It started off so well…

I can't believe it's taken me so long to get around to writing about this band, but Queen has long been one of my favorite bands. I got hooked on Queen about a decade ago after I had listened to a mix CD that included “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions”. I’d known those songs before, but never really listened to them… and as is typical for me, after hearing a band I really like, I dive right into their music for several months.

 

After borrowing News of the World from a friend, it seemed that each week I’d run out to buy another one of their albums. So, what can I say about Queen? Queen was incredibly different. They could have wild, loud rockers one minute, and then they would have a pretty ballad the next.  Or even better, they would have some bizarre song that was filled with their British charm. John Deacon is an amazing bassist. Deacon bass lines aren’t just that thumping you tend to hear – His bass lines were melodic and beautiful – And he wrote some of the biggest Queen hits. Roger Taylor can totally rock out on the drums and watching him behind a ridiculously huge set, and know exactly where he’s going… It’s pretty impressive. (And it’s because of him that I mastered the drumstick twirl!) Not to mention he can sing higher than me! Brian May is my favorite member… (I think I’ve already mentioned my “thing” for guitarists). Brian is an extraordinary guitarist and the way he used guitars as other instruments – Well, I’ve never heard another musician able to orchestrate a choir of guitars the way Brian can. And Freddie? Jeez, he’s one of the most charismatic front mans ever. He wasn’t much to look at, but that voice! So powerful which such a fantastic range… And he had a distinctive style on the piano as well. And he’s written some of rock and roll’s most complex songs.

 

My favorite album may be The Game – though, that’s not to say I don’t dig their other albums. Honestly, every album of theirs (particularly the earlier albums) have tons of noteworthy songs. I know that to some The Game marks the beginning of the end for Queen. It’s Queen’s first pop album and is the first of Queen’s albums that doesn’t boast the use of no synthesizers. In fact, the first sound of the album is a synthesizer. So, the album may lack the depth of Queen’s preceding albums and lack the edge of News of the World, but it doesn’t make it a bad album. “Play The Game” is a fantastic showcase for Freddie’s amazing vocals. “Another One Bites The Dust” is quite a departure for the band and for the writer of the song – John Deacon – successfully crossing over into the funk genre. Brian’s heavy “Dragon Attack” and John’s catchy “I Need Your Loving Tonight” are both great tunes. And “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” is a lovely little rockabilly tribute to Elvis with a great Brian May guitar solo played on a Fender Telecaster instead of his usual “Red Special”.

 

Brian wrote two absolutely gorgeous ballads on this album as well – “Sail Away Sweet Sister” is by far my most played Queen song. I love Brian’s vocals and amazing guitar solo – and Freddie’s vocals on the bridge tend to blow me away. (How does he hit that note?!) “Save Me” is the other ballad – and it has another killer guitar solo. And Freddie’s vocals are, of course, perfect. It builds up to a poignant climax flawlessly with its catchy and heartfelt chorus. While it may not be groundbreaking, it doesn’t detract from the beauty of the song. It’s a lovely and strong closer to the album.

 

So… I suppose that’s about all I’ve got to say about Queen for now, but be prepared for me to revisit the subject somewhere down the line.

Guitarin'

So… I have a confession. I have a thing for guitarists. I have since junior high when I fell in love with Keith Partridge, but as much as I dig guitarists, I’m even more a fan of guitar solos. *sigh!*

Guitar solos… Honestly, I’m not sure when my obsession started with them, but I’ve definitely been in the basic realm of “guitar solo whore” for the better part of a decade at least. Guitar solos almost always can give me a bit of a thrill. I have never been moved to tears by a guitar solo – But they do have quite an effect on me. Something I can hardly explain at times. There are the ones that make me absolutely giddy. There are ones that are like an adrenaline rush, where I have the urge to step on the accelerator and zoom to 90 mph on the freeway with the windows down. Then there are the ones that I close my eyes and let the notes wash over me like a waterfall, ones that hit notes that send shivers down my spine…

The guitar solos I love the most are the melodic ones. I’m all about the melody (something I’m sure I’ll write about in a later post). Believe me, I have respect for the guitarists that play the rapid-fire, shredding solos that are so prominent in heavy metal songs – but for me, those can’t compare with the note bending, clean solos. The way a guitarist can make the instrument speak… That is something that can always send me.

There are a number of solos that I am particularly inclined towards – and before I get into this list, allow me to say, these are just my favorites. I know there are hundreds of fabulous guitar solos out there! This is not a professional ruling, just the opinion of someone who is infatuated with guitar solos and the musicians that play them! (And it’s a safe assumption that you will be hearing about these artists again in future posts).

“25 or 6 to 4” by Chicago has a pretty cool solo – though, not super clean, and very of its time – particularly with the use of the wah-wah pedal. “Let It Rain” by Clapton… Of course, I have to have Clapton included on a list of guitar solos. I’m also in love with his solos in “White Room” (Cream) and the solo he does on the Concert for George version of “Isn’t It A Pity.” I was particularly proud of myself while listening to that solo for the first time and knowing it was Eric playing before I saw it was him. This was while I was just beginning to recognize various guitarists’ styles – and Eric’s style is as distinctive as a voice. It couldn’t be anyone else.

I’m crazy about the solo in “Peace Frog” by the Doors. The solo in Elvis Costello’s “I Want You” is pretty hot, despite the fact that it’s just 2 slightly off-key notes. It totally works in that song. The Carpenters song, “Goodbye To Love” is probably the first guitar solo I ever really took notice of. Of course, the song is fantastic (and one of my favorite Carpenters songs), but Tony Peluso rocks that solo. And it wasn’t common at that time to have a love ballad with a fuzz guitar solo interjected in the middle of it. Rock on, Carpenters!

So it doesn’t seem like I have an aversion to more modern guitar solos, allow me to include The White Stripes’ “I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother’s Heart” (I have a major thing for slide guitar), The Raconteurs’ “Consoler of the Lonely” (yeah, yeah… I dig Jack White), Stone Temple Pilots’ “Lady Picture Show” (the acoustic version is really amazing too! Gorgeous song and gorgeous solo), Velvet Revolver’s “Fall to Pieces”, and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “21^st Century”.

Obviously, any catalog of guitar solos would be sorely lacking if I didn’t include Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix. There are so many of both that are featured in lists of the best solos… “Stairway”, “Heartbreaker”, “All Along the Watch Tower”, and “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” are the ones I see all the time on those kinds of lists, but my favorites are Jimi Hendrix’s “Bold as Love” (I really dig ballads – and love that under water sound) and Zeppelin’s “Over the Hills and Far Away”.

I’m a big fan of Elliott Smith and while he doesn’t have the super-impressive guitar solos that usually dominate lists, I’m completely in love with his style and his guitar work on “Southern Belle” and “Almost Over” are remarkable (I really dig that style of playing the same note over really fast in a tremolo effect). My favorite solos of his, though, are in his live performances of “Cupid’s Trick” and “Mr. Good Morning”. They’re not extended solos by any means, but something about them absolutely sends me.

I’ve been quite a fan of Queen and in particular, Brian May, for quite some time – in fact, I had quite a crush on him as well! (Like I mentioned before, I have a thing for guitarists). Brian’s style is quite unique, particularly with the orchestrating of guitars. “Bohemian Rhapsody” is the most popular of his, but I’m even more impressed with the orchestrating of a Dixieland band of electric guitars in the song “Good Company”. The guitar solos in “ Dead on Time” and “Keep Yourself Alive” are electrifying, but my all time favorite Brian solo is from one of my favorite songs of his, “Sail Away Sweet Sister”. The part that always sends my insides swirling is from 2:10-2:20, with the guitars playing in harmony.

This brings me to my favorite band of all time – rather predictably, The Beatles. John, Paul, and George all had some amazing guitar solos throughout their career as Beatles. “Taxman,” “Drive My Car”, “I Feel Fine”, “Yer Blues”, “Something”, “Back in the USSR” (more of that playing the same note over really fast during that last verse. *sigh!*), and of course, “The End”, featuring all three alternating for the solo. Though, I think my favorite solo of theirs (at the moment at least) is “Hey Bulldog”. The bit from 1:23-1:28… God, yeah. Love that bit.

But my all time favorite guitar solo is from George Harrison’s last solo album, Brainwashed. The song, “Rising Sun”, is a beautiful song, but that solo… It’s so silky smooth… so sleek, so clean – it makes my heart race. And at 3:59, when he hits that one note – Oh my god! There’s that swirly feeling in my stomach, shivers down my spine, and there’s an overwhelming feeling of happiness. I just find myself grinning idiotically by the end of that song. No other solo affects me quite in that way…

So yeah, I told you… I’m a guitar solo whore.