Hey, time for some more end of the year crapola! Not that this particular post has anything to do with such an idea, but hey, we can keep the wheels rolling here even if I don't have ten albums you should have heard this year that I'd probably more than likely forget by next year. I mean, I've looked back at some of those lists I've published over the years, and I think I must have been seriously high or just lazy when seeing some of the stuff I listed as "best of the year."
Aaaaanyway, on to the topic at hand which is, of course, my two very favorite guitar solos of all-time! I've heard a lot of music over the years, and as we all know, the guitar solo is one of those staples in rawk music that can often provide perhaps the most memorable moment of a song. Other times, the guitar solo can just make you wish the guitarist would give it up and end the damn song already. Grateful Dead, anyone?
OK, that was an easy shot, but it's there for whatever that's worth. So without further babbling, let's get on to this very short list, won't you?
1. The Knack - "My Sharona"
Get The Knack is one of the greatest albums of all time, period. Now, a lot of people get excited when they hear the opening drum beats and bass riff to this tune, either in a fit of nostalgia, or because they're part of that Gen X crew who saw Reality Bites and thought it was totally rad when it was used in the soundtrack. But I think these folks get excited about the tune for the wrong reason. The right reason? Berton Averre's guitar solo, of course!
You get to the middle of that song and Averre just takes off like there's no tomorrow. But the solo is one of those that builds and builds, each portion getting better and better than the one previous. It's a euphoric solo, one with nothing but happiness and release behind it. Indeed, the late, great Doug Fieger said that he wanted Bert's solo to be the musical emulation of sexual climax. And so it does climax into a wonderful tumble of notes that is echoed by Bruce Gary's drum beats before ripping into some tasty chords and giving way to the familiar riff once again. I get excited every time I hear this solo and I never get sick of hearing it. It's perfect in every way.
2. The Cars - "Shake It Up"
Now this solo isn't as grand in scope as the one in "My Sharona," but it's no less exciting. Elliot Easton fires off the notes in the opening salvo of the solo like his guitar is a monster machine gun. There's plenty of good sliding back and forth, as well. It's a solo in the more traditional sense of the beast in that it echoes some of the song's melody, but it's blistering all the same. The aural equivalent of a speedball bender almost going off the rails, yet keeping everything in perfect motion. The Cars were damned fine at making good New Wave tunes, and this entire album found them working that groove as good as ever, coming after the rather confused Panorama.
