A drawing of two teenagers adorns the album cover. Guys from different, but bygone decades. White t-shirts, pomade in their hair, guitars and microphones in their hands. One is one of the biggest Hollywood stars today, the other one of the most gifted guitarists in the world. You two – Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck – have now recorded the joint album “18”, which will be released on Friday.
Most of the 13 tracks are covers. Motown soul songs are included as well as titles by The Beach Boys, The Velvet Underground or Killing Joke. You can also hear the very touching “This Is A Song For Miss Hedy Lamarr”, a composition by Depp himself. The song is a homage to the legendary Austrian-American actress Lamarr (1914-2000).
Depp and Beck are currently touring Europe. Anyone who sees the two stars together on stage can guess what they are all about: the pure love of music. There is 78-year-old Beck, whose virtuoso guitar playing really gets under your skin. And there is Depp, now 59, who wanted to be a rock star as a teenager. Great career and limelight came, albeit notoriously in a different field.
The two men are said to have met in 2016. It is said that the chemistry between them was right. The passion for guitars, for cars, the shared sense of humor. The multiple Grammy award winner Beck recognized Depp’s talent for songwriting and convinced him of an album together.
Allusions to Heard
It may still surprise some people that the actor (“Pirates of the Caribbean”) makes music. In fact, Depp is not a newcomer. Twelve years ago he formed the supergroup Hollywood Vampires with rock singer Alice Cooper and Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, with whom he has since recorded two albums. The band also worked with Paul McCartney and Foo Fighters singer Dave Grohl, among others.
Most recently, however, the Hollywood star had made headlines with the defamation process between him and his ex-wife Amber Heard. In the second song from the album, written by Depp, “Sad Mother Fuckin’ Parade”, some media want to recognize a reference to Heard.
Guitarist Jeff Beck at the Helsinki Blues Festival.
– © Reuters / Lehtikuva / Jussi Nukari
As early as 2020, Beck and Depp released a cover version of John Lennon’s “Isolation” as the first track together, very appropriate in times of the pandemic. In most of the songs, Depp convinces with clear singing and a voice that still seems young – even if there are some compromises to be made during the live performance. He was recently greeted by some female fans in Offenbach with screeching “Johnny” calls and at the end of the show he was thrown at least one brassiere – very rock star-like.
Mutual praise
On the occasion of the album release, both do not skimp on mutual praise. “It is an extraordinary honor to play and write music with Jeff. He is one of the greats and I have the privilege of being able to call him my brother now,” Depp is quoted as saying. “It’s been forever since I had a creative partner of his caliber,” Jeff Beck said.
The record title “18” and the youthful album cover are of course related. Because the drawing mentioned shows the two as 18-year-olds. Beck also explains how they came up with it: “When Johnny and I started playing together, it sparked a youthful spirit and creativity in us – so much so that we kept joking about feeling 18 again.” (dpa)
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