master guitarist Jeff Beck would name "Over The Rainbow" as one of his favorite songs? But then again, given his penchant for inspired interpretations of a beautifully eclectic assortment of songs, it's absolutely no surprise.

In the liner notes to his new album "Emotion and Commotion", Beck calls the song, that became Judy Garland's signature, one of the most beautiful ever written and says "I finally figured out what it is about Judy Garland's voice that gets straight to you; her vibrato is unsteady. Anyone else with an unsteady vibrato would make you cringe, but not her." No surprise, either that he notices and understands what it is about an instrument and an artist that gets to you.

Beck seems to simply love sound, and voices in particular, and all of the possibilities that present themselves when musicians gather to play. Joss Stone, Imelda May and Olivia Safe all provide guest vocals and Beck includes two Jeff Buckley songs because of being "amazed" by "the beauty of the way he sounded." The orchestration by Peter Murray is stunning and the perfect setting for Beck's guitar.

Listen...

It Might Get Loud | A New Power Trio

The Edge uttered the words that became the title of director Davis Guggenheim's new documentary "It Might Get Loud". U2's guitar player was about to demonstrate an element of his technique when he gave the warning, and this subsequent demonstration was just one of the many that revealed the unique artisty of three of rock's most legendary guitar players.

Guggenheim, the Oscar wining director of "An Inconvenient Truth" arranged a summit, where the guitarists would come together on a sound stage without ever meeting each other. When asked what he expected of the meeting, Jack White of The White Stripes and Raconteurs says "There will probably be a fist fight." The fact that the players not only didn't know each other but, also, had all in their own way and time rebelled against each other's music, provides a compelling story line that unfolds over the course of the movie. In the end they do come together, still at somewhat of a distance, and along the way we are all treated to insights into the music that these three created that will now, forever, be part of the experience of listening to their music.

Davis, a longtime Vineyard visitor and fan of mvyradio stopped by the station this week to talk about the film.

Hear my interview with Davis Guggenheim