Wolfman Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Anyone know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Led Boots Song Review by Joe Viglione An interesting component of the Jeff Beck catalog is the composition by keyboardist Max Middleton, a quirky and redundant riff called "Led Boots". Is this yet another acknowledgment that ex-Yardbird Beck ( and Middleton who joined shortly after the Truth and Beck Ola releases) could have taken on Led Zeppelin had they stayed the harder course - say Rod Stewart singing "You Shook Me" on Truth? If one takes Middleton's riff out of the jazz/fusion world Beck's music found itself in after his many evolutions, there's no doubt "Led Boots" would lend itself well to a "Kashmir"-type hard rock approach, and maybe tons of airplay years later on classic rock radio had they slowed the riff down and taken that road. But it is what it is, and as it stands, the George Martin produced track from Wired has become a musician's fave, covered by Vivian Campbell on the Jeffology tribute (a play on the Beckology boxed set title), Prashant Aswani on Rewired: A Tribute to Jeff Beck, as well as versions by Bunny Brunel and Ritchie Kotzen. It is four minutes of funk/rock from the 1976 Wired album which AMG's Mark Kirschenmann accurately describes as an "explosive opener ... where Beck erupts into a stunning solo of volcanic intensity." A compliment that is hard to re-phrase. The 1976 material seems light years away from the 1971 Steve Cropper produced Jeff Beck Group album and 1972's Rough & Ready and one also wonders if it wasn't a response by Middleton to - not only the success of the equally musical but less eloquent Led Zeppelin - but to the 1971 Black Sabbath song "Iron Man" which almost hit the Top 40 and eventually won a Grammy. "Heavy boots of lead" sang Ozzie while Max Middleton turned the phrase around for his title and carved out a rock/funk/fusion tune which is just as influential in its circles as Tony Iommi's lines are to the metalheads. There's even a cover band that took this song's title as their name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gospel Zone Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Jeff builds hot rods, so "Led Boots" could be referring to a heavy foot on the gas pedal. That reminds me of my favorite line in John Entwistle's (The Who) song "My Wife".... Gonna buy a fast car Put on my lead boots And take a long, long drive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Jeff builds hot rods, so "Led Boots" could be referring to a heavy foot on the gas pedal. I think that interpretation is just as valid as any I've seen. Perhaps the spelling was tweaked with a nod and a wink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfman Posted December 12, 2009 Author Share Posted December 12, 2009 Nice. Thanks Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazedcat Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 That's an interesting article on this tune. Personally speaking I think Led Boots is truly one of Jeff Beck's all time greatest tunes. I can't imagine it slowed down with vocals added but, that's a thought provoking concept. Thanks for posting the article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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