This post is a little overdue. It's been sitting on my desktop for almost a week now. I had to narrow some of these guitar moments down and I was afraid that I'd forgotten some. It was hard as they're all so precious to me. I might have to make a sequel with some of the leftovers and the forgotten. Here goes:
If you're me, or like me, there are some moments in songs that just make you want to pull out your air guitar and let the fingers of your left hand fly up and down the air frets. Some bring a tear to your eye while others inspire you to crank the volume up until it hurts your ears and doesn't even sound good on your speakers anymore, still others make you wish you had a girlfriend's hand to hold while listening. Some are all of those at once (ooh, I just thought of another one). These ten aren't in any particular order other than the order that they came to my mind. They also aren't all "solos." The glory of some (or most) of these guitar "moments" involves more than just one guitar track. If there are some here you haven't heard, I'd recommend downloading them. They're all worth 99 cents.
2. Solo from "Crown" by Collective Soul - It's fitting that such an emotional song by Ed Roland about his father should include an emotional solo. Ross Childress' playing on this track leaves nothing wanting. The emotion builds as the ringing notes from the guitar move up the scale and lead right into the final chorus.
3. Riff from "Moses" by Coldplay - This song was only released on the Live 2003 album. So, not as many people are familiar with it, which is a shame as it's one of my favorite Coldplay songs. The riff I'm talking about here is the lead one, not the rhythm, thought that one is good as well. It's those high range ringing notes that get me every time.
4. Intro to "Where the Streets Have No Name" by U2 - This is another excellent example of high range ringing notes. Also an amazing use of the delay effect. I don't know how The Edge comes up with this stuff, but I wish I could too.
5. Solo from "Invincible" by Muse - There were so many Muse moments that I wanted to include, but this is the one I decided on. If you've ever seen it played live you might know why. Matt Bellamy is one of the most talented guitarists in today's music. This solo is the most beautiful and impressive combination of hammer ons and finger tapping that I know of.
6. "Foreplay/Long Time" by Boston - If my English teacher even reads my blog entries, he might fail me if I didn't include Boston in this list. If I ever made a list of top ten organ or keyboard moments, this song would make that list as well. I can't even pick one part of this song for my "guitar moment." From the two and a half minute intro to the several rhythm and lead solos, this song is guitar bliss.
7. Acoustic Rhythm Guitars in "Carriage" by Counting Crows - It was about time I included something on the soft side in this list. The acoustic guitars in this song seem to dance around each other and through the chords. They provide the perfect layer for Adam Duritz's vocals as well as a beautiful trumpet solo to float over.
8. "The Bucket" by Kings of Leon - Rhythm guitar that is more than just the same old chords always catches my attention. This is just a great song to turn up loud and rock out to.
9. "Blue Orchid" by The White Stripes - The guitar riffs in this song have such a fat, juicy sound that you can almost taste. I don't know if it's an octave effect, doubling, or just overdubbing that makes that sound, but I love it.
10. Solo from "When I Look At the World" by U2 - I tried to keep only one entry from each group, but this one just had to be here. Edge also employs the delay effect on this one, but also uses a slide on his electric guitar. The result is as close to audio euphoria as I have ever come in my sojourn on this Earth.
There you are. I hope I've inspired some music downloads. iTunes gives me 15%.
-- Mikey
1 comment:
I believe I very much a agree with your choices...good choices. I had to smile when I saw Kings of Leon's "The Bucket" on there. Wonderful!
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