Showing posts with label Brian May. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brian May. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Wanna Hear The New Single "C-lebrity" from Queen + Paul Rodgers?

Queen + Paul Rodgers will be releasing their first collaboration with the upcoming album entitled "The Cosmos Rocks". The legendary group's highly anticipated work is set to reach the stores in the EU and the UK on 15th September and to the US and Canada on October 14th.

It's a general concensus that no one could ever replace the great Freddie Mercury. But really I feel that Paul Rodgers, who's a great vocalist in his own right, really meshes well with Brian May and Roger Taylor. For me, this is a different group altogether. They're still carrying the band name though, despite the fact that original members Brian and Roger represents just half of what the group used to be, with John Deacon retiring already. Nevertheless, with Brian May still manning the lead guitar spot, the band has more than enough juice to rock on until the next century or so!

For a preview of what to expect from the supergroup, here's a video of their rockin' new single "C-lebrity" shown in official Queen youtube site! Enjoy!

Friday, July 25, 2008

My Top 10 Classic Rock Guitar Solos!

One of the the most exciting things to do with the guitar is to replicate the solos played by your idols. It enables the aspiring guitarist to take the place of his guitar hero and BE the guitarist in the record... well, at least that's what it does for ME!

Trying to play a song/solo does 2 things: First of all, it gets me in a place, in my mind, where I'm front of thousands of screaming fans (just like Wembley Stadium in a Queen concert!), rocking the solo with my guitar! Second and more importantly, it helps me develop an "ear" by figuring out the guitar solo (and the whole song of course).

As a tribute to the venerated "guitar solo", I've made a list of my top 10 guitar solos from classic rock songs!

These were the pieces that I wanted to play when I was still starting out. Most of these are stuff that I can already play now, but THEN it felt like the most herculean task for me just to be able to play them.

You may agree with this list or not, as it all boils down to taste. But the thing we can't deny is that amazing guitar solos, such as those in the list, inspire young guitarists to take on the challenge of keeping rock music go on forever!

10. Crossroads - Cream
This 1968 rework of Robert Johnson's original is an impressive display of Cream collective virtuosity. Fittingly, Eric Clapton's fast yet bluesy guitar solos were among the song's highlights.

9. Reelin' In The Years - Steely Dan
It is said that Jimmy Page has called this Elliot Randall solo as one of his all-time favorites. Now that's one thing Jimmy Page and I have in common!

8. You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC
Angus Young's big bend started the blues-inspired solo with a bang. One of my favorite songs to jam with, I never seem to get tired of it!

7. Highway Star - Deep Purple
Richie Blackmore's harmonized guitar solo, accentuated by fast arpeggios and precise alternate pickings, is the perfect foil for the Jon Lord's organ solo for the group's concert favorite.

6. Red House - Jimi Hendrix
This has different live versions but the studio recording is what I like best. The vibe of the whole song is amazing, with a great soulful feel on the guitar solo.

5. Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne
One of the late great Randy Rhoads masterpieces, he adapts finger tapping and fast trills to make his solo in this song one of the all-time classics.

4. Hotel California - The Eagles
With Joe Walsh and Don Felder trading licks and dual guitars parts on this song, the solo at the end of the song is mesmerizing.

3. Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd
A melodic, lyrical solo in the first part of the songs followed by a rocking solo at the end part showed us the musical genius of David Gilmour. His amazing guitar tone and exceptional note choices are what many guitarists, including myself, aspire for.

2. Stairway To Heaven - Led Zeppelin
The whole song builds up until that moment that Jimmy Page opens up that famous guitar solo near the end. It's mostly a pentatonic-based solo but potent nonetheless. It's almost a requirement for every aspiring guitarist to learn this solo early on.

1. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
This magnum opus of Queen presents the meticulous guitar work of Brian May, who, being my favorite axe wielder, gets the top spot of this list. The main solo and the end solo both deserve proper commendation for a job well done on showing how a rocking guitar solo should sound like!