Johnny Depp teams up with guitarist Jeff Beck for full-length album

Johnny Depp teams up with legendary guitarist Jeff Beck for full-length album featuring covers of classic artists as well as two new originals

With his massive victory in his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber behind him, Johnny Depp can now direct his focus on his art and career.

And just this week Depp confirmed he has teamed up with legendary guitarist Jeff Beck to record a new studio album that’s set to drop in July.

The 13-track collection includes two new Depp originals and an eclectic mix of cover songs ranging from such iconic artists as the Beach Boys, Marvin Gaye and John Lennon to alternative rockers such as Killing Joke and The Velvet Underground.

Collaboration: Johnny Depp, 59, teamed up with legendary guitarist Jeff Beck, 77, for an upcoming studio album titled ’18’

The upcoming album, which is slated to be released July 15, is titled 18.

‘When Johnny and I started playing together, it really ignited our youthful spirit and creativity. We would joke about how we felt 18 again so that just became the album title too,’ Beck, 77, said in a statement about the album, as reported by Billboard.

In keeping with their fond teenage memories that were sparked by the music, the two artists decided to use an illustration of themselves as 18-year-olds, drawn by Beck’s wife Sandra, for the album cover.

For Depp, 59, who grew up listening to Beck’s music, the collaboration is something of a dream come true.

‘It’s an extraordinary honor to play and write music with Jeff, one of the true greats and someone I am now privileged enough to call my brother,’ Depp added in their statement.

Story behind the title: The upcoming studio album was titled ’18’ when Beck and Depp realized that their collaboration made them feel like they were 18 again

The duo first met in 2016, and quickly bonded over conversations about guitars and cars, all while trying to make each other laugh.

Over the years Beck began to appreciate Depp’s songwriting abilities, which led to the former Yardbirds guitarist to play on a song, Welcome To Bushwacker, that appeared on the Hollywood Vampires’ album Rise (2019). Depp co-founded the supergroup in 2012 along with Alice Cooper and Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry.

Seeing Depp’s musical talent up-close and sensing their chemistry was undeniable, it was Beck who suggested they record songs that would eventually make up ’18’. 

While in the recording studio, Beck says they challenged each other, in part, by picking certain songs to cover for the album.

The album: The 13 -track album consists of two new Depp originals and cover songs written by such artists as the Beach Boys, Marvin Gaye, John Lennon, The Everly Brothers, Killing Joke and The Velvet Underground

‘I haven’t had another creative partner like him for ages,’ Beck confessed, adding, ‘He was a major force on this record. I just hope people will take him seriously as a musician because it’s a hard thing for some people to accept that Johnny Depp can sing rock and roll.’ 

Beck also offered high praise for one of the Depp originals – This Is A Song For Miss Hedy Lamarr – that made the cut to be on the album.

‘I was blown away by it,’ the Jeff Beck Group star revealed. ‘That song is one of the reasons I asked him to make an album with me.’

Depp’s abilities as a musician can be heard on such covers as Caroline, No by the Beach Boys, Marvin Gaye’s Ooo Baby Baby, Venus In Furs from The Velvet Underground and Killing Joke’s Death And Resurrection Show.

The Beck-Depp album ’18’ will be released digitally and on CD on July 15, and then be followed up by a vinyl edition on September 30.

Coming: The Beck-Depp album ’18’ will be released digitally and on CD on July 15, and will be followed up by a vinyl edition on September 30

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