Few elements are more
important to a rock song than the solo. In
fact, virtually every song in the genre has one. Usually, it falls somewhere after the second
chorus, maybe right after the bridge.
It’s the point in the song when the lead singer finally shuts up and
allows someone else to step into the limelight for 8-16 measures. Normally, it’s a guitar solo. One of the most memorable guitar solos of the
eighties was Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”.
Man, did Edward rip THAT one up.
Sometimes, though, a band
might opt for a different instrument for the solo section. One that comes to mind is Toto’s
“Africa”. Although Steve Lukather was
one of the decade’s most sought-after guitarists, the band opted to rely on
synth wizard Steve Porcaro for the instrumental break in their #1 hit from
1982.
Another common solo
instrument in rock music is the saxophone.
Duran Duran’s “Rio” and Hall & Oates’ “Maneater” feature two of the
best sax solos from the eighties. Andy
Hamilton’s sultry rasp on the former was perfectly matched to the band’s
debonair British style.
The charm of the latter
was as much a result of imaginative engineering as Charlie DeChant’s virtuoso
playing with the 4-beat delay filling in the gaps in the first half and building
to a glorious mess by the end.
However, from time to
time, a band may choose to do something completely off-the-wall during the solo
section of their song. That’s when
things REALLY get interesting. The
following is a list of the best “unique” solos of the eighties:
Mick Jagger – “Just Another Night” (typewriter solo)
Rather than hire a
top-notch guitarist to fill the huge gap left by the absence of Keith Richards
and Ron Woods on his first solo album, Mick instead chose to use…a
typewriter. That’s right, in the last solo
section (around 4:00) of this song where a screaming lead guitar might have been, there’s
some guy typing. Seriously. Somebody is typing on one of those
old-fashioned typewriters. It’s the
damnedest thing. How do you even think
of that? Perhaps, Jagger was finishing
up the final draft of the lyric while the band was doing overdubs and the
engineer had a “eureka moment”. Regardless
of the "hows" and "whys", it actually works.
Men Without Hats – “Safety Dance” (“Lock & Chase”
solo)
I’m sure most people would
tell you that the signature musical line in this song was played on a
synthesizer…but they’d be wrong. I know
because when I was a kid, one of my favorite Atari games was “Lock & Chase”
and the sound made by the little robber as he picked up gold bars was identical
to the tone on the song. Not only that,
if you chose the correct path through the maze, the time signature of the notes
even matched. (Listen closely around :40) Clearly, Stefan was
playing Atari while Ivan was writing this song.
At least, I hope so.
Eddy Grant – “Electric Avenue” (giant spring solo)
Although I’m pretty sure
now that Eddy Grant says “boy” during the intro of his 1983 hit, I spent a
number of years thinking he said “boing”.
That’s probably because that section of the song features what sounds
like a spring. Now, I’ll admit it’s
probably a synthesizer, but I’ll always prefer to picture Eddy in the recording
studio with a pair of giant springs attached to his feet jumping up and down
while he records his vocal.
Information Society – “What’s On Your Mind?” (Spock
solo)
For their debut hit, the
Information Society decided to use a human being as a solo instrument. Of course, if you’re going to use a human,
why not use one of the greatest human beings who ever lived – none other than
Leonard Nimoy. The recurring sample of
Mr. Spock saying “pure energy” helped to propel “What’s on Your Mind?” into the
Top 10 and was a helluva lot better than William Shatner’s album.
Genesis – “Throwing It All Away” (tea-sipping solo)
Leave it to the
ever-quirky Phil Collins to drink a cup of tea while recording the vocal for
the band’s 1986 hit. Not that we would
have ever known had he not gone “ahhh” after every sip. It’s one of the coolest hooks ever.
Berlin – “Sex” (sex solo)
It’s hard to think of a
better solo instrument in a song called “Sex” than…sex. Terri Nunn was Madonna before Madonna was.
Michael Jackson – “Thriller” (Vincent Price solo)
Long before the Info
Society played a Spock solo, MJ utilized horror legend Vincent Price for a
couple of passages in his campy masterpiece.
Thomas Dolby – “She Blinded Me With Science”
(scientist solo)
Sometimes, the best ideas
are the obvious ones. Such is the case
with the bumbling scientist who mutters throughout Thomas Dolby’s 1982
hit. No guitar could have said it better.
Big Country – “In A Big Country” (fake bagpipe solo)
Scotland’s answer to U2
burst onto the scene in 1983 with their signature song which featured a wall of
bagpipes. We would later learn that it
was actually guitars making the sound, but it sure as hell sounds like
bagpipes.
Starship – “We Built This City” (DJ solo)
With Craig Chaqico in the
band, it had to be tempting to just turn him loose during the solo section of
the band’s #1 hit from 1985. However,
the band decided to use DJ Les Garland instead.
No offense to Craig, but it was WAY cooler than a guitar solo would have
been.
