Rock - All stars at garden
By JON PARELES Published: December 11, 1983
Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page - three leading British rock guitarists of the late 1960's - were the focal points of Ronnie Lane's Appeal for ARMS, an all-star jam session to benefit Action Research Multiple Sclerosis. Together with members of the Rolling Stones and the Who and half a dozen other British rock veterans, they sold out Madison Square Garden for two nights last week.
Mr. Lane, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, was a member of the Small Faces, which also included the Who's current drummer, Kenney Jones, and the Rolling Stones's guitarist, Ron Wood, both of whom appeared Thursday. For the concert's conclusion, Mr. Lane joined the massed band to sing his own ''Long Gone'' and Leadbelly's ''Good Night Irene,'' two jaunty songs about death.
Yet the concert was by no means somber or nostalgic. Although Mr. Page, Mr. Beck and Mr. Clapton were all members of the Yardbirds, a 1960's British blues-and-rock band, when they finally played together the vehicle was Mr. Clapton's ''Layla.'' And when they led bands, they concentrated on more recent songs that showed how much their three blues- based styles have diverged. Mr. Page, who shaped the now-defunct Led Zeppelin, played the most enigmatic set. It included a version of a Chopin piano prelude, an instrumental rendition of Led Zeppelin's ''Stairway to Heaven,'' songs from Mr. Page's soundtrack for ''Deathwish II'' (sung by Paul Rodgers of Bad Company) and a long new song that was an inventory of Mr. Page's guitar fixations - folksy fingerpicking, bludgeoning hard-rock chords, psychedelic sustained notes and a sort of loping funk.
In a set of understated blues-and country-style songs, Mr. Clapton sang and played with an all-American, roots-inflected soulfulness. He was held back, however, by a lumbering rhythm section - Mr. Jones and Charlie Watts (of the Rolling Stones) on drums, either of whom would have been far better alone - plus the unnecessary percussion of Ray Cooper. Mr. Clapton and the band also accompanied the singer Joe Cocker.
Mr. Beck led a four-piece band in a set of chugging rock instrumentals. He has rarely performed live in recent years, but his distinctive mixture of fluent phrases and rude interruptions was intact.