The news of the untimely passing of Jeff Beck last week landed like a lightning bolt in the firmament of the guitar gods. By any estimation, Beck was one of the select few—the very top elite players to emerge from the musical/cultural crucible of the  1960s and go on to a career of sustained greatness and glory. His primary peers were his fellow Yardbirds Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, along with Jimi Hendrix and Pete Townshend. In terms of direct equivalence regarding instrumental genius, innovation and influence—that's it. That's all.