See Jeff Beck, Steven Tyler Play Raucous ‘Train Kept A-Rollin”
Last summer, Jeff Beck staged a special 50th-anniversary concert at the Hollywood Bowl, where he played songs from his entire career, dating back to his days with the Yardbirds. Special guests, including Billy Gibbons, Buddy Guy and Jan Hammer, among others, joined him onstage to mark the occasion. One of the more rousing performances was a raucous cover of “Train Kept A-Rollin'” with Steven Tyler, which premieres here.
As they play the song, Tyler pantomimes playing guitar with his mic stand along with Beck’s riffing and wild solos. Tyler also locks eyes with Beck and drummer Jonathan Joseph, eventually howling and twirling around as the solo sections kick in. When it’s done, Tyler feigns a wiped-out look on his face. The performance features on Beck’s upcoming Live at the Hollywood Bowl release, due October 6th.
“It sure was a great night for me,” Jeff Beck tells Rolling Stone. “Fantastic venue with a long musical history, a song that runs through my veins and a singer who has sung it for over 40 years. I am blessed.”
The song, originally written and recorded by Tiny Bradshaw, has been covered countless times. Beck recorded it with the Yardbirds for 1965’s Having a Rave Up With the Yardbirds LP, and Aerosmith tackled it on their second LP, 1974’s Get Your Wings, and it has since become a classic-rock radio staple.
Live at the Hollywood Bowl is available for preorder as a two-CD set with either a DVD or a Blu-ray (or a DVD and three-LP collection available via PledgeMusic). It finds Beck performing songs like the Yardbirds’ “For Your Love,” his solo favorite “Beck’s Bolero” and his stunning instrumental cover of the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life,” among other tracks, leading up to tunes on his recent Loud Hailer album. Gibbons joins him for a cover of ZZ Top’s “Rough Boy,” and Tyler also joins him for “Shapes of Things,” a tune Beck recorded with the Yardbirds and later re-cut in 1968 for the Jeff Beck Group’s debut LP, Truth. All of Beck’s guests join him on the encore, a cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain.”