Jeff Beck & Johnny Depp 18 (CD)

(Rhino) 13 tracks, digisleeve

When Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck met in 2016, they quickly sensed that there was a special connection between them - and not just because they shared a passion for cars and guitars. They could make each other laugh, at the same time Beck became increasingly aware that Depp was a serious songwriter and had an ear for music. This combination of talent and strong chemistry between them convinced Beck that they should record an album together.

Depp agreed, and so they went to work beginning in 2019. Over the next three years, they recorded a mix of Depp originals and a wide range of cover songs, from Celtic to Motown to the Beach Boys and Killing Joke. In 2020, they gave the world its first taste of their collaboration - with a cover version that couldn't have been more fitting in the midst of the pandemic: "Isolation," John Lennon's song originally released in 1970. (Isolation is included on the CD, but not on the LP).

And now you can look forward to an entire album from the duo. It comes out July 15 and is titled 18, and Beck explains why: "When Johnny and I started playing together, it fueled a youthful spirit and creativity in us - so much so that we kept joking about feeling 18 again. And so it eventually became the album title." The album cover also features an illustration of Beck and Depp as 18-year-olds, drawn and designed by Beck's wife Sandra.

18 will be released first on CD and digitally, followed by a version of the album on black vinyl (180g) on September 30.

Hollywood star Johnny Depp is by no means a newcomer to the music business: 12 years ago he formed the supergroup Hollywood Vampires with Alice Cooper and Joe Perry, with whom he has since toured and recorded two albums featuring some of the biggest rock stars of our time, including Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl and Joe Walsh. Beck also made a guest appearance, playing guitar on Welcome To Bushwackers, a song from the Vampires' second album Rise, released in 2019.

A little later, Depp asked Beck to play lead guitar on a song he had written - This Is A Song For Miss Hedy Lamarr, now the first single from the album. The song is a tribute to the Austrian-American actress and inventor of the same name and holds a special place on the album. "It just blew me away," Beck said. "The song is one of the reasons I asked him to do an album with me." This Is A Song For Miss Hedy Lamarr is available digitally starting today and is accompanied by a music video, which you can watch here.

Johnny Depp is also full of praise for the collaboration, "It's an extraordinary honor to play and write music with Jeff. He's one of the greats and I'm privileged to now call him my brother."

One reason for the extraordinarily fruitful collaboration between the two stars was that they pushed each other to step outside their respective comfort zones with the cover songs they chose. "It's been forever since I last had a creative partner of his caliber," Beck pays tribute to his counterpart. "He was a driving force on this record. I just hope people take him seriously as a musician, because it's hard for some to accept that Johnny Depp can sing rock 'n' roll. Indes: just listening to 18 once should permanently convince even the last doubters."

On songs like Venus In Furs (The Velvet Underground), the Everly Brothers ballad Let It Be Me and Marvin Gaye's soul classic What's Going On, Depp demonstrates an incredible emotional range. On the instrumentals, it's up to Beck to demonstrate why he is revered worldwide as a guitar god with fantastic versions of Midnight Walker (Davy Spillanes) and two songs from the Beach Boys masterpiece Pet Sounds - Caroline, No and Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder).

Einer der besten, wenngleich auch eigenwilligsten Gitarristen des Rock. Erlangte erste Berühmtheit 1965, als er bei den Yardbirds die Sologitarre spielte. Stieg 1967 aus, gründete ein Jahr später die Jeff Beck Group. Mitspieler waren Ron Wood und Rod Stewart. Im Oktober1969 trennte sich diese Band. Wood und Stewart schlossen sich den Faces an. 1970 zerstörte ein schwerer Autounfall sämtliche Zukunftspläne für Jeff Beck. Während einer zweijährigen Zwangspause vergaßen ihn die Fans fast, da nahm er die LP „Rough and ready' auf. Auf ihr spielte u. a. auch Cozy Powell mit. Anschließend gründete Beck mit Schlagzeuger Carmine Appice (geboren 15.12. 1947 in Staten Island - New York) und Bassist Tom Bogert (geboren 19. 8.1944 in New York) die schon legendäre Gruppe Beck, Bogert 8- Appice. Zwei LPs wurden von diesem Supertrio aufgenommen, seit Sommer 1974 geht Jeff Beck wieder Solo. Geboren wurde er am 24. 6.1944 in Wallington - Surrey. Neueste LP: „Blow by blow' Original Presse-Info: CBS Schallplatten GmbH