THE UNSUNG SOLOS
WHEN WE SET out to poll our readers about the greatest guitar solos of all time (see page 46), we thought it would be interesting to see what solos our current crop of star guitarists would choose. But first we decided to set a rule: Nothing obvious. No Hendrix. No Clapton. No Gilmour… You get the drift. What we wanted were the deep cuts that inspired and influenced some of the day’s most famous players. Plus, we thought it would be fun for our participants to champion the players and songs that they hold dear, but which might not get much love from the community at large.
Unintentionally, though, we created a conundrum for many players, who wondered just how off the charts to go. Nels Cline summed up the dilemma for many guitarists when he wrote, “I found myself thrown into a swirl of possibilities that pretty much overwhelmed me. The assignment was to avoid the ‘obvious’ biggies like Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck… Okay, but what about Duane Allman? Dickie Betts? Wes Montgomery? Steve Howe? George Benson? John McLaughlin? John Scofield? Fred Frith? These guys are huge for me!
“Then I started thinking about mentioning overlooked players like Ollie Hallsall, Jan Akkerman, Michael Gregory Jackson, Ted Dunbar. Even Stephen Stills is pretty much overlooked at this point but was very important to my young ears and fingers way back when. And what about my cherished colleagues/friends with whom I sometimes collaborate and whom I adore? Julian Lage, Jeff Parker, Elliott Sharp, Marc Ribot, Bill Frisell, Mary Halvorson, Brandon Seabrook, Ava Mendoza…”
Ultimately, Nels and the rest of our celebrity participants worked out the kinks and delivered a trove of fantastic solos for our poll — although a few couldn’t resist the urge to pick a tried-and-true hero (we’re looking at you Brian Setzer and Mark Tremonti!). To everyone who participated, we thank you. Now, without further delay, let’s have our celebrity participants take it away.
BRIAN SETZER
BE-BOP-A-LULA
Gene Vincent, Single
GUITARIST: CLIFF GALLUP
“When I first heard ‘Be-Bop-a-Lula,’ it was at Max’s Kansas City, which was a world-famous punk-rock club on Park Avenue South in New York. It was the late ’70s and they had a jukebox, and ‘Be-Bop-a-Lula’ came on, and that song cut through all the early punk rock that was coming off the stage, even though it was probably half the volume and mostly fingerpicking. When I heard that solo, it was like a big hand came over the bar and pulled me to it. It’s probably the sexiest guitar solo I’ve ever heard. It’s still probably my all-time favorite. It’s subtle, not something that bangs you over the head with a hammer. It’s got all the characteristics of what makes a great solo — fingerpicking, the way he builds it (because he plays it three different times), that Gretsch guitar with the early echo… Just the best.”
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL, PT.2
Pink Floyd, The Wall
GUITARIST: DAVID GILMOUR
“This one is off the beaten path — for me! It’s a clean Stratocaster tone, but it sustains forever. I don’t know how he got that sound! The expression when he bends those three notes. When anybody hears that, they always go Woah! It turns everybody’s heads. And besides that, when I played at the Brooklyn Academy of Music for Les Paul, David Gilmour lent me his shaving kit so I could look good before the show. What a gent.”
ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK
Bill Haley & His Comets, Single
GUITARIST: DANNY CEDRONE
“It’s the best solo of all time in rock and roll that’s copied by everyone from metal dudes to rockabillies to blues guys. Here’s why: Guitar solos were not really even being played that often in rock and roll at that time. It was all new. I think Danny Cedrone had played with Lionel Hampton; I believe he was a jazz guitarist. Here’s what I think happened, because I know how these things work: They told him, ‘None of this jazz stuff. This is a new music called rock and roll. You really have to play it wild.’ And that’s what he came up with. It’s this crazy new sound that has jazz influences, but it’s not jazz.
