Solos

This solo didn’t take me as long as my radio silence on this blog would indicate. I had to take a hiatus from practicing for a while due to work pressures and other family commitments that cropped up over the past few weeks.

I got back into practicing a few days ago and polished it off fairly quickly. I’m proud of how this turned out. Let me know if it captures the essence of Mick Jones’ raunchy style.

I bought my first LP in 1978. I was 11 years old. My dad had given me and my brother, Jak, a stereo system for Christmas the year before and handed down a few of his albums, but our collection was quite limited — a couple of Neil Diamond and ABBA records that he didn’t listen to anymore.

Jak bought a few Styx and Journey albums, and he got some heavy metal albums from a friend whose evangelical Mom had forced him to get rid of them. My first contribution to our shared collection was the debut Foreigner album, simply called Foreigner. I had heard “Feels Like the First Time” and “Cold as Ice” on the radio, but I fell in love with some of the other, less-known songs like “Long, Long Way from Home,” “Starrider,” and “Headknocker”. The feeling of playing the first music that I had purchased with my own money is something I can’t describe, but in a way I was proud of that album, and that made me like it even more.

I wanted to include a Foreigner solo in this project, but none of the songs on their first album had the right combination of difficulty and length. I already discussed my experience with Jukebox Hero, so I didn’t want to rehash that, so I picked the raunchy, instant-classic solo from “Hot Blooded”. Here’s the whole song. Solo starts at 2:40.

I bought the album Double Vision pretty soon after Foreigner and I was a little nervous bringing it home and putting it on the turntable. Would I be disappointed after loving their first album so much? The driving beat and distortion guitar at the beginning of “Hot Blooded” caught me instantly. I was not disappointed. The solo fits perfectly in the progression, with some difficult speed work, insane bends and a reckless feel. I can’t wait to dive in.

Mick Jones is more well-known as a songwriter and producer, but he’s an amazing guitar player. He’s not one to solo for 3-4 minutes, but his short solos pack a lot of power and skill. Here’s a picture of his signature black Gibson Les Paul. He’s lately been seen playing a sunburst Les Paul, but this is the one he’s best known for.

Resources

Backing Track: http://www.guitarbackingtrack.com/play/foreigner/hot_blooded_(2).htm
Tabs: http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/f/foreigner/hot_blooded_guitar_pro.htm
Lesson: http://vanderbilly.com/Guitar-Lesson-foreigner-hot-blooded-part-22-solo,11986,1.html

Inspiration

Live in Concert in the mid-80s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDnXll1zyNA

Two weeks later and it’s done. I’m kind of sad to see this one over with. It’s such a fun solo to play, with bends all over the place and a lot of movement up the neck. But I must move on. Let me know what you think.

In 1981, when I was a sophomore in high school, and my older brother Jak was a senior, I relied on him for transportation to and from school. He drove my Dad’s old 1979 VW microbus, which we affectionately termed the “Magic Bus” (and which I would later inherit and use for illicit activities). I remember one day he picked me up, and as I got into the passenger seat, he turned to me and said “You gotta hear this.” He slipped a fresh white cassette in to the cassette player and turned the volume up.

The first raunchy chords of “Back in Black” boomed from the speakers. It was my first exposure to AC/DC and I had never heard anything like it. The singer had a voice that sounded like a cross between a growl and a scream. We drove slowly around the high school parking lot. By the time “You Shook Me All Night Long” came on, I was hooked. I knew I would love this band forever. I later went back and listened to the older stuff, with Bon Scott, and fell in love with that too, but it would never have the visceral gut-level appeal that the album Back in Black does for me.

Although there are many good solos on that album, I chose “You Shook Me…” because I feel it captures the essence of Angus Young’s solo style and it has a great build up to it that sounds fun to play. Here’s the full song and the original music video on YouTube.

I don’t have an SG, but I think I can get a similar sound from my Les Paul. Here’s a photo of Angus Young’s signature cherry SG — what a sweet guitar:

I never got to see AC/DC live as a teenager, and now that I could see them (they are playing Houston and Dallas in a few weeks), I find the thought mildly distasteful. I don’t want to ruin my memories of that time with a chunky Brian Johnson and balding Angus parading around the stage. I’m sure they still sound great, but they are way past their glory days.

Here’s how I want to remember Angus Young, the wild child with the schoolboy outfit who just knew how to rock:

Resources:

Video Lesson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydOctq2pJOo

Text  Tabs: http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/a/ac_dc/you_shook_me_all_night_long_ver13_tab.htm

GuitarPro Tab: http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/a/ac_dc/you_shook_me_all_night_long_ver4_guitar_pro.htm

Inspiration:

A live version of the song from a concert in 1991

Whew!

This is the first solo where I’m just glad it’s over. I don’t want to denigrate The Cars or Eliot Easton in any way. The song and the solo are amazing. It’s just not my style and it’s so damn fast.

I’m really glad I stuck with it, though. The speed and finger work I had to learn will definitely help me down the road. That said, I cannot wait to start learning the next solo, which is…  well, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to learn that.

I recorded this one sitting down. Standing up was just not comfortable for this one. Let me know how I did.

I know. I know. It’s been forever since I posted. I bet you thought I had given up on this project.

But no. I’m still here and still plugging away. The summer was difficult as there is not a set routine, and finding the time to practice proved hard, but since school has started and I am back on a predictable routine, I’ve been practicing religiously. It’s starting to pay off.

Here’s a very rough video of where I am on Best Friend’s Girl. It’s by far the most difficult solo I’ve tried to learn, but I think I’m getting there. Let me know in the comments.

The Cars eponymous debut album has always been one of my favorites, even though I discovered it years after it had been released. It’s one of those albums that when you listen to it, you forget how many of the songs were hits and how good they all are: “Good Times Roll,” “My Best Friend’s Girl,” “Just What I Needed,” “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight,” “Bye Bye Love.” In my opinion it stands as one of the best debut albums in rock and roll, along with Boston, Appetite for Destruction and Pearl Jam’s Ten.

Here’s the whole song on YouTube — the solo starts at 1:58.

I picked this solo for two reasons. First, it’s got a completely different style and sound than the other solos I’ve been working on — a Chet Atkins twang-a-billy sound that George Harrison ripped off in the Beatle’s “I Will,” and which was lifted again by Elliot Easton for this song. It’s just a great, different and difficult solo, which makes it perfect for this project.

Second, I have a good story to go with it. I went to see the Cars in concert in 1983 as a Junior in High School. They played at Austin’s Southpark Meadows Outdoor Amphitheater, which was basically a large open pasture with a stage at one end and a 10-foot high wooden fence around it. It is now a gigantic strip-mall. I could wax nostalgic about the loss of one of Austin’s landmark music venues, but the truth is that it really wasn’t a great venue. I went to three shows there and don’t really remember enjoying any of them. It’s probably more entertaining as a mega retail center, with ten or twelve restaurants and a theater.

Regarding the concert, well, there’s no way to sugar coat this… the Cars sucked in concert. If you want proof, check out this YouTube video. Not only were they pretty lifeless on stage, the sound mixing was awful and their vocal harmonies were not on key. All in all it would have been a very unmemorable night, except for who I went to the concert with.

I went with my best friend Andy Hartsock and his girlfriend at the time, Kathy. She, coincidentally, had been briefly, and very recently, my girlfriend. So I got to experience the full frontal irony of listening to the Cars playing “My Best Friend’s Girl” with my best friend and his girl, who in truth used to be mine. And the Cars sucked, which was like salt in the wound.

Andy and Kathy broke up shortly after that, and she and I got back together and stayed together for about three years, so although I remember being hurt and lonely at the concert, it all worked out. And Andy is still my best friend.

Here’s a picture of Easton’s signature Gretsch hollow-body guitar. It’s got those two twangy humbuckers and a very distinctive sound. I don’t have access to a Gretsch, so I’m borrowing a Fender Telecaster from my buddy Dave (thanks Dave!), which is the kind of guitar Elliot recorded the song on in the first place.

Resources:

Video Lesson: http://vanderbilly.com/play.aspx?id=8281&opTyp=

Tabs: http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/c/cars/my_best_friends_girl_ver2_tab.htm

Backing Track: Sorry, there isn’t a good backing track for this song available. I had to scrounge it together from several sources and make my own. If you want a copy, send me an email.

Inspiration:

Here’s a pretty cool DVD that I’ve heard good things about, with Elliot Easton himself teaching many of his iconic guitar parts: http://www.amazon.com/Guitars-Elliot-Easton-Essential-Collection/dp/0739040294/ref=sr_1_1

This solo took way, way longer than I thought it would to complete. There are two main reasons for this. First, I didn’t play guitar for a month, mainly due to my Mom’s passing, funeral and interment ceremonies which took a lot of my time and emotional energy. I also got very busy at work during the same time, so I was doubly pressed for time.

Second, the solo is a lot harder than it looks. Getting all the pinch harmonics in the right places is a nightmare — I ended up doing pretty well with it, but it’s by no means an exact duplicate.

It’s a really fun solo to play, however, and one of my favorites so far. I hope you like it. Let me know in the comments.

Well, after about a month and a half away from my guitar, I finally have started daily practicing again. It feels good, except that I had let my callouses go away and I now have large painful blisters on my first three fingers. I’m getting really close on this solo, but I’m not quite there yet. I think another few days to a week and I’ll be there.

This was recorded on my iPhone using the front camera, so the quality is not as good as my usual posts, but I just wanted to get something quick and dirty out so my blog didn’t get too stale. Let me know what you think.

In the early ’80s, much of the music that I consumed came through the television. MTV was a revelation and a revolution, and me and my friends could not get enough of it. We all lamented their long, slow slide from a music video channel, to something else, something less, something unworthy of their initials.

I think no other video defines that era for me than Bon Jovi’s stylistic, black & white, band-on-the-road video for Wanted Dead or Alive. The incredible irony of the video is that the song lamented the trials and loneliness of life on the road for a megaband, while at the same time made me as a teenage boy yearn for that lifestyle. As an adult, I think of how incredibly whiny the sentiment is — poor Bon Jovi and his international success. How hard that must have been.

But as a kid, I accepted it without cynicism. Yeah, it’s hard and lonely on the road, but it’s worth it to see a million faces and rock them all.

If Jon Bon Jovi is the driving force behind the song, then Ritchie Sambora is the linchpin that holds it all together. His ethereal and melodic 12-string riffs give the song its backbone, and his unexpected and raunchy solo that acts as the turning point to the song. Finally, he’s the voice behind the unforgettable one-word backing vocal, the soulful “Waaaan-ted!” that no one can resist singing along with.

In the video and on tour, Ritchie plays this iconic dual-neck Ovation. His solo is filled with what are known as “pinch harmonics” or “squealies” — they give the solo it’s hard edge and reckless feel, and they are not easy to create. The technique involves hitting the string with your thumb at the same time as the pick, causing a harmonic tone. I admit that I’m not very good or consistent at it, and that’s the one thing that might cause this solo to take longer than usual. We’ll see if I can get better quickly.

Resources:

Whole song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oot0GtjQuxQ

Backing Track: http://www.guitarbackingtrack.com/play/bon_jovi/wanted_dead_or_alive_(2).htm

Lesson 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjTDfXqJOH0

Lesson 2, part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FaJMzuGU18

Lesson 2, part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INOxBN-Jeuc

Solo Tab: http://www.azchords.com/b/bonjovi-tabs-564/wanteddeadoralivesolo-tabs-69327.html

Music Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRvCvsRp5ho