Guitars were front and centre with the first British Invasion that began in 1964 with the Beatles American debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. The boys played them louder and up front with the vocals. However, the guitar solos of that era were largely bridges between the 2nd and 3rd verses. It wasn’t until Eric Clapton with Cream and Jimi Hendrix began stretching out the solos that much more was expected. Extended solos took off for broader audiences with the release of ‘Disraeli Gears’ and ‘Are You Experienced’. However, some guitarists got the jump ahead of time and really let it out, albeit briefly. The following are my picks as the top 10 guitar solos from the first wave of the British invasion era.
10. George Harrison- Taxman. Harrison was a quintessential bridge guitarist. Under Lennon and McCartney’s leadership and George Martin’s musical direction he was constrained to play what they wanted on their songs. In this case he wrote his own song and let out all the anger at having 95% of his earnings taxed away.
9. Keith Richards- Heart of Stone. The Stones lead guitarist has never been a premiere soloist. His strength has always been in great chords and repeating lines. He did let loose on this one, however. Besides what is any rock and roll list without the Stones.
8. Jim McGuinn- Eight Miles High. This is the first song to feature an extended solo that expands on the song. Several groups including later versions of the Byrds would use this song as a platform for extended jams but McGuinn led the way.
7. Zal Yanovsky- Night Owl Blues. Kingston Ontario restaurateur Zal Yanovsky proved that the Lovin’ Spoonful didn’t have to be so nice all the time. Some great pre-Cream wired out blues.
6. Dave Davies- You Really Got Me. Davies’ solo sounds like a jail break with an early and Kinky shot across the bow to bridge soloists.
5. Jim McCarty- Devil with the Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly. Detroit area rock n’ rollers were often one step ahead of the rest of the world in the 60s. McCarty both wired it out and provided a bridge between the two songs for Mitch Ryder.
4. Jeff Beck- The Train Kept a Rollin’. Actually, an entire top 10 could be constructed of Beck’s Yardbird solos. Every garage band in the world had to play this tune. It was the first song to feature not one but two guitar solos both with superb Beck construction and phrasing.
3. Dave Davies- All Day and All of the Night. I know. This song sounds like a redo of You Really Got Me but the solo works better. In YRGM the solo just runs out. This one builds up and finishes nicely.
2. Eric Clapton- I Ain’t Got You. Eric explodes out of an otherwise forgettable song; pure electricity from the master. This is the second entry for the Yardbirds and the list ain’t over.
1. Jeff Beck- Shapes of Things. The feedback line that runs contrapuntally with the main line has to have been overdubbed. This solo is so good that even Jimmy Page couldn’t play it very well in his Yardbirds’ years. There is a clip of Beck playing it live and he did better. However, he failed miserably when trying to improve on it with the Jeff Beck Group. The original solo synthesizes all the dread and pathos that the song tried and largely failed to capture.
This list is subject to change. As noted, I could easily pop in 4 or 5 Jeff Beck solos from his year and change of recording with the Yardbirds. At any one time I could do some shuffling. However, I am sticking with my number one selection. It’s the greatest short solo of any era.
No comments:
Post a Comment