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Remember those old Bugs Bunny cartoons where a pompous Bugs would race a tortoise—and lose? The moral of the story: slow and steady wins the race.
Remember those old Bugs Bunny cartoons where a pompous Bugs would race a tortoise—and lose?
The moral of the story: slow and steady wins the race. The same principle can hold true with guitar solos. Spitting out sixteenth notes at 200 beats per minutes isn’t always the most winning approach; sometimes, a lead calls for a little less hands and a little more heart.
So let’s step back, take a breather and examine some of rock guitar’s greatest slow burns.
01. “’Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers,” Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck’s electric guitar work contains enough moments of sonic brilliance to fill up most any top ten list. For our purposes we’ll go with his take on this Stevie Wonder–penned instrumental, from 1975 Blow By Blow, on which Beck opens with a gently moaning major 2nd to root C interval that rises and falls like a caterwauling alley cat, setting up the fluid, vocal-like phrases that follow.
02. “Something,” The Beatles (George Harrison)
The “Quiet Beatle” steps out of Paul and John’s writing shadow and pens his first song to be released as an A-side on the Beatles’ 1969 Come Together single. George Harrison’s “Something” is lauded for its lush melody and tender lyricism, but guitarists will note Harrison’s deft guitar solo that follows the operatic bridge as a characteristic example of his reserved, yet highly tuneful style.
03. “The Messiah Will Come Again,” Roy Buchanan
An often duplicated, but distinctly underrated guitarist, Buchanan inspired no less than a few of rock’s most recognizable players, including Jeff Beck and Gary Moore. This